Coastline Works for Blue Grass Start

John Oxley's Coastline put in his final major work April 4 for the upcoming Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (gr.I), drilling five furlongs in company at Keeneland in 1:00 2/5.

With jockey Stewart Elliott aboard, the gray/roan Speightstown   colt posted fractions of :12 2/5, :23 4/5, and :35 1/5 on the Polytrack while racing on even terms outside Noble Bird, a 3-year-old maiden.

"It was a nice, easy work without much gallop out, which is what we normally do," trainer Mark Casse said. "I thought it was good; just what the doctor ordered."

The drill puts Coastline on target for the April 12 Blue Grass, a 1 1/8-mile event for 3-year-olds on the trail to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).

Coastline broke his maiden at Keeneland last fall in his second start and won the Street Sense Stakes at Churchill Downs. He finished 2013 with an eighth-place finish in the Delta Downs Jackpot (gr. III) after stumbling at the start.

So far in 2014, Coastline is winless in three tries, running third in the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park in January and fourth in the Southwest Stakes (gr. III) at the Arkansas track Feb. 17. In his most recent appearance, Coastline finished third in the Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati Spiral (gr. III) at Turfway Park March 22 on Polytrack, beaten just a head.

"Maybe he just did not like the track at Oaklawn, at least I hope so," Casse said. "That is a different track and that is why I took him out of there. But he loves Churchill Downs."

Elliott, who rode Coastline for the first time in the Spiral, has the mount for the Blue Grass. Casse, as agent, purchased Coastline for $190,000 at the 2012 Keeneland September yearling sale. The colt was bred in Kentucky by DATTT Farm out of the graded stakes-winning mare Culinary, by El Amante.

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