'Aspen' tunes up for La Brea Stakes in Cool Air

By Steve Andersen
12/6/11 11:03 AM
ESPN

Home Sweet Aspen is likely bound for the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes at Santa Anita on Dec. 31, which makes her appearance in Wednesday's $60,000 Cool Air Stakes at Hollywood Park a key tune-up for that major stakes.

Click Here to Read the Full Article >>

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Home Sweet Aspen is likely bound for the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes at Santa Anita on Dec. 31, which makes her appearance in Wednesday's $60,000 Cool Air Stakes at Hollywood Park a key tune-up for that major stakes.

The Cool Air Stakes is run over six furlongs on turf, and will be Home Sweet Aspen's first start on the grass. A 3-year-old filly by Candy Ride, Home Sweet Aspen has won 3 of 6 starts and $157,822, with the wins on dirt or synthetic tracks.

A surface switch is not a concern for trainer John Sadler.

"I think the Candy Rides can run on any surface," he said. "I'm confident. She's doing unbelievable. For me the intellectual conversation was whether to hold her for three weeks or give her a race."

Owned by breeder Jenny Craig, Home Sweet Aspen won her first stakes in the Louis Rowan Stakes over 6 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita on Oct. 9. She led throughout and won by 2 1/4 lengths under jockey Joel Rosario, who has the mount on Wednesday.

Home Sweet Aspen has won her last two starts, the first of which was an optional claimer over six furlongs at Del Mar on Sept. 5. Earlier this year, she was second in the Eight Belles Stakes at Churchill Downs in May, but emerged from that race with an illness, Sadler said. She did not start again until a second-place finish at Del Mar in late July.

"She got sick after the Eight Belles, and may have been sick before that," he said. "I freshened her to run at Del Mar and I ran her early in the meeting. Since then, she's won and won."

Home Sweet Aspen is part of a field of seven in the Cool Air, which has drawn four other stakes winners -- Bella Diamante, Briecat, Givine, and Rare Sunset.

Briecat, the winner of the Grade 2 Las Palmas Handicap at Hollywood Park in 2010, has not started since late March, and will need more distance to be effective, trainer Vladimir Cerin said.

"I think she's probably better longer, but she's training really well," he said.

Givine is easy to support. She won the Great Lady M. Stakes over six furlongs on turf here in May and was second in the Grade 3 Sen. Ken Maddy Stakes at Santa Anita in September.


Comments (0)

Your Name:
E-mail Address:

Please enter your comments in the box below:


(*Note: HTML characters are not permitted.)
For verification, please enter the characters you see in the image:
Image Verification

More Articles By Steve Andersen

Other Horse Racing Articles

Hudson Steele convincing in Dixie
Posted by Brisnet.com on 5/19/12 7:52 PM

Back-Eyed Susan: In Lingerie springs mild upset
Posted by Brisnet.com on 5/18/12 5:16 PM

11 entered for Preakness; draw at 6 p.m. ET
Posted by Bloodhorse on 5/16/12 12:20 PM

I'll Have Another off to New York for Belmont
Posted by Associated Press on 5/20/12 7:09 AM

Preakness Stakes Live On ESPN
Posted by HeadlineNews on 5/15/12 1:12 PM

<< More Horse Racing Articles

<< Return to Horse Racing News




Connect With Us:
Connect with 9thRace on Twitter Connect with 9thRace on Facebook Connect with 9thRace on G+