Straight No Chaser, the champion sprinter of 2024, is nearing his first workout since an eighth-place finish in the Group 1 Golden Shaheen Sprint in Dubai in April, trainer Dan Blacker said on Thursday.
Blacker said it unclear whether Straight No Chaser will be ready for the next sprint stakes in Southern California, the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes at six furlongs at Del Mar on July 26.
“It’s coming up pretty soon, but we’ll see how he works,” Blacker said. “He’s going to be on the work tab pretty soon. We’ll see how he progresses over the next few weeks and that will give us an indication of his next start.”
Owned by the MyRacehorse partnership, Straight No Chaser has started twice this year. A 6-year-old, Straight No Chaser won the Group 2, $2 million Riyadh Dirt Sprint in Saudi Arabia in February. In the $2 million Golden Shaheen on April 5, Straight No Chaser failed to take his customary position near the front and was beaten nine lengths.
“We gave him ample time after coming back from Dubai,” Blacker said. “He’s thrived in the last month, good energy, and I’d like to see what I see.”
If Straight No Chaser does not start in the $400,000 Bing Crosby Stakes, another option will be the Grade 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship at six furlongs at Santa Anita on Sept. 28. The winners of the Bing Crosby and Santa Anita Sprint Championship receive fees-paid berths to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 1.
Last year, Straight No Chaser won the Santa Anita Sprint Championship in his final start before a title-clinching win in the BC Sprint at Del Mar.
Blacker plans to take a 28-horse stable, including Lunar Impact and Virat, to the Del Mar summer meeting, which begins on July 18.
Lunar Impact is a candidate for the $100,000 Osunitas Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile on turf on July 20. Lunar Impact won the Mizdirection Stakes for fillies and mares at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita by five lengths on May 17 in her first start of the year.
Virat won an allowance race at six furlongs on turf by two lengths at Santa Anita on May 25 and is considered a candidate for the Grade 3 Green Flash Handicap at five furlongs on turf at Del Mar on Aug. 30. The winner of the $150,000 Green Flash receives a fees-paid berth to the BC Turf Sprint on Nov. 1.
Blacker won his first stakes this year with El Potente in the Grade 3 Thunder Road Stakes at a mile on turf at Santa Anita on Feb. 1. El Potente was scratched from the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita in March.
A 6-year-old, El Potente recently returned to Blacker’s stable after being turned out.
“We’re looking forward to getting him ready for a race in the fall,” Blacker said.
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