Grade 1 winner Restless Rider 'improved a lot' with turnout

Connections figure some time off will do Restless Rider good.

Doug Cauthen, Three Chimneys Farm vice chairman, said Thursday the 3-year-old filly is taking a break from training. The Grade 1 winner is campaigned by both Three Chimneys and Fern Circle Stables.

Last out, Restless Rider was a flat 12th in the May 3 Kentucky Oaks. She went off a 4-1 second choice but crossed the line 34 lengths behind champion Serengeti Empress. She was then elevated a spot following Jaywalk’s disqualification.

Restless Rider exited Oaks with a sore back, Cauthen said.

“I think (trainer Kenny McPeek) thought she was going into it well,” Cauthen said. “But she came out needing a break.”

Cauthen said there’s “nothing dramatic” going on with Restless Rider’s health and that there’s no definitive timetable for her return to training.

“We’re letting her tell us,” Cauthen said. “They checked her out the other day and they felt like she’d improved a lot. But she just had a lot of back soreness and needed to continue to improve and build some muscle tone.”

Bred in Kentucky by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC, Restless Rider was sired by Distorted Humor. She broke her maiden first out last June at Churchill Downs, then won the listed Debutante Stakes there her next start.

Restless Rider’s six ensuing starts have all come in either Grade 1 or 2 company. She triumphed as a 2-year-old last October in Keeneland’s Alcibiades Stakes (G1) after running second in Saratoga’s Spinaway (G1), then placed at Churchill in both the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and the Golden Rod (G2).

Restless Rider’s first 3-year-old debut came at Keeneland on April 6 in the Ashland Stakes (G1), in which she finished second to 52-1 long shot Out for a Spin. A disappointing Kentucky Oaks showing followed last month.

“I think she’s a top, top two-turn filly,” Cauthen said. “It was just a shame on the biggest day that that she wasn’t there. 

“While I think the winner was extremely impressive, I think (Restless Rider) could’ve been right there with her. But it wasn’t meant to be.” 

Princesa Carolina seeks first stakes win in Regret

Another of Three Chimneys' 3-year-old fillies, Princesa Carolina, is a 4-1 co-second choice on the morning line for Saturday’s $150,000 Regret Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs. 

Varenka is also 4-1, while Wayne Catalano trainee Winter Sunset is the 7-2 morning-line favorite. The race goes 1 1/8 miles on the turf, with a post time of 10:19 p.m.

McPeek trains the Three Chimneys homebred Princesa Carolina, who’ll break Saturday from post No. 11 under jockey Brian Hernandez Jr.

Princesa Carolina has two wins in seven starts, coming last September in a maiden special weight event at Saratoga and last out April 25 in a Keeneland allowance race. 

The Tapit filly has run three times in graded company with her best finish a second March 2 at Gulfstream Park in the Herecomesthebride Stakes (G3).

“I think Kenny’s been really happy with her,” Cauthen said. “… I think it was a good choice to wait for this race. I think it’s a good distance for her. Hopefully she’ll perform well. 

“It would be very nice to get a graded win for her. She continues to improve. It seems like she’ll continue to take more distance. I think if this goes well, then she can look to some of the longer races up at Saratoga.”

Much Better coming off rough trip in Woody Stephens

Much Better, another 3-year-old Three Chimneys homebred, endured a rough trip at Belmont Park on Saturday in the Woody Stephens Stakes (G1).

Late-charging winner Hog Creek Hustle squeezed into favorite Mind Control in the stretch of the seven-furlong dirt sprint. That affected Much Better, who broke as an intriguing 10-1 shot with the prolific trainer-jockey combo of Bob Baffert and Mike Smith.

“Much Better was on the inside trying to get out and he lost all chance to get out,” Cauthen said. “Mike Smith said he more or less grabbed him and didn’t ride him the rest of the way.”

Cauthen said though that Much Better ran well Saturday despite his crowded stretch run. Connections are mulling a move to stretch the Pioneerof The Nile colt out to one mile or 1 1/16 miles for his next effort.

“He’s got a lot of speed, so it’s hard not to just let him run out there and use his natural speed and take advantage of it,” Cauthen said. “But I think at least one time we’ll try a rating tactic in a little bit longer race and see what happens.”