Prospect Park Returns for Affirmed Stakes

Pam and Martin Wygod's Prospect Park will make his return to racing June 7 in the $100,000 Affirmed Stakes (gr. III) at Santa Anita Park, after an April infection forced the 3-year-old Tapit   colt to sit out the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).



The illness caused an elevated white blood cell count, a high temperature, and mucous, but the Cliff Sise trainee returned to action at his San Luis Rey Training Center base in late April and Sise said he is ready to resume his 2015 campaign.

BALAN: Prospect Park Off Kentucky Derby Trail



"He's doing fantastic," Sise said of the second-place San Felipe Stakes (gr. II) finisher, who also ran fourth in the Santa Anita Derby (gr. I). "His last work was at Santa Anita, but he was doing really well at San Luis Rey. That virus was really cooking and he just wasn't quite right (in the Santa Anita Derby)."



Prospect Park, who breezed an easy five furlongs in 1:01 3/5 May 31 at Santa Anita, will break from the outside in the field of five with jockey Kent Desormeaux returning for his fifth straight mount on the colt.



Also in the Affirmed is the Sareen Family Trust's Om, who is still the only other horse to win a race American Pharoah has entered. The son of Munnings   won his second start by 7 1/4 lengths at odds of 22-1 over Del Mar's synthetic surface in August, with American Pharoah 9 1/4 lengths behind in fifth. Om didn't race again, however, until the April 12 San Pedro Stakes, where he finished fifth, then rebounded over the Santa Anita grass, winning a mile allowance/optional claiming event by 2 1/4 lengths May 10.



Om, trained by Dan Hendricks, will make his return to dirt from post 4 with regular rider Fernando Perez aboard.



Rounding out the field is Bob Baffert-trained Gimme Da Lute, the winner of the April 4 Echo Eddie Stakes who was third in the Pat Day Mile (gr. III) at Churchill Downs and the Chick Lang Stakes last time out at Pimlico Race Course, and Jerry Hollendorfer pupils Cyrus Alexander and Cross the Line.