A trio of runners pointing to Aug. 29 GI Travers S. continued their preparations for that centerpiece of the Saratoga meet with workouts Saturday morning at the Spa. Texas Red (Afleet Alex), 2014 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile hero and recent winner of the GII Jim Dandy S. Aug. 1, breezed five furlongs in 1:01.66 in his second-to-last workout prior to the race.
“We were happy with that,” said Julie Clark, assistant trainer to Keith Desormeaux. “Corey said he gallops out strong. He's not tough to pull up but he's ready to keep going a little bit further. It was nice.”
Meanwhile, Ralph M. Evans and WinStar Farm's MGSW Upstart (Flatter) covered six furlongs over the main track in 1:14.84. It was the dark bay's first move since a third-place effort behind Triple Crown winner American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) in the GI William Hill Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Aug. 2. Upstart's trainer, Rick Violette Jr., was pleased with the workout but said he will hold off on a decision about the Travers until the field takes shape.
“We'll point for the Travers,” explained Violette. “I doubt that [we'd want to] hook American Pharoah, and if he doesn't come then we'll be ready to roll. He went terrific. It was a little bit of a combination of maintenance and to get some air in his lungs. He went the last quarter in 23 and change. It was a great breeze, and he cooled out well.”
The trainer added that the Haskell was likely a useful stepping stone for an improved performance in Upstart's next start.
“He's really had kind of an easy couple weeks to let him recharge, especially the first week,” Violette noted. “The second week he got back to regular gallops. The Haskell was a good race and he bounced [out] of that, and now we get back into serious mode. He'll have a fast breeze maybe Saturday or Sunday, depending on the weather. He likes to run off his fast breezes.”
Donegal Racing's Keen Ice (Curlin), recently second in the Haskell, returned to the worktab for the first time since that race with a five-furlong move in 1:01.25 in company with stablemate Lulu Le Mon. Javier Castellano was aboard Keen Ice for the first time.
“[Javier] said he felt like a classic distance horse. He went smooth and did everything right,” said trainer Dale Romans. “He worked super. If you don't know the horse, he's never going to blow you away watching him breeze because he's a big freight train, but that's as good as he works. The big thing is he comes back off the racetrack prancing and happy and wanting more.”
Romans also said he has not made a final decision on the Travers, but added that it will not be dictated by American Pharoah's plans.
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