French invader Blue Panis, winner of the Prix de
Tourgeville at Deauville in August, arrived in
the Leonard Powell stable at Hollywood
Park Sunday after clearing
quarantine for the $150,000 Oak Tree Derby Saturday.. The Grade II test is at 1
1/8 miles on turf.
Joe Talamo will ride the colt for trainer Fabrice
Chappet, who is expected to arrive Tuesday. The colt will be transferred to
Powell after the race.
French-bred Blue Panis, by the Miswaki stallion Panis
out of the Bering mare Rhapsody in Blue, has won three of 14 starts and earned
$174,666.
Other probable starters include Fantastic Pick,
Haimish Hy (Alonso Quinonez), Jairzihno, Kid Edward (David Flores), Lions Story
(Martin Garcia), Make Music for Me, Royal F J and Sebastian Flyte (Corey
Nakatani).
Make Music for Me, fourth in the Kentucky Derby, will
make his first start since a 10th-place finish in the Belmont Stakes
on June 5.
“He lost a shoe in the race and popped a splint,”
explained trainer Alexis Barba of the layoff. “I think we’re ready. He worked a
good seven furlongs Thursday (in 1:25.20) and galloped out a mile in 1:38 and
change.”
Make Music for Me, placed twice in Grade I and once
in Grade II competition behind champion Lookin at Lucky last year, broke his
maiden in his only grass start--in the Pasadena Stakes at Santa Anita in March.
“Let’s hope he’s two-for-two on turf,” said Barba.
Trainer Jim Cassidy, who won the Oak Tree Derby last
year with The Usual Q.T., hopes to win the race again with Kid Edward. Jockey
Flores won with Muny in 2008.
English-breds Fantastic Pick and Sebastian Flyte each
worked five furlongs on grass: the former in 1:01.20 for trainer Jamie Lloyd,
the latter in 1:02 for conditioner Ben Cecil.
“He looks like a different horse now,” said Cecil of
Sebastian Flyte, who won his United States
debut in an optional claimer on the Del
Mar turf September 4. “It took a long time to get him acclimatized. He was only
70 or 80 per cent at Del
Mar. He’s filled out since then.”
Jack Carava, trainer of Royal F J, thought the
consistent gelding deserved a shot in the race. “He’s always on the board,”
said Carava of Royal F J, in the money in 11 of 12 starts and third in the Del
Mar Derby in his last outing.
“It’s nice not to see any of the Candy horses
nominated,” said Carava of the daunting duo of Sidney’s Candy and Twirling
Candy, who combined to sweep the three graded stakes for 3-year-olds on the Del Mar turf.
Trainer John Sadler elected to run Twirling Candy
against older horses in the Goodwood Stakes October 2 and entered Sidney’s Candy in the Oak
Tree Mile October 9 before he was scratched pending a sale to an undisclosed
owner.