Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Two favorites in Sir Barton from similar backgrounds
BALTIMORE – The top two on the morning line in Saturday’s $100,000 Sir Barton Stakes for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles are well bred, well connected, and receive blinkers for the first time.
Corporate Power, a $925,000 yearling by Curlin out of Grade 2 winner Road to Victory scored a second-out win at Gulfstream for trainer Shug McGaughey. In his first start out of the maiden ranks, Corporate Power finished second, beaten 1 1/4 lengths, in a first-level Aqueduct allowance contested over a sealed, sloppy track.
“I thought he ran a good race,” McGaughey said. “Hopefully, the track will be fast.”
The Sir Barton is restricted to horses that have never won a stakes race.
“I think it’s a good spot for him. I wanted to run him around two turns. There was an allowance race [in New York] going long on the dirt, but I didn’t know if it would go or not. He’s training very well.”
McGaughey thought that Corporate Power “was getting a little bit lazy in his races and looking around a little bit.” He hopes the blinkers will help the colt focus better.
McGaughey feels that Corporate Power will be laying close to the pace.
Todd Pletcher counters with Tuscan Sky, a $200,000 halfbrother to Grade 2 winner Private Creed. The Vino Rosso colt won his first two starts over wet tracks, then finished seventh at 5-2 in Aqueduct’s Grade 2 Wood Memorial on April 6.
“Disappointed with the Wood performance,” Pletcher said. “We felt like he was very live going in there and he didn’t fire at all. He seemed just a little bit dull coming out of it. We added some blinkers, and it seemed to wake him up. His last couple of breezes have been quite good.”
Pletcher also feels that Tuscan Sky will be prominent early.
Imperial Gun, beaten a head when second in Oaklawn’s Bathhouse Row on April 20, looks like a strong contender for trainer Steve Asmussen. The Gun Runner colt must overcome the far outside draw under Joel Rosario.
Like Kentucky Derby hero Mystik Dan, Gould’s Gold is a son of Goldencents trained by Kenny McPeek and ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr. A maiden winner sprinting two back, Gould’s Gold then ran third in the Bathhouse Row, four lengths behind Imperial Gun.
Real Macho drops in class after failing to crack the top three in both the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth and Grade 1 Florida Derby.
Deposition, Circle P, D Day Sky, Mighty Message, and Daily Grind complete the field.
James W. Murphy Stakes
Crystal Quest faces his toughest test in the $100,000 James W.
Murphy for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles on turf.
Trained by Michael Trombetta, Crystal Quest enters following three consecutive victories, including a threequarter-length tally in the Sophomore Turf for Floridabreds on March 24 at Tampa.
“His first start, things didn’t set up well for him,” Trombetta said. “He walked out of the gate. He’s a big horse and didn’t have a clue to what he was doing. After that first race, we went back to work and really leaned on him a bit to get him ready, and he’s been good ever since. He’s really evolved.”
Stakes-placed on both turf and synthetic, Twirling Point broke slowly March 23 in the Rushaway on Turfway’s Tapeta, yet still rallied for third, a half-length behind Trikari who returned to upset the Grade 2 American Turf on the Kentucky Derby undercard.
“With a little bit of a better trip, we get lucky and win,” trainer Jonathan Thomas said. “To see Trikari come back and win like that, you like to see that form boost.”
Twirling Point scratched from the American Turf.
“He does not like soft ground. And [the day before the American Turf], it was really soft,” Thomas said.
Thomas runs Saturday as a backup plan after Wednesday’s Caesars at Horseshoe Indianapolis was canceled when the card was abandoned due to weather. He is worried about the rainy forecast at Pimlico.
“I’d hate to ship him all the way up there and get bottomless or come off,” he said.
Naptown makes his turf debut for Graham Motion after finishing third in his seasonal debut, the Woodstock traveling six furlongs over Woodbine’s Tapeta.
“I thought he was pretty fit,” Motion said. “I was a little disappointed, but I’m wondering if [the distance] was just a little quick for him, and I’m hoping the extra distance and setup, which we’ve always had in mind for him, will help.”
Grade 2-placed Fulmineo adds blinkers after finishing second against elders in a firstlevel allowance on April 19 at Laurel.
“If he would be a little bit more tactical, that would be great,” trainer Arnaud Delacour said. “In his last couple of races, he really dropped out of it, and it was very difficult for him to overcome.”
Delacour mentioned that although he was forced to leave Fulmineo at Laurel for two weeks after the last race due to a quarantine situation, “he’s been showing us all the right signs.”
Lucky Jeremy tries turf after being purchased for $210,000 at auction last month.
Massif, Speedyness, Buckin’ Dreamer, Echo Lane, Abrumar, and Tocayo also entered. Copper Tax runs main track only.