California Breezes

In anticipation of wet weather scheduled to hit Southern California early Saturday morning, there were no fewer than 302 works recorded over the Santa Anita main track Friday morning, including a swath of Triple Crown prep hopefuls. 

Eclipse Award-winning juvenile American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) continued to progress nicely towards his sophomore debut, breezing seven furlongs in 1:23.80. It was the fastest of seven works at the distance, for which the average time was 1:26.85. Unraced since his breathtaking victory in the GI FrontRunner S. at Santa Anita Sept. 27, the Zayat Stables’ homebred is penciled in for the GII Rebel S. at Oaklawn Park Mar. 14, a race won in four of the last five years by a representative of the Bob Baffert stable. 

“He’s doing good,” Baffert commented. “I was happy with it.” 

Stablemate Lord Nelson (Pulpit), recent winner of the GII San Vicente S. Feb. 1, covered six furlongs in 1:13 flat as the Peachtree Stable colorbearer prepares for a return to two turns in next Saturday’s GII San Felipe S. 

Marty and Pam Wygod’s Prospect Park (Tapit), an impressive 5 1/4-length allowance winner going a mile Jan. 30, tuned up for next Saturday’s GII San Felipe S. by drilling five furlongs in 1:01.40 in the company of Big Tire (Candy Ride {Arg}). “He looked good,” trainer Cliff Sise Jr. said of Prospect Park. “I got him coming home the last quarter in :23 and two.” 

Arnold Zetcher’s Firing Line (Line of David), who went down to a narrow defeat at the hands of TDN Rising Star Dortmund (Big Brown) in the GIII Robert B. Lewis S. Feb. 7, breezed five-eighths of a mile in:59.60 and could make his next appearance in the GIII Sunland Park Derby Mar. 22 or could be trained up to the GI Santa Anita Derby Apr. 4. “I’m really happy,” trainer Simon Callaghan said. “He galloped out in 1:12 and he looked really fluid. So far, so good.”