Arlington Futurity, Lassie winners pointed toward next starts

Following a victory in Saturday’s $75,000 Arlington-Washington Lassie, trainer Ben Colebrook will consider racing Into Trouble in the Grade 1, $400,000 Darley Alcibiades Stakes  Course – a two-turn Grade I event for juvenile fillies contested over 1 1/16-miles on the dirt – Oct. 6 at Keeneland Race

Owned by Donamire Farm, the 2-year-old daughter of Into Mischief maintained an undefeated record when winning the Lassie in her second career start. Prior to her stakes victory over the all-weather surface at Arlington International Race Course, Into Trouble broke her maiden by two lengths over the main track at Ellis Park on August 11.

“Her last breeze was really good [on the Polytrack],” Colebrook said of Into Trouble’s pre-race half-mile move at Keeneland Race Course. “She did handle the surface, but you just never know when they haven’t raced over it before. She’s very classy and just a really, really nice filly.”

Into Trouble sat just off the lead in her maiden victory, but saw a change in tactics in the Lassie where she closed from well off of the pace to score by a margin of 2¾ lengths.

Colebrook is still in search of his first Grade 1 victory as a trainer. He is a seven-time winner of graded stakes including the 2016 Grade 3 Arlington Classic with Surgical Strike as well as last two editions of the Grade 2 Churchill Downs Stakes with Limousine Liberal.

Into Trouble is out of the Benchmark broodmare Smooth Performer, who was a winner over the synthetic surface at the now-defunct Hollywood Park and finished second in the Grade II Hollywood Oaks in 2008. Smooth Performer has produced five others foals of racing age, two of which are winners. Her yearling filly by Honor Code was consigned by Benz Thoroughbreds as Hip 423 in Book 1 of the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and sold to Tom McGreevy on behalf of Michael Stinson for $340,000.

Meanwhile, Patricia’s Hope LLC’s Big Drink of Water, winner of the $75,000 Arlington-Washington Futurity last Saturday, is likely to target another all-weather stakes event next out in the $100,000 Fitz Dixon, Jr. Memorial Juvenile Stakes at Presque Isle Downs on October 4. 

Conditioned by Arlington International Racecourse’s five-time and current leading trainer Larry Rivelli, Big Drink of Water was privately purchased by his owners following a victory in the Victoria Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack on July 14. He was previously owned by Endeavor Bloodstock and trained by Teresa Connelly. The Florida-bred freshman son of Soldat broke his maiden over the Polytrack at Presque Isle three starts back at second asking. He is an undefeated three-for-three over synthetic surfaces. 

“He came out [of the Futurity] really good,” Rivelli said. “I took him to the track a couple of days after the race and he looked as good as he did going in. We’ll run at Presque Isle and then go from there. We’ll maybe try him on the turf at Keeneland or Churchill after that.”

Rivelli did not rule out aiming Big Drink of Water toward the inaugural running of the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs on November 2, and stated the gelding could also target the $200,000 Indian Summer Stakes at Keeneland Race Course, which is a 5½-furlong turf sprint for 2-year-olds and a “Win and You’re In” event for the Juvenile Turf Sprint.