Welcome back, Stevie Wonderboy

[my miss storm cat]

From BH.....

Welcome back, Stevie.


Champion Stevie Wonderboy Has First Workout on Comeback Trail
by Margaret Ransom


The Merv Griffin Ranch Co.'s champion Stevie Wonderboy worked on Monday for the first time since undergoing surgery to repair a condylar fracture to his left front leg in February, logging an unofficial quarter-mile over a fast track at Santa Anita.
Trainer Doug O'Neill's assistant/brother Dennis said he caught the son of Stephen Got Evenin an unofficial :24 1/5, galloping out three-eighths in :36 3/5.

"It was easy, he was just galloping," O'Neil said. "But he's doing excellent."

O'Neill indicated that there's no rush to get the Kentucky-bred back to the races and that they will let the chestnut colt tell them when he's ready.

"We're not even thinking about it," O'Neill said. "The Strub (series) is the goal, but right now we're not even thinking about where he'll start."

The Strub, a three-race series for 3-year-olds turning four, kicks off with the seven-furlong Malibu Stakes (gr. I) on Dec. 26, and continues with the San Fernando Breeders' Cup Stakes (gr.II) at 1 1/16 miles in January and the nine-furlong Strub Stakes (gr. II) in early February.

Stevie Wonderboy earned the Eclipse Award as the nation's top juvenile last year after winning the Del Mar Futurity (gr. II) and Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I). He finished second in his lone start as a sophomore in the Jan. 14 San Rafael Stakes (gr.) at Santa Anita before being injured in a workout in early February. From six starts overall, Stevie Wonderboy owns a record of 3-2-1 and earnings of $1,058,940.

He was purchased by his current connections for $100,000 out of the Fasig-Tipton Florida Select Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training in 2005.