Whitham Thoroughbred's GI Travers S. candidate and 'TDN Rising Star' McCraken (Ghostzapper) turned in a four-furlong bullet in :49.03 (1/31) on Thursday morning over the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga Race Course, his first serious bit of training since finishing a close second in the GI Haskell Invitational at Monmouth July 30.
“It was just a maintenance work,” trainer Ian Wilkes said. “The horse is happy, he's doing well. We just wanted to let him stretch his legs. I'm very pleased with how he's come out [of the Haskell]. From what I've seen, he hasn't left an oat. His energy is very good. He's extremely happy. I feel like he's moved forward from that race.”
McCraken, a winner of his first four starts, including a pair of graded victories, bounced back from an eighth-place finish in the GI Kentucky Derby with a win in Churchill's GIII Matt Winn S. June 17.
“He's very talented,” Wilkes said. “He's a little bigger, a little stronger. He's starting to mature more. He's gotten into a nice rhythm now.”
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
