Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, who won his seventh GI Preakness Stakes in 2024 with recently retired new Gainesway stallion Seize the Grey (Arrogate), has two of his other highly regarded 2024 stakes performers training at Oaklawn Park for a return to the races.
BC Stables, LLC and Henry Schmueckle's Just Steel (Justify), winner of the 2023 Ed Brown Stakes and runner-up in Oaklawn's 2024 GI Arkansans Derby, GIII Southwest Stakes, and Smarty Jones Stakes, emerged from a fifth-place finish in the Preakness with a right-front leg fracture and subsequently required surgery. Lukas told Oaklawn publicity this week that the sophomore returned to training about 60 days ago, but has yet to have a timed work.
“He actually looks terrific,” Lukas said. “The time off and everything filled him out. He grew. He's 17 hands. Now, he's a man among the rest of these. I'm pretty optimistic that he's going to have a big year.”
Lukas indicated there isn't a specific timetable or target for Just Steel.
“We'll just let him dictate it as we go along. He hasn't had a work yet, so we'll go from there.”
Another prominent Lukas runner of 2024 was Lemon Muffin (Collected), who broke her maiden last February at 28-1 in Oaklawn's GIII Honeybee Stakes. The Aaron Sones, Julie Gilbert, and Harrison M. Sones runner was last seen finishing second in a Churchill allowance Nov. 13. She'd finished off the board in a number of races since her Honeybee win.
“She's doing good,” Lukas said. “Her last race was more like her. We'll probably stay in our [allowance] conditions with her one more race, at least, before we move up.”
The Oaklawn meet begins Friday, Dec. 6.
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