Stellar Wind readies for Hirsch

DEL MAR, Calif. – There was only a brief celebration among Accelerate’s connections Saturday night following the San Diego Handicap because of an early work call Sunday morning.

The champion Stellar Wind – like Accelerate owned by Kosta and Pete Hronis, trained by John Sadler, and ridden by Victor Espinoza – worked at 6:30 a.m. Sunday in preparation for this Sunday’s Grade 1, $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes, in which Stellar Wind is the defending race winner.

Stellar Wind gave every indication that she continues to thrive. A winner of both of her starts this year, Stellar Wind worked five furlongs in 59.60 seconds while inhaling her company in the final furlong. She continued out strongly, with Sadler catching her in 1:12.80 galloping out six furlongs and 1:26.40 for the double gallop-out to seven furlongs.

“She went out fast,” said Sadler, who said he limited himself to one celebratory glass of wine Saturday night.

“I thought her work was super,” he said. “She’s not the world’s best work horse. They gave her 59 and 3. I had her in a minute, and she galloped out excellent.”

Stellar Wind, the champion 3-year-old filly of 2015, upset Beholder in last year’s Hirsch. This year, Stellar Wind will be the race favorite. She is expected to have just a handful of rivals, including Vale Dori, who finished a neck behind Stellar Wind when they both last raced June 3 in the Grade 1 Beholder Mile at Santa Anita.

Others expected for the Hirsch include Autumn Flower, Faithfully, and possibly Shenandoah Queen.

Also working Sunday was Roy H – the winner of the Grade 2 True North at Belmont Park last time out – who went a halfmile in 47.20 seconds in preparation for the Grade 1, $300,000 Bing Crosby Stakes on Saturday. Paco Lopez will be in to ride, trainer Peter Miller said.

Union Strike, headed to the Test Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 5, went five furlongs in 1:00.20 for owner and trainer Mick Ruis, while the unbeaten 2-year-old Run Away, ticketed to the Grade 2, $200,000 Best Pal Stakes here Aug. 12, worked five furlongs in 1:00.80 for trainer Simon Callaghan.

Santa Anita Derby winner Gormley, who has not raced since the Belmont Stakes, went an easy five furlongs in 1:03 for trainer John Shirreffs.

Late announcement on gelding

The California Horse Racing Board will conduct an investigation into why Trapalanda was not identified as a gelding until approximately 20 minutes before he won a $50,000 claiming race for maidens at Del Mar on Saturday, track stewards said.

The announcement that Trapalanda had been gelded since his last start was made to the public before he ran in the fifth race, the first leg of the pick six, but long after the start of other multirace wagers, such as the pick five and the pick three.

Trapalanda, trained by Ron Ellis, was listed in the program as a colt. He was found to be a gelding in the receiving barn before the field was sent to the paddock.

Trapalanda was claimed by Slugo Racing and trainer Mike Puype in a two-way shake. Puype said he was aware that Trapalanda was a gelding well before the race was run and was contacted after the race by stewards, who offered to void the claim. Puype said he told the stewards he wanted the claim to stand.

Trapalanda, by Slew’s Tiznow, won the six-furlong race by a half-length as the 8-5 favorite.

Pending the racing board’s investigation, Ellis may face a fine for failing to note that Trapalanda was a gelding at the time of entry.

The issue of horses racing as a gelding for the first time and how that information is presented to the public has been at the forefront of California racing in recent days. Last Thursday, the racing board discussed the implementation of a rule to scratch a horse racing as a gelding for the first time if the information is not presented to the public before the start of betting on the card.

A potential rule change is months from being implemented because of a lengthy discussion process and legal review.

Big Macher in Bing Crosby

Three years have passed since Big Macher won the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes, Del Mar’s leading sprint race. Since then, Big Macher has been to Dubai, where he was fifth in the $2 million Golden Shaheen in March 2015, and went 18 months between starts because of a suspensory injury.

Big Macher won his comeback race in the Thor’s Echo Handicap for California-breds at Santa Anita on June 11 and will run in the $300,000 Bing Crosby Stakes on Saturday.

The Bing Crosby offers its winner a berth in the BC Sprint here on Nov. 4. The race is expected to be led by Drefong, the champion sprinter of 2016. Other candidates include Denman’s Call, Kobe’s Back, Lord Simba, Moe Candy, Ransom the Moon, Roy H, Solid Wager, and St. Joe Bay.

Big Macher deserves a chance in the Bing Crosby, trainer Richard Baltas said over the weekend.

“He’s sound and working good, so I’ll take a shot,” Baltas said. “You never know, sometimes heart prevails.”

◗ Jockey agent Mike Ciani said he has reunited with Kent Desormeaux, with whom he had great success for two years earlier this decade. Ciani most recently had represented Gary Stevens until they parted on the eve of Del Mar’s meet. Desormeaux had been represented by Nelson Arroyo, who still handles the mounts for his brother Norberto Arroyo Jr.