Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Taraz, perfect so far in sprints, looking like a two-turn type
NEW ORLEANS – Taraz is a huge 2-year-old filly and even after only two starts her reputation is nearly the equal of her size.
Horse people having nothing to do with Taraz were buzzing about her Sunday morning at Fair Grounds following Taraz’s 11 1/4-length win in the $75,000 Letellier here Saturday. Taraz didn’t burn up the clock, running six furlongs in 1:10.83 and earning an 87 Beyer Figure, but won handily without ever being asked for run by jockey Florent Geroux while leaving the impression there’s plenty more in the tank and that distances longer than this six-furlong trip aren’t going to be a problem.
Brad Cox, who trains the Juddmonte Farms homebred, is reserving judgment on Taraz’s two-turn ability for now, in part because her sire, Into Mischief, does not throw a lot of long-winded fillies. But Taraz looks nothing like a typical Into Mischief filly, towering over her peer group and covering a massive amount of ground with every stride, and she’s out of a mare by Belmont Stakes winner Empire Maker with plenty of stamina on the dam’s side of her pedigree.
“Just watching her in the post parade yesterday, the pony couldn’t keep up with her,” Cox said. “Even at a walk, her stride is just so long.”
Cox – and other eyes on the backstretch – say with conviction that Taraz trains at least as well as she races, and while she’s only a 2-year-old filly, Cox isn’t having an easy time finding appropriate company for team workouts.
And remember this: Taraz, who debuted with an easy maiden sprint score at Churchill Downs, isn’t close to the most accomplished 2-year-old filly trained by Cox. That honor belongs to British Idiom, who will be champion 2-year-old filly after winning the Grade 1 Alcibiades and the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies to close out her season. British Idiom is nearing her first Fair Grounds timed workout – which could even happen before Christmas – and is being aimed at the Rachel Alexandra Stakes here Feb. 15.
Taraz also might not start again until February; that’s the tentative plan as of now. Cox wants to try the filly around two turns in her next race, but
isn’t sure where and when he’ll do so, though if Taraz’s connections prefer not to face British Idiom here at Fair Grounds, a trip to Oaklawn (where Cox runs a string) for a race like the Martha Washington over one mile would make sense.
Meanwhile, the Cox-trained 2-year-old colt Mr. Monomoy, a brother to champion Monomoy Girl, finished a decent second making his first start around two turns and against winners in the 13th race Saturday. Mr. Monomoy had the lead at the sixteenth pole but couldn’t hold off Lynn’s Map, losing by a head as the 6-5 favorite. Still, Cox said he’s inclined to press forward to the Jan. 18 Lecomte Stakes with Mr. Monomoy.
“The race is a little longer, so let’s answer the question about how far he wants to go as soon as we can,” Cox said.
Cox has another stakes-level 2-year-old male in Louisiana, Answer In, who took a narrow loss last out in the Springboard Mile at Remington Park and currently is stabled at Louisiana Downs. Answer In is being considered for a possible start in the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes on Feb. 17 at Oaklawn.
Lynn’s Map earns Lecomte shot
Lynn’s Map beat winners in his first try and simultaneously succeeded in his first two-turn trip when he ran down Mr. Monomoy to win a first-level allowance race for 2-year-olds on the Saturday card here. He earned an 82 Beyer. That’s two wins in a row for Lynn’s Map, who probably earned a start in the Lecomte Stakes on Jan. 18.
“He really dug in to try and catch” Mr. Monomoy, said Casse’s Fair Grounds assistant, David Carroll. “I was impressed with him.”
Casse has a second horse for the Lecomte, Enforceable, who was a close fourth last out in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill, where he had a difficult trip. Enforceable, a son of Tapit, worked an easy half-mile Friday at Fair Grounds.
Shotski possible for Lecomte
Trainer Jerry O’Dwyer has horses stabled this winter at Fair Grounds but isn’t certain yet whether Remsen Stakes winner Shotski will join the group.
O’Dwyer said via text this past Friday that Shotski is “50-50” between the Lecomte and the Withers at Aqueduct.
Shotski, by Blame, finished fourth in the Street Sense, a one-turn mile at Churchill, before leading all the way in the 1 1/8-mile Remsen on Dec. 7. He had his first work since that start when he went a halfmile in 50 seconds Saturday at Laurel Park.
Beautiful Trauma stakes-bound
Beautiful Trauma was flattered because she was inside speed on a sloppy, sealed Saturday racing surface clearly biased toward frontrunners and/or rail runners. Her trainer, Tom Amoss, acknowledges that, but still believes Beautiful Trauma ran big. She won a first-level, two-turn allowance race for 2-year-old fillies by 16 lengths while getting a mile and 70 yards in 1:44.02, 1.07 seconds faster than a race for males at the same distance and class level later on the card. She got a 92 Beyer.
“I don’t think that race was based that much on speed and the rail,” Amoss said Sunday morning. “I thought her performance was really good regardless. Her time held up well compared to others on the card. She looks fine this morning.”
Beautiful Trauma, by Tapiture out of the Forest Wildcat mare Wild Debutante, raced around two turns for the first time Saturday. There’s no doubt she’s headed to stakes competition, but Amoss said no set plans had yet been formed. A logical spot would be the Silverbulletday Stakes on Jan. 18 at Fair Grounds.
Asmussen sorting 2-year-olds
Nothing new here – the calendar is flipping to Jan. 1 and trainer Steve Asmussen will have a bunch of freshly turned 3-year-olds to deploy to various stakes races.
Gold Street became Asmussen’s 999th career stakes winner when he won the sixfurlong Sugar Bowl Stakes here Saturday by 3 1/2 lengths. Gold Street, who now has back-toback wet-track victories, hasn’t raced beyond a sprint distance yet but will be considered for the Smarty Jones Stakes on Jan. 24 at Oaklawn.
Also stabled at Fair Grounds is Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes-winner Silver Prospector, who isn’t far from having his first work since winning that Grade 2 race Nov. 25 at Churchill Downs. Asmussen won the Springboard Mile on Dec. 15 at Remington with Shoplifted, who could be bound for an Oaklawn Park stakes race. Shoplifted isn’t in New Orleans, but Halo Again is. Halo Again has two wins to start his career and captured the nine-furlong Coronation Futurity over Woodbine’s Tapeta surface last out. He worked a slow half-mile here Dec. 15.
◗ Sir Winston, who won the Belmont Stakes in his most recent start, and Grade 1 winner Hog Creek Hustle are among the entrants in the Dec. 28 Woodchopper Stakes, a turf mile restricted to 3-yearolds.