McCraken out of Clark Handicap

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – McCraken has been declared from consideration for the Grade 1 Clark Handicap as a strong cast otherwise takes shape for the showcase event of the Churchill Downs fall meet.

Trainer Ian Wilkes said he was not satisfied with a half-mile work Tuesday by McCraken, leading him to decide to turn out the colt until early next year.

“I don’t want to force anything upon him, so I think some time off will do him good,” Wilkes said.

McCraken, bred and owned by Whitham Thoroughbreds, ends the year with seven starts, with his highlights being wins in the Sam Davis and Matt Winn and a just-miss second in the Haskell. The Ghostzapper colt is being sent to Ocala, Fla., for some downtime before rejoining the Wilkes string at Palm Meadows in south Florida to embark on a 4-year-old campaign.

Meanwhile, Diversify and The Player are among the top names for the $500,000 Clark, which will be run here Nov. 24 for the 143rd time. Still, everyone is waiting to see what Bob Baffert decides to send here from his Southern California base, with Hoppertunity the most logical to make the trip. Baffert has won the Clark three times, most recently in 2014 with Hoppertunity, now 6.

The Player, trained by Buff Bradley, won the Grade 2 Fayette on Oct. 28 over a sloppy Keeneland track over Neolithic (second), McCraken (third), and Honorable Duty (sixth and last as the favorite). The 4-year-old colt had his first breeze since that breakthrough victory, going five furlongs in 59.60 seconds here early Friday with regular rider Calvin Borel aboard.

“Calvin said it was real easy for him, that I’ve got him right where you’d want him,” Bradley said. “He’s doing super.”

Bradley said The Player likely will have a final prerace breeze Saturday for the 1 1/8-mile Clark. Questions surrounding the colt’s ability to get a distance were eased after his three-length Fayette score.

“You never know until they show they can do it,” Bradley said.

As for Neolithic, he will not return here from New York and will instead stay put for the Dec. 2 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct, co-owner Jack Wolf said. Honorable Duty, now 0 for 3 on off tracks, breezed a half-mile here Friday in 49.40 and is a go for the Clark.

The Clark is the highlight of a busy final weekend of the 21-day fall meet. Five other graded races will be run Nov. 23-25, including the Grade 2 Falls City on Thanksgiving Day. Pool 1 of the 2018 Kentucky Derby Future Wager also will be offered during the final four days, Nov. 23-26.

Stall has talented foursome

When trainer Al Stall Jr. leaves Monday for his hometown of New Orleans, it will be with arguably his top four horses all having won their last starts here in Kentucky.

Money Flows (Wednesday) and Behavioral Bias (Thursday) were allowance winners here this week, while the undefeated C Z Rocket, an allowance winner Oct. 11 at Keeneland, could make his third career start on closing weekend of the Churchill meet. Yockey’s Warrior, an Oct. 22 allowance winner at Keeneland, is the other member of that talented foursome.

Stall is part of the annual exodus of trainers and jockeys for Fair Grounds, which starts its four-month-plus meet Saturday. Among the jockeys intending to leave Churchill early are Miguel Mena, Shaun Bridgmohan, Gabriel Saez, Francisco Torres, and Jack Gilligan. Jimmy Graham, who last rode Nov. 4, is in his native Ireland for a brief vacation before returning for the Fair Grounds opener.

As previously reported, Corey Lanerie will ride regularly again at Fair Grounds after five winters at Gulfstream. Florent Geroux, the leading rider the last two years at Fair Grounds, will ride opening day, then return for the balance of the Churchill meet before returning to New Orleans.