Motion adds a Churchill Downs stop to Standard Deviation's itinerary

Standard Deviation, last seen finishing second in Qatar's Amir Trophy in February, is back in the United States for a new stakes assignment.

Trainer Graham Motion said Monday that after quarantining for a week in Miami, the 4-year-old son of Curlin "kind of had a real easy month at Palm Meadows, and then came back up here [to Fair Hill Training Center] and has been pretty much on schedule, breezing ever since."

He last worked five furlongs in 1:02.20 on Saturday.

Motion had considered running Standard Deviation in Santa Anita Park's 1 1/4-mile Charles Whittingham Stakes (G2) on Saturday, but "since there is a race in two or three weeks in Louisville, that's probably what I'll do," he said, referring to the Louisville Stakes (G3) on June 13.

"Plus, it's a mile and a half," Motion added. "which might even suit him a little better anyway."

Standard Deviation was sold to Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa al Thani after his third-place showing in the Hollywood Derby (G1) in November and transferred to Motion's care from Chad Brown's barn.

Earlier in his career, Standard Deviation was Grade 1-placed on the dirt as a 2-year-old, then made his switch to the turf at 3, winning a pair of black type stakes at Monmouth Park. Overall, he's 3-4-2 in 11 starts with earnings just past $533,000.

Motion also is leaning against shipping another 4-year-old, English Bee, to California for next Monday's Shoemaker Mile (G1), but he's not sure what's next for the son of English Channel.

"I'm kind of hoping there could be something for him in New York when we get their stakes schedule," he said.

The Calumet Farm homebred is winless in two tries this year, after two black-type stakes races last year. He finished second in the Canadian Turf Stakes (G3) in February and then seventh in the Appleton Stakes (G3) in March, both at a mile at Gulfstream.

"I did freshen him up a little bit after his last race, and I think he's run two really good races," Motion said, adding that these were "against much tougher competition, against older horses."

Motion said he doesn't have anything specific in mind for English Bee, "but I'm probably going to keep him around a mile."

Plans are more definite for Sharing, the daughter of Speightstown who hasn't raced since winning last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. She'll run in Saturday's Tepin Stakes at Churchill.

"Timing-wise, this race has actually worked out quite well, considering we really didn't have a race to point her for because we didn't know what anybody's schedule was going to be," Motion said. "This is about when I would have liked to have run her. She's been breezing steadily since she came up from Florida, and I feel good about running her this weekend.