Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
‘Yorkiepoo’ will run in Oaks
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Yorkiepoo Princess bled while finishing eighth in the Grade 2 Gazelle Stakes last Saturday at Aqueduct, a problem trainer Eddie Barker said can be rectified, which is why he still plans on running the filly in the Grade 1, $1 million Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 5.
Barker said that owner Danny Chen paid the $1,500 late-nomination fee to make Yorkiepoo Princess eligible for the Oaks. Yorkiepoo Princess earned 50 qualifying points toward the Oaks for her victory in the listed Busher Stakes on Feb. 25.
Barker said he had planned to go to the Oaks had Yorkiepoo Princess finished first or second in the Gazelle. She was beaten 35 3/4 lengths under Irad Ortiz Jr., but Barker said a postrace endoscopic examination revealed that the filly bled. Miss Sky Warrior won the Gazelle by 13 lengths.
“If she didn’t bleed, she would have been second,” Barker said. “If she was second, I was going to the Oaks. Irad said he had plenty of horse going to the three-eighths pole.”
The day after the Gazelle, Yorkiepoo Princess was sent to the New Jersey Equine Clinic in Millstone, where she will spend some time in a hyperbaric chamber, which increases oxygen flow and promotes the healing of injured tissues. Barker said Dr. Jennifer Smith of the clinic told him, “The lungs will fully heal.”
Barker said he will work Yorkiepoo Princess once at Aqueduct, and provided there is no bleeding, he will continue on to the Oaks.
Yorkiepoo Princess, who has won 4 of 8 starts, including the Furlough and Ruthless stakes at six furlongs, has yet to run on the anti-bleeding medication Lasix. Barker said she will race on Lasix in the Oaks.
Last Saturday, Michelle Nevin watched with pride as her former charge Paulassilverlining won the Grade 1 Madison at Keeneland. A few hours earlier, Nevin’s Grade 1-winning mare By the Moon returned to the work tab with a half-mile move in 50.88 seconds.
The work was the first for By the Moon since she was beaten a neck by High Ridge Road in the Grade 2 Barbara Fritchie at Laurel Park on Feb. 18. Nevin said she backed off By the Moon after that race and gave the filly a break.
By the Moon has run some of her best races at Belmont Park, including a victory in the Grade 1 Frizette at 2 and a neck loss at odds of 30-1 in the Grade 1 Acorn. Last June, she won the Grade 3 Bed o’ Roses there.
There are ample opportunities for By the Moon at Belmont, including the Grade 3, $200,000 Vagrancy going 6 1/2 furlongs on May 5 or the Grade 2, $250,000 Ruffian going a mile on May 13.
“Haven’t made any plans yet, but I’m sure we’re going to start looking soon,” Nevin said.
Meanwhile, Nevin said she was happy to see Paulassilverlining become a Grade 1 winner in the Madison. Nevin had won six stakes with Paulassilverlining before the mare was purchased privately this year by Juddmonte Farms and transferred to Chad Brown. In the post-race interview, Brown credited Nevin for the job she did with the mare.
“It was very nice of him to say that,” Nevin said. “I was really delighted for her. She’s such a good, honest filly. She really lays it down. She tries so hard. It was great to see her win that race.”
Perl leaves NYRA post
Sean Perl will be leaving his position as assistant racing secretary at the New York Racing Association at the end of next week. Perl held the position for 2 1/2 years.
Perl, 30, will be launching his own bloodstock business starting with the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. auction of 2-year-olds from April 25-28.
Prior to becoming the assistant racing secretary at NYRA, and at Calder before that, Perl worked for trainer Todd Pletcher, the yearling sales for Denali Stud, and the 2-year-old sales for James J. Crupi.
“I have a passion for this line of work,” Perl said. “I have been fortunate enough to have been around arguably the best owners and trainers in racing, and I am really looking forward to working with them in a different capacity, enhancing their stable, and doing my part to get them to the greatest place in the world – the winner’s circle.”
◗ Aqueduct will be dark this Sunday, Easter. Racing will resume Wednesday for the final week of the Aqueduct spring meet. Racing moves to Belmont Park on April 28.