Rachel Curtis’ Forestry Steel and Kramer Stables & William Rosenfeld’s Thank U Philippe headline a field of 11 entered for the $100,000 OBS Championship Stakes for 3-year-olds Feb. 15. The race is the fourth and last on the card of the annual OBS Day of Champions at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's racetrack.
The races, which will be run over OBS’ all-weather Safetrack surface, offer purses totaling $300,000 and will be streamed live via the OBS website at obssales.com. Post time for the first race is 1:30 p.m. EST.
Unbeaten Forestry Steel is two-for-two but idle since winning the Sunny’s Halo Stakes at Louisiana Downs last August. The Florida-bred colt by Forestry, trained by Kenneth Marshall, will be ridden by Daniel Centeno.
Thank U Philippe, the field’s leading earner with a bankroll of $162,970, comes into the race off a fourth place finish behind the highly regarded Winslow Homer in Gulfstream’s Holy Bull Stakes (gr. III) in January. At 2, the Florida-bred colt by Proud Accolade was second in Aqueduct’s Nashua Stakes (gr. II) and the In Reality Division of the Florida Stallion Stakes at Calder. Trained by Marty Wolfson, he’ll be ridden by Julien Leparoux
Misty Meadows Farms’ Miss Afleet Alex, second in Louisiana Downs’ Donnie Wilhite Memorial and fourth in Aqueduct’s Demoiselle Stakes (gr. II) at 2, heads a field of nine in the $100,000 OBS Championship Stakes for 3-year-old fillies. Daniel Centeno has the mount on the daughter of Afleet Alex , trained by Kenneth W. Marshall.
Her main rival could be Pinnacle Racing Stable and William A. Kaplan’s Musical Romance, who comes into the race off a victory in an allowance race on the Gulfstream Park turf course on Jan. 23. Trained by co-owner Kaplan, the Florida-bred filly by Concorde's Tune will be ridden by Manoel Cruz.
Trainer Anthony Dutrow sends Susan Moore & M and M Thoroughbred Partners’ Volare Cantare into the race off a runaway 12-length maiden victory at Aqueduct on Jan. 8. The Roman Ruler filly will be ridden by Elvis Trujillo.
Trainer Wesley Ward sends out Steven Michael Bell’s well traveled Aegean to head the day’s first race, the $50,000 OBS Sprint for 3-year-old fillies through an OBS sales ring at six furlongs. The graded stakes winning Florida-bred daughter of Northern Afleet was unplaced in the Albany Stakes (gr. III) at Royal Ascot last June after beating stablemate and fellow OBS graduate Jealous Again in Churchill’s Kentucky Juvenile (gr. III) in April. Jealous Again fared better at Ascot, saddled by Ward to win the Queen Mary Stakes (Eng-II). Elvis Trujillo has the riding assignment aboard Aegean.
Farnsworth Stables and Kramer Stables’ Mr. Green heads a field of nine in the six furlong $50,000 OBS Sprint Stakes for colts and geldings through and OBS sales ring. By far the field’s leading money winner with earnings of $136,250, the Florida-bred Proud Accolade colt placed in five stakes races at Calder last summer including all three Divisions of the Florida Stallion Stakes. Trained by Wolfson, he’ll be ridden by Jermaine Bridgmohan.