The 3-year-old colt Mystik Dan, winner of the Kentucky Derby in May, is about to set off on a long journey from New Orleans to Southern California. The 3-year-old filly Two Sharp, winner of the Chilukki Stakes in November, is not.
Two Sharp shipped to Fair Grounds from Churchill Downs shortly after winning the Nov. 23 Chilukki and had the Grade 1 La Brea on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita as a target, but won’t make that race, according to trainer Phil Bauer. While Mystik Dan travels by van to Santa Anita for the Malibu Stakes, Two Sharp had been scheduled to fly this week to Los Angeles, but after missing a Fair Grounds work earlier this month with what Bauer termed “a little hiccup,” Two Sharp won’t race again this year.
“When we didn’t make the trip to California, we decided to give her a little break as well, just hit the reset button and point to Kentucky in the spring,” said Bauer, who trains Two Sharp for his lone client, Richard Rigney’s Rigney Racing. “We’ll keep her down [at Fair Grounds] so we can have uninterrupted training.”
Two Sharp, by Twirling Candy, has gone 3-2-0 from five starts, finishing a well-beaten second in her career debut before moving considerably forward in four subsequent outings. Her other loss came by a neck in the Prioress at Saratoga, Two Sharp’s stakes debut, and after bossing Keeneland allowance rivals in October, Two Sharp turned in an especially impressive performance in the Chilukki. Racing for the first time in blinkers in that one-turn mile, Two Sharp dominated from the start to finish, winning by almost six lengths.
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The 2-year-old Vekoma colt Jonathan’s Way has joined Two Sharp in Bauer’s barn at Fair Grounds, connections eyeing a 3-year-old debut in the $500,000 Risen Star on Feb. 15. Jonathan’s Way has gone 2 for 2 in one-turn races, including a sharp score in the Sept. 14 Iroquois at Churchill, but is 0 for 2 around two turns. A non-contending seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Jonathan’s Way bounced back to finish second last month in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, rallying into a slow pace that benefited victorious First Resort.
Touchuponastar to Premier Championship
Touchuponastar exited his third win in the Louisiana Champions Day Classic in good condition, owner Jake Delhomme said, and will be aimed at the Premier Championship for Louisiana-breds in early February at Delta Downs.
Delhomme said Touchuponastar could then be considered for a start in the Grade 2 New Orleans Classic, a race in which he finished second earlier this year. Touchuponastar won this past Saturday’s contest by more than five lengths under minimal urging and earned a 98 Beyer Speed Figure, in line with his top numbers the last two seasons.
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