Though early indications are John Oxley’sAiroforce came out of his 10th-place finish in the Veterans Ford Risen Star Stakes (gr. II) in good health, trainer Mark Casse said Feb. 21 the Colonel John  colt is likely off the Triple Crown trail.

“The (Kentucky) Derby just doesn’t seem like an option,” Casse said. “It’s highly unlikely.”

Casse said his immediate reaction to Airoforce backing up in the stretch at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots Feb. 20 was that he was injured, but when he examined the colt after the race, everything seemed fine.

ANGST: Gun Runner Opens 3-Year-Old Season in Style

“When Julien (Leparoux) eased him up, I was concerned he was hurt,” Casse said. “But we got him back to the barn and he really wasn’t stressed whatsoever. He was breathing fine. I don’t really have a good answer for everybody. It was too bad to be true.

“If you told me we could have him run really good and be hurt or run bad and be fine, I’d rather have it that way. The good thing is, the only thing he hurt yesterday was his feelings—and ours.”

A debut winner on turf at Kentucky Downs, Airoforce followed with a score in the Dixiana Bourbon Stakes (gr. IIIT) and ran second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (gr. IT), but announced his arrival as a Triple Crown hopeful when he took the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (gr. II) in the slop at Churchill Downs in late November. He defeated highly regarded prospects Mor Spirit and Mo Tom in the Churchill race, and was the was the 8-5 favorite in the Risen Star. 

“He has been really good to us,” Casse said. “I can’t complain about what he has done or how he has been. I’ve been doing this for 35 years and it’s just another page in the book. That’s the game.”

The trainer said Airoforce shipped back to his South Florida base Sunday, where he’ll undergo some more tests as a precautionary measure.

fonte : Bloodhorse.com

Grendisar (right): successful in the last two Winter Derby Trials

 PICTURE: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Grendisar out to give Botti first Winter Derby

HAVING collected a host of wins in Lingfield’s Winter Derby Trial, Marco Botti is hoping Grendisar can finally snare him a first victory in the Coral Winter Derby itself on Saturday.

Grendisar landed his second successive Winter Derby Trial earlier this month to add to Botti’s wins with Re Barolo, Gitano Hernando and Planteur but the main prize has so far eluded the trainer’s grasp.

Grendisar defeated the reopposing Festive Fare, Complicit and Watersmeet last time and Botti said on Monday: “He’s in good form and probably just as good as when winning last time. He did a good piece of work at the weekend and we were very pleased with that. This is one of the races we always had in mind for him along with the Easter Classic on Good Friday.”

Adjusted tactics

Regular jockey Adam Kirby positioned Grendisar closer to the pace than normal when winning last time and Botti said: “We discussed the race beforehand with Adam and we didn’t think there would be much pace so, as he has a good turn of foot and you don’t want to be too far back at Lingfield, we decided to ride him a bit closer to the pace. Adam gets on really well with him so we’ll leave it up to him like normal. Ideally he’d have a strong pace at the weekend.”

A total of 14 horses have been confirmed for the Winter Derby including Group 2 York Stakes winner Tullius, Group 3 Darley Stakes scorer Energia Davos and three runners from the John Gosden stable, the most intriguing of which is multiple South American Group 1-winner Furia Cruzada.

Winter Derby betting
Coral: 3-1 Festive Fare, 7-2 Grendisar, 7 Battalion, 8 Furia Cruzada, Tullius, 14 Fire Fighting, Our Channel, 16 Energia Davos, Maverick Wave, 20 Calling Out, Complicit, Watersmeet, 33 Tempus Temporis, 50 Battle Of Marathon

fonte : RacingPost