A sparkling five-furlong work Sunday morning by Ralph and Laura Evans' Diversify (Bellamy Road) prompted trainer Rick Violette Jr. to reconsider an earlier plan to bypass the GI Whitney S. Aug. 4. The winner of last season's GI Jockey Club Gold Cup, who was recording his first work since winning the July 7 GII Suburban at Belmont, covered five furlongs in a swift :59 under regular exercise rider Roddi Aly.
“I wanted him to chirp a little bit at the eighth pole, which he did,” said Violette Jr. “I've got him on walkie talkie and I said, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa, that's enough. He sprinted for an eighth of a mile and still went [a half-mile] in :47 [seconds] and [five furlongs] in :59, and that was kind of eased up. It was a pretty fancy work.”
Entries will be taken and post positions drawn for the nine-furlong Whitney at Sperry's Restaurant in downtown Saratoga Springs July 31. It is a “Win and You're In” event for the Nov. 3 GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs.
Violette initially intended to start the strapping gelding in the Sept. 1 GI Woodward, also for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles. A final decision would be based on the New York-bred's form in the day's following his Sunday work.
“We'll do all the one-on-one stuff and we'll take bloods [Monday], and that's kind of critical with him,” said Violette. “He can kind of go up and down on how good his blood is. We'll see how he comes out of it and how he eats up. I'm not saying 'no' yet. I'm leaving the door open for the Whitney; other than that we'll just go for the Woodward.”
Violette added, “For all intents and purposes I was just going to pass the Whitney, and it's a tough race to pass. It's [$1.2 million] and 'Win and You're In,' historic race, but so is the Woodward, as far as historic relevance. It's a fairly appealing race. There's one other speed horse in there with the horse from Del Mar [{GSW} Dalmore {Colonel John}]. We're going to give it some serious consideration.”
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