By Steve Sherack
Straight No Chaser (h, 5, Speightster–Margarita Friday, by Johannesburg), unraced since posting a powerhouse, front-running victory in the GIII Maryland Sprint S. on last spring's GI Preakness S. undercard, is on the comeback trail for trainer Dan Blacker.
After stopping the clock for six furlongs in a razor sharp 1:08.27 and earning a career-best 107 Beyer Speed Figure in that 7 1/2-length decision at Pimlico, an undisclosed party agreed to purchase a minority interest in the MyRacehorse colorbearer. The deal, however, was called off after a positron emission tomography (PET) scan in a pre-purchase exam in June revealed “some abnormalities in a sesamoid,” per Blacker.
“Even though the horse was sound, it was the early stages of something that would've likely developed into an issue,” Blacker said. “And when you're dealing with sesamoids, it's significant. As a trainer, that's why the PET scan has been such a game changer for us at Santa Anita. It could show the initial stages of a training injury like this.”
He continued, “For me, it was an easy decision giving him time off. We had hoped to give him 90 days initially, but when we rescanned him (after 90 days), there was still activity in that same spot. So, we just gave him more time. The unfortunate thing with sesamoids is that they take time.”
In Straight No Chaser's case, six months' time, to be exact. Given the green light to resume training following a clean PET scan, the bay is now nearing his first workout back at Santa Anita, Blacker reports.
“He's been training as good as ever,” Blacker said. “He looks super out there on the track. Obviously, we've lost a bit of time training wise just because all of the wet weather recently, but he's getting close to being ready to breeze. He certainly looks as good if not better than ever. We'll let the workouts be the real judge of where he's at though.”
Hailing from the second crop of Speightster, Straight No Chaser is one of two graded winners for the late son of Speightstown, who was euthanized following a stall accident at Northern Dawn Farm in Ontario in 2022.
Bred in Kentucky by John Eaton and Steve Laymon, he was produced by the winning Johannesburg mare Margarita Friday. She is also responsible for the stakes winner Hangover Saturday (Pomeroy). This is the extended female family of two-time champion sprinter Housebuster.
Straight No Chaser brought $110,000 from MyRacehorse as a Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-old following a :10 2/5 breeze for consignor Paul Sharp.
He currently sports a career record of 7-4-0-1 and earnings of $245,800. His resume also includes a debut maiden win over the Del Mar lawn, a pair of optional claiming wins at Santa Anita and Oaklawn and a third-place finish as the favorite in last year's GIII Palos Verdes S.
Straight No Chaser's aforementioned win in the Maryland Sprint was further flattered when the distant third-place finisher that day Nakatomi (Firing Line) subsequently placed a close third in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint at Santa Anita.
“It's great as a trainer when you have patient owners and I'm really grateful to have owners like MyRacehorse,” Blacker concluded. “To me, he's always been a horse that is gonna keep improving with age. I'm excited to get him back to the races.”
Maryland Sprint Stakes (G3)
1.200 m – 100.000 USD – for 3yo and upward
PimlicoStraight No Chaser (USA)
(4C Speightster – Margarita Friday , by Johannesburg)
J : @ljlmvel
T: Dan Blacker
O : My Racehorse
B :John Eaton & Steve Laymon pic.twitter.com/H5LRCJ51jm— (@WorldRacing1) May 20, 2023
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