Alternation to stay out of action until August
The Donnie K. Von Hemel-trained 4-year-old, Alternation, will remain out of action until August this year. The decision came in the wake of hit embarrassing defeat at Churchill Downs, where he finished fifth behind Ron The Greek in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster
Handicap last week.
It was Alternation’s first loss of the season. The bay and brown colt made his seasonal debut on a high note, winning the Essex Handicap (Dirt) at OaklAWn Park in February. After making a winning comeback, he continued his good run to register two more victories
at OaklAWn Park.
After completing his hat-trick, the dashing runner did not relax even for a second and presented a superb show at Pimlico last month. The Grade 3 Pimlico Special Stakes saw him topping the table in the hands of L. Quinonez. Nehro kept disturbing him all
the way through, but since luck was on Alternation’s side, he bagged the winning prize by a nose.
After clinching four consecutive triumphs, Pin Oak Stable LLC’s colt suddenly lost his direction. He looked completely out of rhythm in the Stephen Foster Handicap. Although he tried his best to recover inside the final furlong, his pace was not enough to
surpass the leaders.
During his vacation, the son of Distorted Humor will remain in light training and is expected to make his return in the $200,000 Governor’s Cup at Remington Park later this year.
“We’ll take a little bit of a breather through the summer, start back there, and then look to something in New York, maybe the Jockey Club Gold Cup, to see if we’re going to the Breeders’ Cup with him,” Von Hemel said.
On the other hand, Mike Stidham, who trains Upperline, is in no mood to face any defeat after his charge’s runner-up position in the Trillium Stakes at Woodbine on Sunday, June 24th.
“I don’t have an explanation for it. It’s just her. Avoid tight spots, is about all you can do. I never, ever want to lose a race. But if we were going to lose one, that was it, because we were just using it as a prep for her next two,” the handler stated.
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