Jolly Samurai is scheduled to make his next start in the $300,000 Springboard Mile at Remington Park after winning the first two local preps for the Dec. 13 race that offers points for the Kentucky Derby.
Jolly Samurai has won all three of his starts, all at Remington. He won a maiden special weight over 5 1/2 furlongs, the $75,000 Kip Deville over six furlongs, and the $75,000 Clever Trevor over seven furlongs in his most recent start Friday night. Jolly Samurai closed for a half-length win in the Clever Trevor.
“He closed into modest fractions, and that was a strong [testament] to him,” trainer Danny Pish said Saturday. “He also answered the distance [question] very well. He came back good - definitely, at first glance, we like what we see. I’d say that the Springboard is highly likely our next start.”
Jolly Samurai will move to two turns for the first time in the Springboard Mile.
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“A one-turn mile I would be really confident,” Pish said. “A two-turn mile, I guess it remains to be seen. I think it’s the most under-analyzed, or considered, configuration. There’s so many horses that can get a one-turn mile, but don’t do that good in a two-turn mile.
"The configuration would be my concern, but he’s level-headed and he’s just such a professional, I’m definitely willing to try it. For success on that one day, I wish it was one turn. But to possibly open up further opportunities, well then, it makes perfect sense to try him two turns. If he can either have a similar style, or develop a different style for two turns, either way, if he can prove to be productive at two turns, well then that opens up a lot of other doors.”
Jolly Samurai is a son of First Samurai who races for Jake Brown.
Calhoun runner to Springboard
Dominant Spirit, a notable debut winner who in his second career start finished a close second in the Clever Trevor at Remington Park, is being pointed to the track’s Springboard Mile, trainer Bret Calhoun said Saturday.
Dominant Spirit won a five-furlong maiden special weight by 4 3/4 lengths on Sept. 12 in an effort that made him the favorite for the Clever Trevor. He was always prominent in Friday night's race, and was caught late by winner Jolly Samurai.
“We were happy with the race last night,” Calhoun said Saturday. “Obviously, he’s a little bit behind on experience and conditioning, so I think that he ran a really good race. I think we’ll probably point to the next spot, the Springboard Mile. That’s kind of what I’m guessing.”
Calhoun feels the added distance will suit Dominant Spirit, an April foal by Mohaymen.
“I think he definitely can go the two turns,” he said. “From the time we bought him, he’s always been a real immature horse. Physically, he’s got a lot of developing to do, and he’s continuing to go that direction. I really do think he’ll be a good two-turn horse. And maybe he’s not quite there yet. I’m glad that we’ve got a month and a half or so to that race, actually.
“I think I’ve just been a little behind and that actually is a good thing because that gives me some hope and some upside. I just think he’s been behind every start and he showed up well, even knowing he’s not 100 percent ready yet.”
Dominant Spirit is owned by Martin Racing Stable, Bob Gorsky, Circustown Racing Stables, and D and B Racing.
Englehart plans Oaklawn string
The New York-based trainer Jeremiah Englehart plans to have a small stable of horses at Oaklawn Park for the meet that opens Dec. 6.
He last kept a string at the Arkansas track in 2020 and said he may have as many as 10 horses in place for the upcoming season. The group could eventually include Mo Plex, the winner of the Grade 3 Sanford at Saratoga who went on to run third in the Grade 1 Champagne.
“I’ve always liked Oaklawn ever since the first time I came out there and wanted to get back again,” Englehart said last week from New York. “We’ll try to start something moving forward where we’re able to give clients an opportunity to run out there.
“The community kind of reminds me a little of Saratoga.”
Englehart, who grew up in New York, has maintained a high percentage stable since winning the first race of his career in 2003 at Belmont Park. He had won 1,844 races through Saturday from 8,263 starts, while the horses he’s trained have earned a cumulative $47 million.
Houston Festival set
The Grade 3, $300,000 Houston Ladies Classic and the Grade 3, $200,000 John B. Connally Turf Cup are both scheduled for Jan. 25 as the main events on the annual Houston Racing Festival stakes card, according to a press release from Sam Houston Race Park.
The track’s full stakes schedule is to be announced at a later date.
The Houston Ladies Classic is a long-range goal for $1.9 million earner Free Like a Girl, according to her co-owner and trainer, Chasey Deville-Pomier.
Sam Houston is scheduled to open Jan. 3 and race through April 6, pending approval from the Texas Racing Commission.
*** The Texas Thoroughbred Association announced its 2-year-olds in-training sale will be April 2 at Lone Star Park. The breeze show is March 31.
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