After win, Petrov possible for Carter, Commonwealth

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Petrov might be heading to New York for the Grade 1, $400,000 Carter Handicap at Aqueduct on April 7.

Trainer Ron Moquett said Tuesday the race is one of two graded stakes being considered for the horse, along with the Grade 3, $250,000 Commonwealth on the same afternoon at Keeneland. Both are at seven furlongs, a distance not available at Petrov’s home base of Oaklawn. Petrov won an optional $50,000 claiming sprint at six furlongs here Feb. 18 in his first start since November.

“When you’re running him six furlongs, you’re not really at his distance, and when you’re running him a mile and a sixteenth, you’re not really at his distance,” Moquett said. “He can do them, but I think he’s better at seven-eighths or a one-turn mile.

“I’d like to run him one more time here. If not, we’ll go somewhere.”

Moquett, who also co-owns Petrov, said he is discussing the Carter and Commonwealth with partners Rialto Racing Stables, Southern Springs Stables, and Head of Plains Partners.

Petrov is looking for his first stakes win after several close calls. He ran second by a head in an Aqueduct stakes in 2016 and last year at 3 ran second in both the Smarty Jones and Grade 3 Southwest at Oaklawn and was fourth here in the Grade 2 Rebel.

Petrov’s two wins last year came at extended sprint distances, one in a sevenfurlong first-level allowance at Saratoga and another in a 6 1/2-furlong optional claimer at Keeneland.

Petrov has developed nicely over the winter, said Moquett.

“You can tell by looking at him he’s starting to fill out, grow up,” he said.

Petrov is a son of Flatter who has won 4 of 13 starts and earned $446,127.

Caldwell’s sprinters near return

Danny Caldwell, who has won the past four owner titles at Oaklawn, has a couple of notable sprinters back in training after layoffs. Eurobond, a winner of his last five starts, including a stakes at Remington Park, is nearing his first work back. Indexical, who was Grade 1-placed in Southern California, could see action at the end of the Oaklawn meet.

Eurobond last raced Nov. 3, capturing an optional $40,000 claiming sprint at Remington Park with a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 92. He defeated a field that included Wings Locked Up, the recent winner of the $50,000 Sam Houston Sprint Cup. Eurobond is with trainer Federico Villafranco at Oaklawn. He is coming off surgery in Oklahoma.

“We cleaned up his knee – just did a little maintenance on him,” Caldwell said. “He’ll be ready to work in the next two weeks or so. We could possibly have him ready at the end of Oaklawn. We’ll also look at an Oklahoma bred stakes at Will Rogers.”

Eurobond was a $17,500 claim last summer at Remington. He won that afternoon and has reeled off four more wins while climbing the class ladder, among his victories the $130,000 Oklahoma Classics Sprint at Remington. Caldwell said there were a couple of reasons why he claimed Eurobond, an Oklahoma-bred son of Euroears. “I like the stallion, Euroears, and he was a horse that had some conditions, and he was running against open company,” Caldwell said. “I also saw were he ran against Quarter Horses in an 870-yard race. He got beat, ran second, but against Quarter Horses, and I thought he should be a good sprinter for us.”

Caldwell also claimed Indexical, taking him for $30,000 last May at Prairie Meadows. He said part of the appeal was his back class and his good recent efforts against Redneck Humor, a dominant sprinter in New Mexico. Indexical had bone chips removed while away from the races.

“His knees and ankles needed to be cleaned up,” Caldwell said. “He’ll be ready for the end of Oaklawn. He’s doing great.”

Indexical worked threeeighths in 38.60 seconds on Tuesday at Oaklawn. He was second in the 2016 edition of the Grade 1 Bing Crosby at Del Mar, won by Lord Nelson, and that same year ran third in the track’s Grade 2 Pat O’Brien.

Caldwell won a $10,000 starter allowance with Altito on Feb. 19. Altito won by three lengths on the same afternoon that Caldwell buried his 79-yearold father, Donald, following a battle with cancer. The funeral was in Oklahoma.

“He won about the time the funeral started,” Caldwell said. “It was a special win for us.

“My dad loved horse racing. He actually got me started in racing. When I was 19, 20, he took me to Blue Ribbon Downs. He loved watching the races. He was able to watch at home every day. He got live feeds of whatever track we were at.”

Caldwell will be based at Prairie Meadows after Oaklawn.

KEENELAND/COADY PHOTOGRAPHY Petrov, shown winning a Keeneland allowance as a 3-year-old last October, is seeking the first stakes victory of his career.