(Roadster winning at Del Mar in his career debut last July / Photo Courtesy of Del Mar)

Every day, we scour the work tabs at racetracks all over the country.  We are looking for workouts that may be of interest and helpful to you — as both race fans and handicappers.  Some of the horses we will be tracking, you will know.  Some of them, you may not know — as of yet.  We will keep a keen eye and stopwatch to see who may be working well:

  1. Weekly Call, a 3YO son of Will Take Charge and trained by Doug O’Neill, is now based at Keeneland in Lexington. This guy — who ran fifth behind Anothertwistafate and Kingly in the El Camino Real Derby, and was fifth behind Bob and Jackie in the Eddie Logan Stakes — may be gearing up for a Stakes effort in the Commonwealth. He went a half mile at Keeneland this morning over the all-weather track, clocking out at :49 flat. That was the bullet move out of 2 to work over that surface. Will be interesting to see where this guy shows up next.
  2. Dream Tree, a 4YO Uncle Mo filly trained by Bob Baffert, worked at Santa Anita this morning. She turned in a nice 5 furlong move in :59.20. That was the bullet move out of 30 to go the distance. The filly is coming off her first career loss in the G1 La Brea Stakes here on Dec. 26. Has been idle since, but today’s work was her 8th published move since Jan. 27. Looks ready. Aim.
  3. Flor de La Mar, a 3YO filly by Tiznow and trained by Baffert, worked this morning, as well. She went 5 furlongs in 1:00.60, which was the 2nd best time out of the 30. This gal won on career debut on Jan. 20 at Santa Anita, but was a disappointing fifth in the subsequent race on March 3. Look for more next time.
  4. McKinzie, who was second to the ill-fated Battle of Midway in their last battle, worked 6 furlongs at Santa Anita today. Went the distance in 1:12.80 — which was the bullet move out of 3 to go that far. The 4YO son of Street Sense has 5 wins and 2 seconds in 8 career starts, and should be looking for more next time out.
  5. Roadster, a 3YO son of Quality Road and now ranked #2 on “The Pressbox’s KY Derby Rankings,” worked this morning at Santa Anita, as well. He went 6 furlongs in a more modest 1:14 flat — which was the second best time out of the 3 to go the distance. It was his third published work since his impressive win here on March 1, with Mike Smith in the saddle. Obviously, this guy has to tally some points soon for the upcoming KY Derby. Look for him to either battle teammate Game Winner in the Santa Anita Derby; teammate Improbable in the Arkansas Derby; or…Could he be a candidate for either the Wood Memorial or the Blue Grass? Time is of the essence.
  6. Game Winner, the 2YO Champ who started the 2019 season with a whisker loss to Omega Moon in a division of the G2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park, worked this morning at Santa Anita for trainer Bob Baffert. He went a half mile in :48.80 — which was the 7th best time out of 22. A nice work, considering that he just ran about 10 days ago. Shows he is in good form. Next out should sharpen the blade.