Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
No Dozing to try Cigar Mile
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Arnaud Delacour had a good weekend. He came a head short of having a great one.
On Friday, at Aqueduct, No Dozing romped to a 9 3/4-length victory in the Grade 3, $200,000 Bold Ruler Handicap, setting him up for a likely next start in the Grade 1, $750,000 Cigar Mile here on Dec. 1.
On Saturday, at Churchill Downs, Chalon was in front in midstretch only to be run down by 25-1 shot Shamrock Rose in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.
“We were very happy,” Delacour said Monday. “They both ran very well. That’s all we can ask for.”
No Dozing earned a 107 Beyer Speed Figure in the Bold Ruler, his first graded stakes victory. That race and his second-place finish to Mo Town in the 2016 Remsen Stakes here as a 2-yearold give Delacour some confidence to try No Dozing in the Cigar Mile.
“Definitely he can handle the track well,” Delacour said. “He’s run twice on that track and run great, so I don’t see any reason why not take a shot in the Cigar Mile and see what the outcome can be.”
Chalon returned to Delacour’s barn at the Fair Hill training center following her loss in the Filly and Mare Sprint. She also lost the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America by a head to Golden Mischief in October.
Delacour said the plan is to give Chalon the remainder of the year off and race her again in 2019 as a 5-year-old.
“She’s a true six-furlong filly, I think,” Delacour said. “Unfortunately, in the program all the Grade 1 races for fillies – Breeders’ Cup, Ballerina, Humana Distaff – are all seven-eighths. We’ll just have to deal with it, but I’d love to be able to run her a little bit shorter against that type of company.”
Vekoma eyes Remsen
Vekoma earned a 99 Beyer Speed Figure for his 1 3/4-length victory in Sunday’s Grade 3 Nashua Stakes, the highest figure earned by a 2-year-old so far this year.
He also likely earned himself a spot in the Grade 2, $250,000 Remsen Stakes here on Dec. 1.
“The Remsen is a natural kind of target,” trainer George Weaver said Monday. “He handled the track well. It’s something we’ll be looking at. We also want to keep in mind that he’s a May baby – keep everything in perspective, try not to squeeze the lemon dry before we have to. But, I’m a big believer in running horses when they’re doing good. If he’s doing well, we’ll be looking at the Remsen.”
Weaver was not surprised by the performance of Vekoma, who despite lugging in a step in the stretch while jockey Manny Franco tried to get him to change to his correct lead easily turned aside Network Effect. It was seven lengths back to Call Paul in third.
“I was excited about this horse before we ran him the first time,” Weaver said.
The Remsen has the potential to be a super race. Maximus Mischief, who has been sensational at Parx winning his first two starts, is targeting the Remsen.
Code of Honor, who was scratched from Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile due to a temperature, returned to New York on Monday and will be pointed to the Remsen provided he has no further setbacks, trainer Shug McGaughey said.
Sisterson relishing stakes win
Jack Sisterson was part of many stakes victories as an assistant to Doug O’Neill. Last Friday, at Aqueduct, he won his first stakes as a head trainer when Oxy Lady upset the Grade 2, $150,000 Tempted Stakes by five lengths at 36-1. Over a slow track, she earned a 96 Beyer for running a mile in 1:38.88.
Sisterson and his brother Liam – visiting from England – flew from Kentucky to New York Friday morning to watch Oxy Lady run. With fog enveloping the track, they watched from the rail where they could only see the last sixteenth of a mile. That was the best part of the race.
“We didn’t quite expect that performance but we thought she’d move forward adding blinkers,” said Sisterson, who trains privately for Calumet Farm.
Sisterson said that while the Grade 2, $250,000 Demoiselle at Aqueduct on Dec. 1 “is definitely an option” for Oxy Lady, so is the Grade 1, $300,00 Starlet at Los Alamitos on Dec. 8.
“She run such a big number, I don’t want to run her back too quick,” said Sisterson, who had the filly back with him at Keeneland. “You worry off that performance running her back quick, would she bounce on us? We’ll make sure she’s 100 percent ready to run another big race before we run her, but she came out of the race in great shape.”
If Sisterson takes Oxy Lady to California for the Starlet, he would be returning to the state where he worked for O’Neill for several years.
“Doug always follows every runner we have and he was the first to text congratulations,” Sisterson said.