We are excited to report that Always Hopeful’s race was used and he has officially been entered in his first race since his debut and being gelded. Running in the sixth race on the card at Horseshoe Indianapolis on June 30th, Always Hopeful drew post position 10 out of 11 with jockey DeShawn Parker in the irons.
Post time is approximately 4:47 p.m. ET. We will not have a paddock lottery for Always Hopeful’s race, due to Indiana’s paddock being so small.
Always Hopeful had an easy maintenance work yesterday morning, going a half-mile in 49.80 seconds. As you can see in the video, Always Hopeful was very happy and cruising along, but was relaxed and controlled, which is what we want to see.
Click here to watch Always Hopeful’s breeze from yesterday morning. Entries for his June 30th race will be taken on Friday.
Always Hopeful worked a half-mile by himself at Keeneland this morning, stopping the clock in 48.40 seconds. Trainer Cherie DeVaux was happy with him today, mentioning that he was more relaxed going into today’s breeze compared to last week and working the right way.
Cherie says our gelding needs one more work before he’s ready to return to the races, but depending on when there is an available race, he may have a couple additional works. We will follow up with an update once a target race has been selected.
Watch Cherie DeVaux’s video of Always Hopeful working this morning
Always Hopeful breezed a half-mile in 47.60 seconds yesterday morning at Keeneland, which earned the bullet out of 50 workers for the day. Always Hopeful was slightly aggressive entering his breeze, working the first quarter mile in 23.30 seconds. Cherie DeVaux was hoping for a more relaxed work with slightly slower fractions, but said it was a good work regardless. Click here to watch yesterday’s breeze.
Always Hopeful
Always Hopeful exited his work in good order and galloped over the Keeneland main track this morning. He typically goes in the last set around 9:30 when there is very little traffic.
Photo Credit: Aaron Mattice
Always Hopeful worked a solo half-mile this morning at Keeneland, stopping the clock in 48.00 seconds. Trainer Cherie DeVaux said this was Always Hopeful’s best work in terms of staying relaxed and being focused on breezing the right way. Now that Always Hopeful has had a few breezes under his belt post gelding, it’s very rewarding to see his rideability move in the right direction, suggesting that gelding him has been a tremendous help to his training.
Always Hopeful worked a half-mile with jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. in the irons this morning over the Fair Grounds dirt track. Our now 3-year-old Speightstown colt worked solo, covering the ground in 48.20 seconds followed with a strong gallop out. Trainer Cherie DeVaux reported that this was a very good work for our maiden and that he has matured a good deal and gained a lot of experience since his first start on November 25th.
Always Hopeful had his first 5-furlong work over the Fair Grounds dirt track on Monday. Our 2-year-old Speightstown colt covered the ground in 1:01.20. Trainer Cherie DeVaux reported that Always Hopeful was a little tough starting out the work but quickly settled in resulting in a really nice performance from our young colt.
Always Hopeful came out of his work in good condition and is now targeting a maiden special weight going 6-furlongs on the dirt at Fair Grounds Race Course on January 22nd with a purse of $50,000.
Always Hopeful (outside) worked a half-mile going in company this morning over the Fair Grounds dirt track. Always Hopeful’s workmate was a 2-year-old Midnight Storm colt named Midnight Hurricane who has run once and finished third last month at Fair Grounds. The duo covered the ground in 48.40 seconds. Trainer Cherie DeVaux reported that Always Hopeful looked great during the work.
The new condition book for Fair Grounds has just been published. The MyRacehorse team and Cherie will be looking at potential race options and we’ll report back as soon as we have decided on a target race for our 2-year-old Speightstown colt.
Please enjoy this video of Always Hopeful working.