Vino Rosso strong in work

ELMONT, N.Y. – The belief Vino Rosso’s connections held that he would be better as he got older is not only evident in the speed figures of his last three races, but it has proven to be true in his morning training as well.

Friday at Belmont Park, Vino Rosso wrapped up a series of strong workouts leading up to the Breeders’ Cup Classic next Saturday at Santa Anita by working a half-mile in 48.07 seconds over Belmont Park’s training track. After Vino Rosso started two lengths behind stablemate Noble Indy and came a few paths wide in the stretch, jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. asked him to finish up, and he cruised by Noble Indy to beat that one by three lengths through a final quarter in 23.65. Vino Rosso, mostly on his own, galloped out five furlongs in 1:01.27, six furlongs in 1:14.49, and pulled up seven-eighths in 1:28.95.

“Just straightening away for home, Noble Indy got a little bit of a jump on him, so [Ortiz] asked him, and then it seemed like he just inhaled him rapidly,” trainer Todd

Pletcher said. “Then Irad kind of wrapped up on him and came to the wire full of run. The horse is training superbly at the moment. It seems like he’s taken his game to another level the last couple of months.”

In his last three races Vino Rosso won the Gold Cup at Santa Anita with 105 Beyer, finished third to McKinzie in the Whitney with a 100 Beyer, and then crossed the line first in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, earning a career-best 106 Beyer. Vino Rosso was disqualified from first in the Jockey Club for bumping runner-up Code of Honor, a decision that still rankles Pletcher.

“It’s been four weeks now and the more I look at it the more I disagree with the decision,” Pletcher said. “It’s behind us now. I’m proud of the way the horse ran. Aside from that, all you can do is move forward, but I still don’t agree with the call.”

Pletcher sent out two of his other Breeders’ Cup starters for workouts Friday morning. Coal Front, pointing to the Dirt Mile, worked a half-mile in 50.79 under Javier Castellano, who will ride the 5-year-old for the first time in the Dirt Mile. Coal Front actually got moving at the five-furlong pole – he went from there to the half-mile pole in 14.00 – before leveling off and going in quarter splits of 25.12 and 25.67 while galloping out five furlongs in 1:03.97.

“From a conditioning standpoint, we got what we needed out of it,” Pletcher said. “It wasn’t executed exactly as we designed it.”

Channel Cat, pointing to the Turf, worked a half-mile in 49.59 over the Belmont training track. Channel Cat worked outside of Lemonist, going an opening quarter in 24.91 and galloping out five furlongs in 1:02.69.

“I thought that for him on the dirt was a very good breeze,” Pletcher said.

Marathon contenders Marconi and American Tattoo worked a half-mile together in 50.40 on Friday.

Those five horses are expected to ship to California on Monday. Sweet Melania, Pletcher’s Juvenile Fillies Turf contender, will ship from Keeneland.

Pletcher also pre-entered Freewheeler, who remains three deep on the preference list for the Turf Sprint and whose travel status is dependent on whether he can crack the body of the field by Monday.

Final Frontier works, waits

The news sounds encouraging for the connections of Final Frontier and Shekky Shebaz, both of whom were on the outside looking in after the pre-entries for the $1 million Turf Sprint were announced Wednesday.

Breeders’ Cup officials were told that Aidan O’Brien has removed Fairyland and So Perfect from the flight manifest for those traveling from his yard for the Breeders’ Cup. Provided that is the case, Final Frontier and Shekky Shebaz will get into the five-furlong Turf Sprint.

On Friday, Final Frontier, who beat Shekky Shebaz in the Belmont Turf Sprint, worked a half-mile in 48.74 over Belmont Park’s main track. Jose Lezcano worked Final Frontier, though he is not certain to ride him.

“He worked well this morning,” trainer Tom Albertrani said. “It’ll be nice to have the opportunity to run in the race.”

Trainer Jason Servis said he wants to run Shekky Shebaz and that he planned to give him a strong open gallop Saturday.