Baltas Armed With Venetian Harbor, Lady Prancealot

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Baltas Armed With Venetian Harbor, Lady Prancealot
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Photo: Benoit Photo
Lady Prancealot and Joe Bravo after winning the American Oaks at Santa Anita Park

From Arkansas to California, trainer Richard Baltas is busy with stakes horses this week. 

Motion Emotion ran fourth in the Feb. 17 Bayakoa Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn Park. Taishan followed later that afternoon with a fifth there in the Southwest Stakes (G3), and Super Patriot and Lady Prancealot start for the trainer in the Feb. 22 Buena Vista Stakes (G2T) at Santa Anita Park.

As if that's not enough, Baltas gave his star 3-year-old filly Venetian Harbor a half-mile workout under Flavien Prat in a bullet :46 1/5 Feb. 21 at Santa Anita, an effortless first breeze since a 9 1/4-length score in the Feb. 8 Las Virgenes Stakes (G2). The Santa Anita Oaks (G2) and the Central Bank Ashland Stakes (G1) at Keeneland, both April 4, are races under consideration for her next start.

This weekend, Baltas can concentrate on the one-mile Buena Vista with Super Patriot and Lady Prancealot. The latter is expected to be one of the favorites, cutting back in distance after winning the American Oaks (G1T) for 3-year-old fillies in late December. Joe Bravo, who rode her to victory in the 1 1/4-mile American Oaks and in the 1 1/16-mile Pin Oak Valley View Stakes (G3T) at Keeneland, returns in the irons.

"He's 2-for-2 on her, and we had planned to run in this race all the while," said Baltas, a new board member of the California Thoroughbred Trainers organization. "It's a very competitive and tough race, but she's won at a mile before, and we're not going to change her style for this race."

Craig and Josie Arntz, Donald Durando, Jules and Michael Iavarone, and Jerry McClanahan own the 4-year-old daughter of Sir Prancealot .

Baltas, whose Oaklawn division is overseen by assistant Aimee Dollase, expects to have about 12 horses there over the course of the meet. His larger stables are in California at San Luis Rey Training Center and Santa Anita.

With a threat of rain overnight and into Saturday for Southern California, Venetian Harbor was one of more than 150 horses who breezed Friday at Santa Anita. Stakes competitors recording five-furlong workouts included American Theorem (1:01 2/5), Eight Rings (1:00 1/5), Higher Power (1:02 4/5), and United (1:01 1/5).

American Pharoah Stakes (G1) winner Eight Rings, unraced since a sixth in the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), was given a winter break by trainer Bob Baffert. Initially behind schedule, he was considered a longshot to be adequately prepared for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), but Baffert now feels the Empire Maker colt has gotten back on the path to stakes readiness, co-owner Jack Wolf said this week.

Wolf's Starlight Racing partnership owns Eight Rings with SF Racing, Madaket Stables, Frederick Hertrich III, John Fielding, Golconda Stables, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith.

Magnier, Tabor, and Smith are principals in Coolmore Stud and acquired an interest in the colt after his American Pharoah victory.

Eight Rings worked in company with stakes-winning older horse and stablemate Ax Man.