Undefeated Amy’s Challenge (Artie Schiller) is set to return to the work tab early this week as she prepares to stretch out in trip for the first time in the GIII Honeybee S. at Oaklawn Park Mar. 10.

Owned by Joe Novogratz and trained by McLean Robertson, the dark bay bested the boys in a pair of juvenile appearances, including a tough win in the Shakopee Juvenile S. The $20,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky bargain made it three-for-three in her career with a hard-fought defeat of ‘TDN Rising Star’ Mia Mischief (Into Mischief) in the six-furlong Dixie Belle S. at the Hot Springs oval Jan. 20.

The Honeybee is the final local prep for the GIII Fantasy S. Apr. 13.

Retired autoworker Chris Littlemore was in control with two mandatory races left in Saturday’s 19th National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas. Littlemore leapfrogged Keith Fenton mid-afternoon and booked his ticket to Sunday’s semifinal round with a string of solid scores. He led with 273.10 cumulative points to Fenton’s 241.50. Daniel Hart, Mike Yurczyk and Earnest Powers completed the top five. 10% of the 700 entries, or 70 entries, will make Sunday’s semifinal. From there, the top 10 players advance to the afternoon’s Final Table, where a winner will be crowed. The tournament victor will bank $800,000 and earn an Eclipse Award as Horseplayer of the Year. Other notables who looked on their way to the semifinal included Friday’s Day 1 winner Michael Ryan (13th at the time of writing), the 2015 NHC champ Jonathan Kinchen (31st), and Ten Strike Racing’s Clay Sanders (39th). Track announcer Vic Stauffer was on the outside looking in at 87, but was within striking distance.

LRF’s Fenton Enjoys NHC Tour Success

Early last year, Gary Fenton told his wife one of his goals was to make it to the National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas. It didn’t take long to make it happen. In his first year on the NHC Tour, Fenton finished fourth among all rookies, 113th of 3811 overall, and booked his ticket to Treasure Island with a late-season tournament win just before Thanksgiving.

“I know a lot of horseplayers, and have always had a lot of respect for what they do,” said Fenton. “Being on the tour this year, I have an even better appreciation for what they go through–the grind of it and the mentality it takes.”

Fenton is better known to most in the horse business as the co-managing partner of Little Red Feather Racing Club. But he hopes to add another title in the coming years: NHC champion. Fenton is already handling the tournament scene like and old pro. In Thursday’s Last Chance Tournament at Treasure Island, Fenton finished ninth, earning a second NHC entry.

Midway through Saturday’s action, Fenton was within striking distance of making Sunday’s semifinal: he was in 87th with 117.80 points. The top 70 make the semifinal.

Fenton might’ve had a few more bucks to his credit if contest rules didn’t state that players must declare ownership interests and forbids them from playing a race in which they own a horse. On Friday, LRF’s Secret Spice (Discreet Cat) ran a strong second in a Santa Anita allowance.

“It hurt me a little bit, because I didn’t cash in the Oaklawn race I had to play instead, and would’ve had her–she was training great,” he smiled. “But that’s happens.”

Fenton was always a racing fan growing up in Beverly Hills, and handicapping became a part of his love of the sport.

“My grandfather was a big gambler in Vegas, and I grew up gambling a little bit,” he said.

Fenton and LRF founder Billy Koch grew up a few blocks away from each other, and by the early 2000s, the men were putting together partnerships of college buddies, using different monikers for each one.

They went through four or five different names before a horse named Singletary came along under the Little Red Feather banner. The 2004 GI Breeders’ Cup Mile winner cemented that name, and after his success, they put together an actual business plan and began raising money. Some 13 years and 140-odd partnerships later, LRF is maybe the most recognized syndicate in California.

With time running out to make the cut, Fenton said he was just relishing the experience.

“I’m just going to try and keep battling,” he said. “This is fun. Being in here with everybody and seeing the process, it’s important for the industry, and I hope it continues to grow and people support it.”

3rd-AQU, $60,000, Msw, 6f, 3yo, post time: 1:54 p.m. ET
Lady Sheila Stable’s first-time starter BROADWAY BANDIT (Midnight Lute) threw a shoe while blitzing a furlong in :9 4/5 before topping the OBS June sale when selling to trainer Linda Rice for $320,000 last summer. TJCIS PPs

5th-GP, $50,000, Msw, 5fT, 3yo, post time: 2:00 p.m. ET
ALL SYSTEMS GO (Orb) makes his first trip to the post for trainer Todd Pletcher. A $450,000 KEESEP yearling, the dark bay is the first foal out of graded winner Just Louise (Five Star Day). Just Louise is a half-sister to MGSW Sara Louise (Malibu Moon), whose 3-year-old daughter Sara Street (Street Sense) graduated at Belmont last Sunday. TJCIS PPs

7th-GP, $50,000, Msw, 1 1/16m, 3yo, post time: 3:04 p.m. ET
Karl and Cathi Glassman’s APOSTLE (Medaglia d’Oro), a $900,000 OBS March graduate, faded to fifth in his seven-furlong debut at this track Jan. 6. Out of Apt (A.P. Indy), the bay colt is a half to GSW Carve (First Samurai) and GISP Apropos (First Samurai). Second that day was the reopposing Orbed (Orb), a $525,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic juvenile purchase. TJCIS PPs

10th-SA, $54,000, Msw, 3yo, 6 1/2fT, post time: 7:30 p.m. ET
PHOENIX FIRE (Tapit), purchased by Stonestreet Stables and M V Magnier for $1.25 million at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale, debuts for trainer Bob Baffert. Out of Rote (Tiznow), the gray colt is a full-brother to GSP Royal Obsession, who sold for $1.8 million at the 2017 Keeneland November sale. TJCIS PPs

The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance has always operated on the premise that horse welfare is a team sport, and the organization is making its presence felt at the NHC for the first time in Las Vegas this year.

“We’ve been here in spirit, in the sense that we’ve had information here, but we’ve never been here in person,” said Stacie Clark, operations consultant for the TAA. “We’ve got some exciting projects going on, and this is the heart of the whole game–this is where we all get our purse money and where we get our fans–and we felt it was time to better know the players and do some networking.”

One of the most exciting TAA developments is a project developed in concert with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), AmTote and The Stronach Group. Announced last summer while still in development, the project gives the opportunity for horse players cashing winning tickets at AmTote machines the option of making a donation to the TAA.

“The idea was to find a way for the player to give back at the betting window,” Clark explained. “So when you put your winning voucher in, you have the option to make a donation. Depending on how much you’ve won, it could be $1, $5, $10, etc. If you don’t want to, that’s fine, there’s a “No thank you” button. If you do, it gives you a receipt.”

The project was begun two years ago. It was tested at the Pegasus World Cup in 2016, again at Laurel in the fall and finally to the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar in November.

“We went through the whole Breeders’ Cup without a hitch,” said Clark.

In the last month, Santa Anita and Gulfstream have both embraced the program, joining Laurel and Del Mar as the four tracks where players have that option. The program could soon be nationwide.

“It can be available at all the tracks that carry AmTote machines, we just have to go to those tracks and talk to them about what we do, and ask them to turn the service on. The NYRA tracks, for instance, have already inquired about it, so we’ll go spend some time with Martin Panza and Chris Kay up there.”

Clark said the project was a reason the TAA is making its inaugural visit to the NHC.

“When we’re asking for money at the AmTote machines, players should know who the TAA is and what we do,” she said. “Plus the NTRA has always been great to the TAA, and we’ve been the charity for the Eclipse Awards and, in kind, for this handicapping contest.”

Clark said many players had already made cash donations at the TAA table at the NHC, and several others had made pledges should the win a cash prize at the NHC.

“We’ve had a lot of people make promises, so let’s hope one of them wins!” Clark laughed.

Ax Man (Misremembered) is a hot prospect and will be favored in Saturday’s seven-furlong GII San Vicente S. at Santa Anita, but he has a way to go to reach the top of the pecking order in the Bob Baffert stable. As is so often the case, the Hall of Fame trainer is loaded with 3-year-old male talent and is beginning to devise the schedule for his team as he prepares to get them to Churchill Downs. Baffert has at least seven colts at this point that he considers prospects for the GI Kentucky Derby.

Ax Man is the “now” horse in the Baffert stable. He made his debut in a Jan. 1 maiden race at Santa Anita and won by 9 1/2 lengths. Because the race was restricted to homebreds or yearlings that cost $100,000 or less, there was some speculation that Ax Man didn’t beat the best of fields. But Lombo (Graydar), who was third, beaten 10 1/2 lengths in that race, has since come back to win the GIII Robert B. Lewis.

When asked if he thought he had enough time to get the lightly raced Ax Man ready for the Derby, Baffert replied: “I think if he’s good enough he can do it. The San Vicente will be a big step for him, especially out of the one hole. He’s fast and he’s quick. He’s a light-framed horse and I haven’t seen any distance limitations with him. But you don’t know that until they’re put under the gun.”

Baffert will also start Nero (Pioneerof the Nile) in the San Vicente. He broke his maiden Jan. 13 in his second career start.

“He has a lot of talent, but was a little bit quirky at first,” the trainer said. “He’s starting to figure things out and he worked really well for this race. He likes to have a target and he’ll definitely have a target in this race. I think he should run well also.”

Baffert said he likes to nominate his top 3-year-olds to “just about everything,” which allows him to leave his options open.

“Whichever one is doing great that week gets on the plane and runs that week,” he said.

The top two in the Baffert lineup at this point are ‘TDN Rising Star’ McKinzie (Street Sense) and Solomini (Curlin). Solomini crossed the wire first in the Dec. 9 GI Los Alamitos Futurity, but was disqualified, resulting in McKinzie being placed first. Solomini has not run since, while McKinzie has since won the GIII Sham S.

Baffert said one of the two will go next in the GII San Felipe Mar. 10 at Santa Anita, while the other will go in the Mar. 17 GII Rebel at Oaklawn.

“I just go by the way I feel the horse is doing,” he said. “I know McKinzie and Solomoni have already proven themselves. I’m just trying to keep them healthy and give them a positive prep going in.”

Baffert has penciled in the Feb. 19 GIII Southwest S. at Oaklawn for Mourinho (Super Saver), who won earlier at the meet in the Smarty Jones S. Baffert expects the race to be split into two divisions and is looking at also running ‘TDN Rising Star’ Zulfikhar (Bodemeister). That colt has not raced since winning a July 17 maiden at Los Alamitos, but Baffert is high on him.

He has another lightly raced but talented horse in Restoring Hope (Giant’s Causeway). He broke his maiden Feb. 2 in his third lifetime start and Baffert is shopping for a Derby prep for him as well. Baffert normally relies on the Santa Anita and Oaklawn routes to get to the Derby, but says with so many candidates this year, you may see him in races he rarely runs in.

“I think you’ll see us in the [GII] Blue Grass or maybe we could go to Gulfstream and run one there,” he said. “We have a few here we’re getting ready.”

When asked if he thought this could be one of his best groups of 3-year-olds, Baffert was hesitant to go that far.

“The year I had American Pharoah and Dortmund, that was a really good year, and so was the year I had Real Quiet and Indian Charlie,” he said. “I’ve had some strong hands. It’s still early. Over the next month, that is when the serious stuff starts happening.”