Uncle Chuck taking big step

Uncle Chuck, a member of the Derby Watch top 20, is heading straight into stakes competition following a maiden win last month at Santa Anita, as he will take on stablemate Thousand Words as part of a small field in the Grade 3, $150,000 Los Alamitos Derby on Saturday.

Uncle Chuck was ridden by Mike Smith in his debut on June 12, in which he got a Beyer Speed Figure of 95, but because Smith will be at Belmont Park on Saturday to ride McKinzie in the Met Mile, trainer Bob Baffert is bringing in Luis Saez to ride. Saez is best known as the regular rider of Eclipse Award winner Maximum Security – the disqualified winner of last year’s Kentucky Derby – who is now in Baffert’s barn.

Others expected for the Los Alamitos Derby were Anneau d’Or, who was fourth most recently in the Santa Anita Derby, and the maiden Cosmo.

Thousand Words and Anneau d’Or finished one-two last December in the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity.

The Los Alamitos Derby, at 1 1/8 miles, was added to the Road to the Kentucky Derby points list when the Kentucky Derby was postponed to Sept. 5. It offers 34 points overall, with 20 to the winner, similar to last week’s Ohio Derby and next week’s Indiana Derby. The race was originally worth $100,000, but track owner Ed Allred put in an additional $50,000.

Also Saturday at Los Alamitos is the Grade 2, $200,000 Great Lady M. for older female sprinters going 6 1/2 furlongs, with three-time Grade 1 winner Bellafina heading a field expected to also include Amuse, Artistic Diva, Hang a Star, Sneaking Out, and Zusha.

– Jay Privman

Storm the Court may try turf

Storm the Court, the champion 2-year-old male of 2019 who was third in the Grade 3 Ohio Derby last Saturday, faces an uncertain summer campaign with options on turf or the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs, trainer Peter Eurton said Wednesday.

Storm the Court finished third as the 2-1 favorite in the Ohio Derby, 2 3/4 lengths behind Dean Martini. Storm the Court is winless in four starts this year since his upset win at 45-1 in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita last November.

Eurton said Wednesday that no race plans have been finalized for Storm the Court, but said a turf race “is definitely in play.”

There are two graded stakes for 3-year-olds on turf at the Del Mar summer meeting – the Grade 3 La Jolla Handicap at 1 1/16 miles on Aug. 9 and the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby at 1 1/8 miles on Sept. 6.

“That’s something we would like to try,” Eurton said.

The Kentucky Derby remains an option.

“I’m sure everyone still has that in the back of their mind,” Eurton said of the partnership that owns Storm the Court. “When you get past the first three or four [contenders], it looks wide open.”

Eurton said Storm the Court will not start in the $100,000 Shared Belief Stakes for 3-yearolds at 1 1/16 miles on Aug. 1 at Del Mar, a race that is part of the qualifying series for the Kentucky Derby.

In the Ohio Derby at 1 1/8 miles, Storm the Court closed from sixth in a field of 13.

“He ran a big race there,” Eurton said.

Zuzanna retired from racing

Zuzanna, the former $8,000 claimer who won the Grade 3 Red Carpet Handicap last November at Del Mar, has been retired, co-owner Kurt Hoover said earlier this week.

A 6-year-old mare, Zuzanna was sixth in an allowance race with an $80,000 claiming option on June 24 at Indiana Grand in her 2020 debut. She had a bout with colic last weekend that led to her retirement, according to Hoover, well known as a TVG commentator.

Co-owned by Jeffrey Lambert, Brian Ferguson, Larry Rodriguez, and Robert Toland, Zuzanna won 9 of 33 starts and earned $272,096. She was claimed for $8,000 at Los Alamitos in September 2018 by trainer Bob Hess Jr. For the partnership, Zuzanna won 4 of 10 starts and earned $144,196.

In the $100,702 Red Carpet Handicap for fillies and mares at 1 3/8 miles on turf, Zuzanna closed from sixth in a field of seven to record a 23-1 upset.

Joile Olimpica drills for Wiley

Jolie Olimpica, winner of two sprint stakes on turf at Santa Anita earlier this year, worked seven furlongs in 1:25.60 on Wednesday at Del Mar in preparation for a start in the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley Stakes on July 11 at Keeneland.

Jolie Olimpica was the most prominent of a small number of horses given workouts Wednesday at Del Mar. The track is preparing for the start of it summer meeting on July 10.

Trained by Richard Mandella for Rick Porter, Jolie Olimpica won the Grade 2 Monrovia Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf May 25.

Wednesday, Mandella also worked Voodoo Song, who was timed in 58.80 seconds for five furlongs. Voodoo Song is a candidate for the $65,000 Wickerr Stakes on turf on July 11 at Del Mar. A 6-year-old, Voodoo Song was a troubled ninth in the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile on May 25, racing in traffic in early stretch.

“He’s better than what he’s done,” Mandella said.

BENOIT PHOTO Uncle Chuck earned a 95 Beyer Speed Figure for his debut. He will make his next start in the Grade 3 Los Alamitos Derby.