"If we chose the Bay Shore, then, well, we'd skip the Derby and go after the Preakness," Ueltzen said, adding that to have a horse in the second leg of the Triple Crown Series would be a dream. "It's like having lightning strike."
Trainer King Leatherbury said Ah Day is recovering well from pulled right shoulder ligaments that caused him to be scratched from the General George Handicap in February.
"He's about four or five more weeks away from getting back to training," Leatherbury said. "About two months after that, he should be back to a race."
Two others who had excited their trainers earlier this season, the Gary Capuano-trained Wonder Mon and the Trombetta-trained Cave's Valley, have proven to be solid horses, but not up to top 3-year-old competition.
"Wonder Mon's Florida experience was tough," Capuano said of the horse who was beaten twice. "He got outrun. ... We'll see how he trains going forward."
As for Cave's Valley, who has lost his past three races after winning his first three, Trombetta said he is "a work in progress."
Trombetta declined to elaborate on Sweetnorthernsaint's move to another trainer.
sandra.mckee@baltsun.com
STATUS REPORT
What's going on with Maryland's top horses:
Ah Day: Recovering from strained shoulder ligaments.
Sweetnorthernsaint: Adjusting to new trainer, no plans before late May.
Bsharpsonata: Will enter in Saturday's Grade I $500,000 Ashland Stakes, Keeneland.
Gattopardo: Entered in Saturday's Grade I $750,000 Wood Memorial or Grade III $150,000 Bay Shore Stakes, Aqueduct.
Access Fee: Pointing toward $100,000 Peach Blossom, Delaware Park, April 19.
Wonder Mon: In training. No immediate plans.
Cave's Valley: A month to six weeks from next race.
SANDRA MCKEE
