By Ben Massam
Two days after Sharp Azteca (Freud) captured the GIII Pat Day Mile on the GI Kentucky Derby undercard in authoritative fashion, trainer Jorge Navarro said he will likely resist the temptation to run back in the May 21 GI Preakness S. and instead target Monmouth Park's GI Haskell Invitational in late July. Navarro, who enjoyed a banner day Saturday bolstered by a score in the GII Churchill Downs S. with Catalina Red (Munnings), said that Sharp Azteca could make his next start in Monmouth's GIII Pegasus S. June 19.
“Both horses came out of the races really good, I checked them Sunday,” said Navarro. “They are at Monmouth Park right now. Sharp Azteca is going to point to the Pegasus and the Haskell if everything comes out good.”
Acquired for $220,000 by Gelfenstein Farm as an OBS April 2-year-old, Sharp Azteca demonstrated marked improvement in graduating from the maiden ranks in his third career start going a mile at Gulfstream Feb. 20, and added a dominant allowance score over that same trip and track Apr. 3. A stress-free winner of Saturday's Pat Day Mile, Navarro said he is in no hurry to rush the dark bay into Grade I company. The Preakness would be Sharp Azteca's first try around two turns.
“We're going to do the right thing for the horse,” the trainer explained. “There's no sense in running in the Preakness, what are we going to accomplish? We're thinking about the horse. I think 14 days is just not enough time. We're in no rush, we know we have a good horse. We'll save him for the future. We'll race at home with him. [Monmouth] is a fast track, a speed-favoring track.”
Anthony A. Lenci's Catalina Red was equally impressive Saturday afternoon, tracking the pace and rallying to notch a one-length victory over proven sprint foes. Coming off a score in Tampa's restricted Sprint S. Apr. 9, the chestnut was making his first start under the care of Navarro, who added that he is probable to target either the GII True North S. or GI Met Mile on the GI Belmont S. undercard, June 11.
“I don't want to take all the credit,” asserted Navarro, who is perhaps best known for his work with celebrated sprinters Private Zone (Macho Uno) and X Y Jet (Kantharos). “[Previous trainer] Chad Stewart had him and did an amazing job with the horse. The owner wanted to take a chance on that race and he believed it was time to give the horse a chance. The next step for him is Belmont day, there are two races. The owner wants to try him going long. Let's see how he comes out of the race. We've got [the True North] or the Met Mile. We'll make a decision once we get closer to the race, but for right now, I'm going to go easy on both of them. They both ran big races, so we're going to take our time.”
As for the immediate future, Navarro's stable is settling in at Monmouth Park for the annual meet, which begins this Saturday. The conditioner said he will have two starters–Delta Bluesman (Wagon Limit) and Brothersofthetime (Bob and John)–for the Jersey Shore oval's opening day Decathlon S. @BMassamTDN
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