Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Blackjackcat skipping Kilroe
ARCADIA, Calif. – Blackjackcat, third in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar last fall and fifth in the Grade 3 Thunder Road Stakes on Feb. 10, will miss the Grade 1 Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita on March 10.
Trainer Mark Glatt said on Thursday that Blackjackcat has not had a workout since the Thunder Road Stakes, in which he was beaten five lengths by the winner, Om.
“We’re going to pass,” Glatt said. “Our plans are a little bit up in the air. We want to make sure he’s good and ready when we do come back.”
Glatt mentioned the Grade 3 San Francisco Mile on turf at Golden Gate Fields on March 31 as a possible spot for Blackjackcat.
Owned by Al and Sandee Kirkwood, Blackjackcat has won 6 of 16 starts and earned $582,070. Last summer and fall, Blackjackcat won four consecutive races, including the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile in August, before finishing 1 1/4 lengths behind winner World Approval in the BC Mile.
“Ultimately, the goal is to get back to the Breeders’ Cup,” Glatt said. “We have plenty of time to have him as sharp as he was last year.”
The BC Mile will be run at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3.
Sharp Samurai, who won four turf stakes for 3-year-olds last year for Glatt, is being prepared for a spring comeback. Sharp Samurai won two Grade 2 races in consecutive starts last year – the Del Mar Derby in September and the Twilight Derby in October – before finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby at Del Mar on Nov. 25 in his most recent race.
World Approval, the champion turf male of 2017, and Om are leading contenders for the $400,000 Kilroe Mile. The Kilroe Mile is one of three Grade 1 races on the March 10 program, along with the $600,000 Santa Anita Handicap at 1 1/4 miles and the $400,000 Triple Bend Stakes for sprinters.
The Big Cap has a field of eight probable starters – Accelerate, Fear the Cowboy, Giant Expectations, Hoppertunity, Mubtaahij, Pavel, Prime Attraction, and Top of the Game.
Roy H, the champion sprinter of 2017, is the leading candidate for the Triple Bend, which is run at seven furlongs.
Miss Sunset to step up
Miss Sunset beat Californiabreds in the $100,000 Spring Fever Stakes for female sprinters at Santa Anita last Sunday, her seventh stakes win. Chances are Miss Sunset will race in a graded stakes in early spring.
On Thursday, trainer Jeff Bonde said he is considering two seven-furlong races for Miss Sunset – the Grade 2 Santa Monica Stakes at Santa Anita on March 24 or the Grade 1 Madison Stakes at Keeneland on April 7.
In either race, Miss Sunset will face a stern test. “You can’t hide,” he said. Owned by Alan Klein and Philip Lebherz, Miss Sunset has won 8 of 14 starts and earned $678,735. Last October, she won the most prestigious race of her career in the Grade 2 Raven Run Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Keeneland. In the Spring Fever, Miss Sunset led throughout under Mike Smith to finish 2 1/2 lengths in front of Cuddle Alert.
Bonde said he is not in a hurry to plan Miss Sunset’s next start.
“She came out of the race well,” Bonde said. “She likes her races to be spaced. She’s not a big horse.”
Full of Life nears U.S. debut
Full of Life, the winner of the Group 1 El Derby and four other group stakes in Chile in 2016 and 2017, likely will make his U.S. debut this month for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.
A 5-year-old by Lookin At Lucky who was bred in Chile, Full of Life worked five furlongs from the gate in 1:01.20 at Santa Anita on Thursday. Now owned by West Point Thoroughbreds, CTR Stables, and Hollendorfer, Full of Life has won 8 of 14 starts and earned $262,742. He was a Group 2 winner in his most recent start last October, and is expected to have a season of turf races, Hollendorfer said.
◗ Heck Yeah, an unbeaten 3-year-old, worked five furlongs in 1:00.60 on Thursday. The winner of the California Cup Derby on Feb. 19, Heck Yeah is a candidate for the $200,000 Pasadena Stakes at a mile on turf March 17, trainer Bob Baffert said.
Owned by breeder Michael Pageler with Bob Baedeker and Michael Sigband, Heck Yeah has won three races, including his stakes debut in the California Cup Turf Sprint on the hillside turf course Jan. 27.