Shotski Returns to Training; Arkansas Derby Unlikely

Trainer Jeremiah O'Dwyer enjoyed great success this winter at Aqueduct Racetrack with three wins and two seconds in 10 starts, including scores in the Dec. 7 Remsen Stakes (G2) with Shotski and the Jan. 26 Ruthless Stakes with Cruise and Danze. But that was prior to the coronavirus pandemic and the cancellation of racing in New York.

Shotski is 22nd on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 19 points and is nominated to the May 2 Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn Park, but after traveling to Dubai in March for a start in the canceled UAE Derby (G2), Shotski has yet to return to the work tab following his return from overseas, and O'Dwyer said the Blame  colt owned by Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable, Pantofel Stable, and Howling Pigeon Farms is not likely to travel to Oaklawn.

"I've given him a bit of downtime after coming back from Dubai," O'Dwyer said. "He's done a fair bit of traveling. He's had some turnout, and he's been galloping. We might breeze him here later this week and see how he is."

O'Dwyer also nominated maiden winners My Friends Beer and Amen Corner to the Arkansas Derby.

Designated Hitters Racing's My Friends Beer, by Stay Thirsty , is out of Slew's Quality, making him a half brother to 2018 Eclipse Award-winning female sprinter Shamrock Rose. 

Purchased for $25,000 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, My Friends Beer graduated in a maiden claiming sprint at Laurel Park. Following a closing second in the March 14 Private Terms Stakes at Laurel, My Friends Beer shipped to Oaklawn, where he finished third in an allowance optional claiming race going one mile April 11.

"He's very nicely bred. We only paid $25,000 for him and he's a bit on the smaller side, but he's done nothing but mature," O'Dwyer said. "He's never run a bad race. Once he broke his maiden, he's steadily improved with every run, and stretching him out seems to be a good thing for him as well.

"The biggest part of him is his heart. He never lays down. He always comes running. He was third in a very good allowance race last week. He was a little outpaced before they turned in, but he stayed on well to the line and got up for third. He's one that would appreciate the mile and an eighth."

Howling Pigeon Farms' Amen Corner, a bay son of Malibu Moon  purchased for $70,000 at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, graduated at second asking in a Laurel Park maiden sprint in January. Following a pair of off-the-board efforts in the Miracle Wood Stakes at Laurel and the Rushaway Stakes at Turfway Park, Amen Corner shipped to Oaklawn Park, where he closed for fourth in an allowance optional claiming race April 11.

With a number of heavy hitters nominated to the Arkansas Derby, including the undefeated Nadal, O'Dwyer said he could also target an allowance race instead on Arkansas Derby Day.

"The earnings would likely stop Amen Corner from getting into either of the divisions if they split, but at the same time, I'd like to run one of them in the allowance race that day," O'Dwyer said. "(Amen Corner) is not as hardened as My Friends Beer, even though I think there's very little between them ability-wise. My Friends Beer is much more in the game right now, while Amen Corner will progress throughout the year."

Designated Hitters Racing's Ilchester Cheetah, bred in New York by Cheryl Anne Prudhomme and Dr. Michael Thomas Gallivan, is nominated to face the boys in the April 25 Bachelor Stakes, a six-furlong sprint at Oaklawn. With so many unknown variables in stakes schedules, that race is already shaping up to include a tough field with 24 horses nominated, including the Bob Baffert-trained grade 1 winner Eight Rings.

"I'm mulling that over," O'Dwyer said. "I wouldn't normally have considered it. … I'd rather have run her in New York. She was going to be second choice at Aqueduct against the girls before they canceled. There's a number of tough horses in the Bachelor. She could end up fifth or sixth after running a race that might be a winning one somewhere else.

"I'm between a rock and a hard place with her at the moment. When you have a filly that's doing well, you don't want to put them in a spot where they might struggle a little bit and knock their confidence. But at the same time, I've been sitting on her for two months."