Sporting Chance turns in strong half-mile work

Hopeful (G1) winner Sporting Chance turned in his second published workout of the year on Monday as he geared up for an impending three-year-old debut, breezing a half-mile in a sharp :47.60 at Oaklawn park over a fast track.

Trained by D. Wayne Lukas and ridden during the morning exercise by fellow Hall of Famer Gary Stevens, Sporting Chance ran his last quarter-mile in :23 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:00.40, according to Oaklawn clockers.

Sporting Chance is tentatively scheduled to return in the $500,000 Southwest (G3) on February 19. The $900,000 Rebel (G2) on March 17 is another potential placement for the colt, who had a small bone chip removed from a knee after winning the seven-furlong Hopeful at Saratoga on Labor Day.

"He's an extremely talented horse," Lukas said. "If he's fit, I think I can drop right in to the deep end of the pool and take on the seasoned horses because he's got a beautiful mind and he handles racing very well. Very easy horse to train. Normally you say, 'Boy, we need some experience.' But I'm not so sure I can't put a strong work into him and run him where I want to."

A son of Tiznow, Sporting Chance ran second to Dak Attack in his June 15 debut at Churchill Downs, but rebounded to win twice at Saratoga. He preceded his Hopeful victory with a 2 1/4-length maiden score going 5 1/2 furlongs.

Lukas trained a pair of three-year-olds to victory at Oaklawn on Saturday including Bravazo, who captured an entry-level allowance in a time of 1:37.74.

"That was race-horse time," Lukas said. "It was what, two seconds or (10) lengths better than the other division and there were some horses in the other division they liked."

In addition to the Southwest, Lukas said the $150,000 Robert B. Lewis (G3) at Santa Anita, $250,000 Sam F. Davis (G3) at Tampa Bay and $400,000 Risen Star (G2) at Fair Grounds, all on consecutive Saturdays in February, would be considered for Bravazo and Transgress, a maiden winner on Saturday.

"We're going to have to juggle these horses," Lukas said. "We obviously don't want to double up on them if we can help it."