MANDALOUN BACK ON TRACK
Juddmonte Farms' Mandaloun (Into Mischief), who may yet be named this year's GI Kentucky Derby winner should Medina Spirit (Protonico) be disqualified, held off a determined Weyburn (Pioneerof the Nile) to kick off the second half of his sophomore campaign with a win in the TVG.com Pegasus S. at Monmouth Park Sunday.
Sent off the 1-5 favorite while facing just four rivals, Mandaloun was squeezed back to last soon after the break and trailed the compact field as longshot Lugamo (Chitu) set a leisurely pace up front with Weyburn a threatening presence to his outside. Weyburn, upset winner of the GIII Gotham S. in March, took command on the far turn, but Mandaloun was making progress of his own under energetic handling from jockey Florent Geroux. The bay colt charged into the lane with a three-wide move and, despite being floated out farther on the track as Weyburn drifted at the top of the stretch, looked set to power clear to an easy victory. But he seemed to idle in deep stretch as Weyburn re-rallied to just miss catching the favorite in the final jumps.
ART COLLECTOR TO RETURN AT CHURCHILL
Bruce Lunsford's Art Collector (Bernardini), winner of last year's GII Toyota Blue Grass S., is expected to make his 4-year- old debut in the June 25 Kelly's Landing S. at Churchill Downs. The bay colt was fourth in last year's GI Preakness S. and has been off since finishing eighth in the Nov. 7 GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.
Art Collector has been back on the work tab at Churchill Downs for the last four weeks, most recently working a half-mile in :50.60 (9/9) on the turf Sunday at Churchill Downs with regular rider Brian Hernandez Jr. in the saddle.
