Divisidero Serves Notice With Bullet

Divisidero (Kitten's Joy), a leading 3-year-old in the turf division last term off the strength of visually impressive wins in the GII American Turf S. at Churchill Downs May 2 and Pennine Ridge S. at Belmont May 30, is on the comeback trail.

Off since a disappointing seventh-place finish at odds of 5-2 in the GI Belmont Derby July 4, the bay fired a five-furlong bullet in :59.83 (1/52) over the Gulfstream main track Jan. 30, his third move of the new year. He is trained by Buff Bradley.

“We're really happy with him,” said Josh Stevens, racing manager for Tom and Ericka Keithley's Gunpowder Farms. “The workout the other day was exactly what Buff was looking for. He's always been a really good worker over the dirt. We were looking for that fire back from him that he had last year. I think he kind of gave us an idea of where we stood with him and the ability to start maybe talking about some races for him now.”

Divisidero could return to the races within the next month or so, according to Stevens.

“Obviously, if everything goes well, we'd like to play at the top end of the game,” he said while not ready to reveal any specific targets yet. “He's been on his toes and displaying good energy, so the work last weekend showed us how close we are. I would think hopefully we would see a race out of him in South Florida and then maybe head to Keeneland and Churchill after that.”

After displaying an eye-catching turn of foot to rally from 10^th to get his picture taken on the GI Kentucky Derby undercard, Divisidero overcame a pedestrian pace and wide journey to defeat subsequent two-time graded winner Takeover Target (Harlan's Holiday) by a neck in thrilling fashion while establishing a new course record over the Belmont inner turf in the Pennine Ridge. He failed to land a blow in his next start when stretched to 10 furlongs in Elmont, finishing 5 3/4 lengths behind the very impressive Force the Pass (Speightstown).

“The timing wasn't great for him, but unfortunately these horses don't go by schedule the way we do,” Stevens explained of the layoff. “So, we gave it to him when he asked for it. He wasn't injured–he had a few respiratory infections and was getting a little bit of heat in his shins. Those races took a toll on him and he needed that break. He wasn't screaming for it, but he was showing us that he just wasn't the same horse that he was before the race at Churchill on Derby day.”

Divisidero, produced by the unraced Lemon Drop Kid mare Madame du Lac, is a full brother to GIII Pilgrim S. runner-up Kitten's Kid. The $250,000 KEESEP yearling was bred in Kentucky by Hinkle Farms.