Timeline looks okay after sustaining cuts

ELMONT, N.Y. – The undefeated 3-year-old Timeline appears to have escaped significant injury after being stepped on during Sunday’s Grade 3, $100,000 Pegasus at Monmouth Park, a race he won by 3 1/2 lengths under Javier Castellano.

“The horse looks okay,” trainer Chad Brown said Monday. “He’s got a cut on his hock and on his right hind leg through the bandage, and he sprung his shoe pretty good. We got it off him after the race. He seems like he’s going to be fine.”

A photo of the Pegasus finish line shows superficial cuts on Timeline’s right hind leg and his shoe hanging off the bottom of his foot. Fortunately, there did not appear to be any damage to the foot caused by the nails that affix the shoe.

“It could have been a lot of worse,” Brown said. “Thankfully, the horse ran through it and performed well and came back in relatively good shape.”

In the Pegasus, Timeline ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:41.32 and earned a 99 Beyer Speed Figure. He is now 4 for 4, including a similarly easy 3 1/2-length victory in the Grade 3 Peter Pan at Belmont. The Pegasus victory sets Timeline up for the Grade 1, $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on July 30, when he likely will meet Classic Empire, last year’s 2-year-old male champion. A foot abscess prevented Classic Empire from making the Belmont Stakes after he finished second to Cloud Computing in the Preakness.

Cloud Computing, also trained by Brown, returned to the work tab on Saturday, breezing a half-mile in 48.89 seconds over Belmont’s main track. He is being pointed to the Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga on July 29, when he is expected to meet Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming.

War Flag impressive

Perhaps overshadowed by Timeline’s performance in the Grade 3 Pegasus, the 4-yearold filly War Flag on Sunday displayed an impressive turn of foot, rallying from last in an eight-horse field to win a third-level allowance race at Monmouth Park by a halflength against males. It was her first start in this country.

Away from the races for 11 months since winning the Grade 3 Prix Chloe at Chantilly, War Flag passed four rivals in the final sixteenth of a mile under Nik Juarez to record her fourth win from six starts. War Flag is a Kentucky-bred daughter of War Front owned and bred by Joe Allen and trained by Shug McGaughey.

War Flag ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:40.92 and earned a 90 Beyer Speed Figure.

McGaughey said he was going to run War Flag against females at Belmont on May 26, but the filly had a muscle disorder known as “tying up” following a May 16 workout and missed some time. McGaughey couldn’t find a suitable race for fillies and mares, so he ran her against the boys.

“I was pleased with the way she ran,” McGaughey said. “I told the kid, ‘She probably won’t break good, just be patient.’ We’re going to look for the next reasonable spot.”

Time and Motion to Arlington

Time and Motion, the Grade 1winning turf filly who was scratched from the New York Stakes due to a low white blood cell count, returned to the work tab Monday, breezing three furlongs in 36.55 seconds over the Belmont Park turf course.

If all continues to go well, Time and Motion could start in the Grade 3, $100,000 Modesty Handicap at Arlington Park on July 8. The Modesty is the local prep for the Grade 1, $600,000 Beverly D. on Aug. 12. Both races are at 1 3/16 miles.

Trainer Jimmy Toner had planned to run Time and Motion in the New York Stakes at Belmont on June 9 and then the Diana at Saratoga on July 22. Those plans went awry when Toner was forced to scratch her from the New York.

“And I can’t go straight to the Diana against those horses off a two-month layoff,” Toner said.

Also working Monday for Toner was Bellavais, who went three furlongs in 36.66 seconds over Belmont’s training track in preparation for Saturday’s $100,000 Wild Applause Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at a mile. Bellavais is coming out of a third-place finish behind Morticia in the Soaring Softly Stakes here on May 20. In January, Bellavais, won the Ginger Brew Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

◗ Big Handsome and Get Jets, two of trainer Tony Dutrow’s top turf horses, breezed five furlongs in 1:00.58 on Monday over Belmont’s turf course in preparation for stakes here next month. The pair went an opening quarter in 24.08 seconds and got their last three furlongs in 36.50, with Get Jets galloping out more sharply past the wire.

Big Handsome, 3 for 3 on turf, is pointing to the $100,000 Manila Stakes going a mile July 4. Get Jets, who has two wins from three starts since being switched to the grass, will start in the $150,000 Forbidden Apple Stakes on July 15.