Last year's champion 3-year-old colt Arcangelo (Arrogate) captured the GIII Peter Pan S. before adding top-level victories in the GI Belmont S. and the GI Travers S.
A scratched-down field of six is expected to line up for Saturday's renewal of the Peter Pan at Aqueduct, which serves as the local prep for the final leg of the Triple Crown, which will be held at Saratoga and run at 1 1/4 miles June 8.
'TDN Rising Star' Deterministic (Liam's Map), a fantastic winner of the one-turn mile GIII Gotham S. Mar. 2 while making his first start since an eye-catching debut victory at Saratoga last summer, will look to make amends for a head-scratching eighth as the 4-5 favorite in the GII Wood Memorial S. Apr. 6.
“We were a little bit puzzled,” said Christophe Clement, who saddled Tonalist (Tapit) to wins in the 2014 Peter Pan and Belmont. “We did all sorts of tests. He came back and he's trained well. Saturday's work was a spectacular work. He's had three works since the Wood.”
The Wine Steward (Vino Rosso), a game second in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland last fall, kicked off his sophomore season with a second-place finish in the GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. Apr. 13.
Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher will be represented by Antiquarian (Preservationist), sixth in the GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby Mar. 23; and the maiden of three starts Protective (Medaglia d'Oro), a longshot third after early trouble in the Wood Memorial.
MyRacehorse's Straight No Chaser (Speightster), a smashing winner of last spring's GIII Maryland Sprint S., will make his highly anticipated return on the undercard in the GIII Runhappy S.
Trained by Juan Landeros, assistant to conditioner Dan Blacker who is currently serving a suspension, he's been working bullets at Santa Anita for his return, including a five-furlong move in :59 1/5 (1/40) Apr. 27.
“We're just trying to map out the best plan for him with a goal to make a run at the Breeders' Cup Sprint this year,” said Joe Moran, Racing Manager of MyRacehorse. “That was our goal last year and his campaign got cut short. He seems fit and ready. We're expecting a pretty good effort off the layoff.”
For more on Straight No Chaser's time away from the races, click here for a recent interview with Blacker.
Saturday's 11-race program at the Big A also includes the GII Man O' War S., featuring MGISW Nations Pride (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}); and the GIII Beaugay S.
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