Greenpointcrusader (Bernardini), a one-time Triple Crown prospect in 2016 and impressive winner off the bench in his first attempt for Todd Pletcher in a Jan. 27 optional claimer, takes on seven rivals in Saturday's GIII Fred W. Hooper S. at Gulfstream Park.
The 2015 GI Champagne S. winner, formerly conditioned by Dominick Schettino, hit the sidelines after finishing seventh in the GII Louisiana Derby last March.
“We got him in late November or early December,” Pletcher commented. “We wanted to come back in an allowance race to kind of get him back on the right track, and that worked out well. Timing-wise, it set up well to come back in here. He's a quality horse and he's been training well and got a good race under his belt. We're looking forward to running him.”
War Story (Northern Afleet), a runaway winner of Aqueduct's Queens County S. Dec. 17 with a 106 Beyer Speed Figure, cuts back in distance following a well-beaten fifth in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. Jan. 28.
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