The Wine Steward Returns To Work Tab After Refresher

Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher’s Grade 1-placed The Wine Steward returned to the work tab at Gulfstream Park Saturday for trainer Mike Maker after a four-month respite. The New York-bred son of Vino Rosso covered three furlongs in 36.06 seconds, the bullet for that distance with 25 works that day.

The sophomore bay colt has not raced since finishing a gutsy second to Locked in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity on October 7 at Keeneland, where he was defeated a half-length after pouncing from off the pace under Luis Saez. The Wine Steward was previously undefeated through three starts, including an open-company stakes triumph in the Bashford Manor at Ellis Park and a head score in the state-bred Funny Cide presented by Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in August at Saratoga Race Course.

Peter Proscia of Paradise Farms Corp. said he is excited for the year to come for The Wine Steward, who was scratched from the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in November.

“We’ll take it slow with him and I’m hoping for good things,” said Proscia. “Hopefully he’s on an ‘every Saturday’ work schedule now and we’ll keep an eye on him. He’s a New York-bred that has really shown himself and we’re hoping for good things as a 3-year-old.”

Bred by Sequel Thoroughbreds, Lakland Farm and Mark Toothaker, The Wine Steward was a $340,000 purchase by Maker at last year’s OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training where the colt breezed an eighth of a mile in 10.2 seconds. He is out of the To Honor and Serve mare Call to Service, a half-sister to graded stakes-winners Giant Game and Isotherm, as well as Grade 1-placed Gio Game and the unraced Adande, the dam of Grade 3-winner Skelly.

Proscia said The Wine Steward has already provided him with plenty of thrills as a juvenile.

“Last year was great,” said Proscia. “He’s just a real, honest horse. A couple races he got squeezed on the rail and he [overcame it]. It’s very fun to have a horse like that. We’ll take it easy and when he gets up to a couple of half-mile works, we’ll strategize where we want to go with him.”