Multiple Stakes Winner Marengo Road to Stay on Turf
Multiple Stakes Winner Marengo Road to Stay on Turf
Undefeated Bobcat Returns to Work Tab at Laurel Park
BALTIMORE – A stakes winner on dirt and turf this year, Harry and Tom Meyerhoff LLC’s Marengo Road will remain on the grass for at least his still-to-be-determined next start.
Based at the Fair Hill Training Center, the 3-year-old Quality Road colt was a 1 ¼-length winner of the $100,000 James W. Murphy Stakes at odds of 15-1 on the undercard of the 141st Preakness Stakes (G1) May 21 at historic Pimlico Race Course.
The one-mile Murphy marked Marengo Road’s third career try on grass and first since his maiden victory last September at Laurel Park. He had made six consecutive dirt starts including a victory in the one-mile Miracle Wood Stakes Feb. 15 at Laurel Park.
Trainer Mike Trombetta said Marengo Road probably won’t have another race until after the Preakness Meet at Pimlico, which wraps up its 28-day run June 26.
“I probably don’t do anything until Fourth of July weekend or somewhere in there. There’s limited choices, but I do want to run him back on the grass,” he said. “It’s got to be a stake. It’d be wonderful if there was something for him at Laurel, but if not I think around that time frame there’s some options.”
Trombetta added that Country Life Farm’s multiple stakes-placed Maryland-bred Flash McCaul is doing well after a foot issue cost him a potential start in the $100,000 Latin American Racing Channel Sir Barton for 3-year-olds on Preakness Day.
“Flash McCaul is on the comeback trail. He got a quarter crack and I had to stop on him and fix his foot,” he said. “He’s on his way back. There’s not a lot of choices on where I can run him so I have to look around, but he’s on his way back and doing good.”
Undefeated Bobcat Returns to Work Tab at Laurel Park
Rich Dalone Stable’s undefeated 3-year-old gelding Bobcat kicked off the month of June with his first breeze in nearly four weeks at Laurel Park.
The Dale Capuano trainee went four furlongs in 48 seconds on Wednesday, the fastest of 16 horses at the distance. Bobcat had not had a timed work since going six furlongs in 1:14.40 on May 8, also at Laurel.
Capuano had been considering a trio of stakes for Bobcat on the Preakness Day program – the LARC Sir Barton and Chick Lang on dirt and James Murphy on turf – but decided to pass on all three after he missed training due to inclement weather.
“When you miss those races it’s not like there’s races around the corner you can go in all the time. I’m not sure what we’ll do with him,” Capuano said. “We have a lot of options with him. We’ll just keep them all open.”
Unraced at 2, Bobcat broke his maiden impressively March 19 and came back with a gutsy optional claiming allowance victory April 22, both at Laurel. He is a son of 2002 champion sprinter Orientate.
