Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Enola Gray vs. Smoove It again
ARCADIA, Calif. – Enola Gray and Smoove It, one-two last month in the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Sprint on the hillside turf course, renew their rivalry Saturday at Santa Anita in the $100,000 Irish O’Brien Stakes, a race Smoove It won last year.
Enola Gray will be strongly favored. She scored by 3 1/4 lengths last time at 3-5 odds and is unbeaten at these exact conditions – sprinting on the hillside course against California-bred females, both times under jockey Tyler Baze, who is back aboard Saturday.
“Tyler says she absolutely loves it,” said Phil D’Amato, who trains Enola Gray for owner and breeder Nick Alexander. “She’s doing super, on go, ready to go.”
D’Amato said Enola Gray could use this as a prep for the Grade 2, $200,000 Royal Heroine Stakes going a mile on turf against open company April 8.
“We might take a shot at that,” he said.
First, though, Enola Gray must down nine rivals in the Irish O’Brien.
Smoove It returns to turf after finishing fourth of five in the Spring Fever on the dirt Feb. 19.
Desert Steel, third in the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Sprint, benefits by getting off the rail, from which she had to be used aggressively last time out.
Bert’s Melody, who has won four races on Santa Anita’s turf, seeks her first win on the downhill course in her first start since May.
The Irish O’Brien is race 7 on the 10-race card and thus kicks off the pick four.
Midnight Storm points to Met Mile
Midnight Storm, who couldn’t quite hold off Shaman Ghost going 1 1/4 miles when finishing second last Saturday in the Santa Anita Handicap, will look toward the Met Mile on Belmont Stakes Day at Belmont Park as the next opportunity to get a Grade 1 victory on dirt, trainer Phil D’Amato said Thursday.
Midnight Storm already has won a Grade 1 stakes on grass, and his connections have focused his 2017 campaign on trying to get a Grade 1 win on dirt.
D’Amato said he anticipated Midnight Storm having one race between now and the Met Mile, but that race has yet to be determined by him and the partnership that owns Midnight Storm.
“We’ve put together a list of races,” he said. “The twoout goal is the Met Mile. We’re trying to find the right kind of race before.”
Denman’s Call eyes BC Sprint
The Breeders’ Cup Sprint this November at Del Mar will be the long-range goal for Denman’s Call, who scored an upset victory in the Grade 1 Triple Bend Stakes last Saturday, according to trainer Doug O’Neill.
Denman’s Call was making his third start following a ninemonth layoff in the Triple Bend. The win was his first since a debut victory against maidens in January 2016. He had lost six straight since.
“That was an incredible effort,” O’Neill said. “We gave him time off last year because he was body sore, and fortunately he has super-patient owners. He just needed maturity, both for his mind and his body.”
Masochistic, who finished second as the favorite in the Triple Bend, was “a little tired” following the race, according to trainer Ron Ellis, who said he had not mapped out any immediate plans for Masochistic.
Both Masochistic and Ellis are barred from competing in this year’s Breeders’ Cup owing to a medication violation from last fall’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint that resulted in his disqualification from second place.
Stevens has first win since surgery
First, it was a new knee, then last fall, a new hip. A whole new Gary Stevens, the ageless, bionic man, got his first win since returning from the hip surgery aboard Shehastheritestuff last Saturday.
“It always feels good,” he said. “There’s pressure because you’ve got to prove to people that you’ve still got some shelf life, and I do.”
Stevens said returning from the hip surgery was “way easier” than the full knee replacement from nearly two years ago.
“It’s a lot less invasive,” he said.
Stevens will be at Oaklawn Park on Saturday to ride Appalachian Gem in the Rebel Stakes.
◗ American Cleopatra, the 3-year-old full sister to American Pharoah, worked a halfmile in 50 seconds Thursday as she prepares for her first start since finishing eighth in the Grade 1 Chandelier Stakes last October.
◗ Nowalking, 6, who suffered catastrophic sesamoid fractures in the Triple Bend, had to be euthanized, D’Amato said.