Not Shying Away Outduelling the Bob Baffert-trained trio of Litmus Test (4-5), Blacksmith (5-1), and Provenance (5-1) in Saturday’s $200,000 Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) is a tall task, but one Captivator makes a compelling case for. While the bay out of the John Sadler barn doesn’t boast a resume as rich as Litmus Test (third in the Grade 1 Claiborne Futurity), Captivator, who stacks up well against Blacksmith and Provenance, has, too, turned heads in limited action. After a runner-up effort in his professional debut, Captivator announced his presence with a dominant 10 ¼-length maiden-breaking victory on Nov. 8 at Del Mar. Trending up ahead of the 1 1/6-mile Los Alamitos Futurity, Captivator enters at 6-1. Frame of Mind Bordered by a deep cast of challengers, two-time stakes winner War Painter eyes her first triumph at the level since last November in the $100,000 La Prevoyante Stakes, Saturday at Woodbine. Billed as the 4-1 third choice behind 5-2 favourite Hurricane Clair and reigning Ashbridges Bay Stakes Champion Ella It Is (3-1), War Painter has a chance to build on a third-place finish in last year’s running of the La Prevoyante. In that edition of the 1 1/16-mile contest, the bay daughter of Danish Dynaformer–Morning Tale outmatched Hurricane Clair, who landed in fifth. Sporting a 4-5-4 line through 19 starts for owner Canuck Racing Club, War painter has recorded $306,957 in purse earnings. War Painter and jockey Sahin Civaci winning Race 7 on August 24, 2025 at Woodbine (Michael Burns Photo) Heading Back The remarkably consistent Dresden Row has finished inside the money in all 15 starts for owners True North Stable and Bloom Racing Stable (6-5-4). On Saturday, the three-time graded stakes winner will return to Turfway Park for a second shot at the $250,000 Prairie Bayou Stakes after coming up a head short in the race last year. In a push as valiant as they come, Dresden Row rallied with great ambition but ultimately missed out in narrow and dramatic fashion. Paros, the defending Prairie Bayou champion, is not competing in Saturday’s renewal of the one-mile test. Bred by Marianne Franco, MD and trained by Lorne Richards, Dresden Row enters as the 4-1 third choice. Home Cookin’ It wasn’t until his 23rd career start that Louisiana-bred luminary Touchuponastar missed the podium with a fifth in the Grade 3 Steve Sexton Mile on May 26. For those wondering how the uncharacteristic result may have affected the Star Guitar bay, it hasn’t, as he visited the winner’s circle his next two times out in the Gold Cup and Delta Mile Stakes.’ Still sharp as ever, Touchuponastar heads to Fair Grounds this Saturday in search of his fourth straight Louisiana Champions Day Classic Stakes victory. Opening as the clear 2-5 choice for the 2025 renewal of the $150,000 tilt, Touchuponastar, bred by Coteau Grove Farms, earned nearly $1.6 million for Set-Hut LLC (co-owned by former NFL Quarterback Jake Delhomme, his brother Jeff, and dad Jerry). On Cue Victory Music, who followed a fourth-place finish in her stakes debut with a runner-up showing last time out, looks to find her rhythm in Sunday’s $135,000 Astral Spa Overnight Stakes at Oaklawn Park. Steady through three starts thus far for breeder/owner Three Diamonds Farm, Victory Music has landed in the money twice, headlined by a maiden-breaking score in her first professional appearance on June 29 at Churchill Downs. Now eyeing a memorable outing in her first start at Oaklawn, the 2-year-old daughter of Maclean’s Music–Victory Square enters the 6-furlong Overnight Stakes as the second choice in the field of 10, at 3-1. Matthew Lomon, for Woodbine Share This:Share
