Greyvitos gets freshening

OKLAHOMA CITY – Greyvitos was bright and alert at Remington Park on Monday, a day after winning the first edition of the Springboard Mile to carry eligibility points for the Kentucky Derby. He earned 10 points for his 2 1/4-length win, and later on Monday was scheduled to travel back to Southern California.

“He came out of the race in great shape,” trainer Adam Kitchingman said. “He leaves tonight.”

Kitchingham said Greyvitos would be freshened and could return to action in February. The horse won the second stakes race of his career after taking the Grade 3 Bob Hope in November at Del Mar. He won the Springboard Mile in a stakes-record time of 1:37.14 and for the effort earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 88.

“We plan to tack-walk him to the end of the year, give him break,” Kitchingman said Monday. “I don’t expect to work him until the middle of January. We’ve got to settle in and see where we’re training, whether Del Mar, San Luis Rey, or Santa Anita. It’s really up in the air what’s going on because of the fires.”

Greyvitos was based at the San Luis Rey Downs training center that sustained devastating damage from wildfires the afternoon of Dec. 7, but he had been shipped out that morning to be positioned to fly out of Santa Anita to Remington. Kitchingman said Monday that he did not lose his barn in the fire.

Greyvitos races for the Triple B Farms operation of Michelle Boghossian. He is a son of Malibu Moon and the mare Snow Top Mountain, a multiple Grade 3 winner on turf who earned more than $500,000. Kitchingman said Greyvitos is a special one for Boghossian, and not just because she loves gray horses.

“I trained for her husband, Paul, and we’d been pretty successful together,” Kitchingman said. “He passed away a few years ago, and this is the first crop of horses she’s bought back in on herself. She’s trying to continue on.”

Kitchingman said Greyvitos handled a lot of different variables in the Springboard Mile, a race in which he broke from post 12. Those varaibles included facing a larger field, getting two turns for the first time, and traveling out of state. Victor Espinoza was aboard Sunday.

Combatant earned four Kentucky Derby points for his runner-up finish in the Springboard Mile, and he ran arguably the best race of his young career. He stalked the pace and finished well in what was his stakes debut. Combatant, who was coming off a maiden special weight win at Churchill Downs in October, earned a Beyer of 84 on Sunday.

“He’s a nice horse,” trainer Steve Asmussen said. “I think that he’ll get better when he gets a chance to go farther. The next race at Oaklawn, the Smarty Jones, is only a mile, but that’s probably where he’ll point. That’s an option. He’ll go to Oaklawn from Remington in the next couple of days.”

The $150,000 Smarty Jones is Jan. 15 at Oaklawn.

Combatant is a son of Scat Daddy who races for Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing.

Believe in Royalty headed back to Fair Grounds early Monday, a day after finishing sixth as the third choice in the Springboard Mile. The son of Tapit and the Kentucky Oakswinning mare Believe You Can was making his stakes debut off back-to-back wins at Laurel.

“Considering we were coming out of the 10-hole, we got about as good a trip as we could get,” trainer Larry Jones said. “It definitely looked like going into that last turn, ‘Okay, we got in position to go,’ and then he flattened out at little bit.”

Jones said that Believe in Royalty had a little mucus running out of his nose back at the barn after the race.

“It could just be a sinus deal,” he said. “It wasn’t anything horrible. All appears to be good this morning.”

Jones said Believe in Royalty will be considered for the 3-yearold series at Fair Grounds.

“They do have some prep races down there for the Derby, so we’ll keep him on the target there,” he said, noting racing experience will be important for Believe in Royalty.

“He reminds me of a horse that has got to have a few races. We’re going to run him.”

◗ Remington handled $2,775,655 on its 12-race card from all sources Sunday, the second-highest handle on Remington’s races since the track opened in 1988, according to Remington spokesman Dale Day. The highest handle, $2.8 million, was achieved Feb. 24, 1990.

Cosmic Burst to Oaklawn

Cosmic Burst, who won her third straight race in the $100,000 Trapeze for 2-year-old fillies Sunday at Remington Park, will come under consideration for the 3-year-old filly series at Oaklawn, trainer Donnie Von Hemel said Monday.

Cosmic Burst made her twoturn debut in October, winning a maiden special weight at Keeneland. One start later, she won a first-level allowance at a mile at Churchill Downs. From there, she powered to a 5 1/4-length win in the Trapeze, earning a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 80.

“I thought it was a great effort from her,” Von Hemel said. We “moved a little early to take advantage of the rail, but it didn’t seem to make any difference. You can watch her races and she’s progressively gotten more savvy in her races, and I think has improved physically in her races, too.”

Von Hemel said an upcoming option for Cosmic Burst is the $125,000 Martha Washington on Feb. 10 at Oaklawn. The daughter of Violence races for Norma Lee Stockseth and Todd Dunn.