Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Midnight Bisou has first work since winning the Fleur de Lis
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Led by champion Midnight Bisou, trainer Steve Asmussen had at least a trio of horses he plans to run in Grade 1 races at Saratoga put in workouts Monday over Saratoga’s main track.
Midnight Bisou, looking to repeat in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign on Aug. 1, worked five furlongs in 1:01.22, going in company with Tenfold, the 2018 Jim Dandy and 2019 Pimlico Special winner. Daily Racing Form clocker Mike Welsch caught the team in splits of 24.63 seconds and 36.23 seconds.
It was Midnight Bisou’s first work since she won the Fleur de Lis at Churchill Downs on June 27.
“She did miss her first work back over the travel and the weather,” Asmussen said. “I had considered working her on Sunday but we all saw the [wet] weather. We’re obviously very pleased it moved out and had a good surface today.”
Asmussen said Tenfold would be nominated to multiple races, including the Grade 1 Whitney on Aug. 1 and the $85,000 Alydar on Aug. 9.
Asmussen’s top-flight sprinter Volatile worked five furlongs from the half-mile pole in company with Shoplifted, the pair going in 1:00.10 while galloping out six furlongs in 1:13.56, according to Welsch.
Volatile, eight-length winner of the Aristides Stakes on June 6, is pointing to the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt on July 25. Shoplifted, who won his maiden and was second in the Grade 1 Hopeful here last summer, is pointing to the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens on Aug. 1.
“Solid set, both within themselves,” Asmussen said.
Also working Monday for Asmussen was Pneumatic, the fourth-place finisher in the
Belmont Stakes, who went five furlongs in 1:00.61 in company with recent maiden winner Amani’s Eagle. Pneumatic is pointing to the $500,000 West Virginia Derby on Aug. 1.
Dunbar Road gets 96 Beyer
Trainer Chad Brown’s longterm goal with Dunbar Road is the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Nov. 7 at Keeneland. What path he chooses to get here there remains an open question.
Brown was impressed with Dunbar Road’s three-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 2 Delaware Handicap at Delaware Park.
“Although it wasn’t the strongest field, I thought it was one of her best races the way she ran and really galloped under the wire with plenty in the tank,” Brown said. “This filly has continued to move forward.”
Dunbar Road is now 6 for 9, including a victory in the Grade 1 Alabama at Saratoga last summer. Brown’s options for Dunbar Road include the Grade 1 Personal Ensign at Saratoga on Aug. 1, the Grade 1 La Troienne
at Churchill Downs on Sept. 5, and races like the Spinster at Keeneland and Beldame at Belmont, both fall races yet to be scheduled.
“There’s options around,” Brown said. “She’s run well at all those tracks.”
Dunbar Road earned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure for her Delaware Handicap victory.
Creed to wait for Jim Dandy
Though the 3-year-old Creed was impressive in two victories at the Belmont Park spring/ summer meet, trainer Shug McGaughey does not plan to rush him into the big events such as the Travers or Kentucky Derby.
McGaughey said his summer target is more likely to be the Grade 2, $150,000 Jim Dandy, which has been scheduled for Sept. 5 at Saratoga.
“I want to give him a little separation from his last race,” McGaughey said.
Creed won a maiden race on June 11 by 7 3/4 lengths over a muddy track, then came back three weeks later to win a firstlevel allowance on July 2 by 1 1/4 lengths. While McGaughey didn’t specifically mention the Preakness, were Creed to run well in the Jim Dandy, that would give him four weeks to the Preakness, which is scheduled for Oct. 3 at Pimlico.
Tap It to Win will shorten up
Tap It to Win was back on the work tab Monday for the first time since his fifth-place effort in the Belmont Stakes 23 days ago, breezing an easy half-mile in 48.00 over the main track at Saratoga.
Tap It to Win set the pace for the opening mile before tiring to finish 14 lengths behind Tiz the Law in the Belmont Stakes, which was shortened to 1 1/8 miles and run as the opening leg of the Triple Crown this year on June 20. The lightly raced son of Tapit earned a berth in the race after winning a first-level allowance race by five lengths going 1 1/16 miles while earning a 97 Beyer Speed Figure two weeks earlier. John Velazquez rode him in both races.
Trainer Mark Casse said Monday he intends to run Tap It to Win next in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens at seven furlongs here on Aug. 1.
“Johnny said he wasn’t the same horse in the Belmont that he was in the previous race,” Casse said. “The fractions were really not crazy. Maybe the previous race took a little too much out of him. You never can tell.
“So now we’ll just regroup. We don’t have a lot of choices. I don’t want to be running him in the Travers or Haskell or races like that, so we’ll try him sprinting. He won very impressively at six furlongs over this track last summer, so we’ll shorten him up next time and see.”