Travers-bound Gronkowski works on Spa main track
Grade 1 Belmont Stakes runner-up Gronkowski breezed five furlongs in 1:01.44 on the Saratoga main track Sunday morning, completing his fourth work at Saratoga leading up to the Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers on August 25.
Trained by Chad Brown, Gronkowski worked five furlongs for a third straight week, going over a track listed as good. Jose Ortiz, who piloted Gronkowski to his late-running secondplace finish in the June 9 Belmont, is tabbed to ride fellow Brown trainee Good Magic in the Mid-Summer Derby. Joel Rosario was aboard Gronkowski for Sunday’s move and has the mount for the Travers, said Brown.
“It was his first time on the horse,” Brown said of Rosario. “I thought the horse worked extremely well. Particularly his gallop out, [it] was strong. [He] galloped out pretty solid, 1:13 and change, 1:26 and four[-fifths], a strong work. We’ve got him where we need him.”
The Kentucky-bred Lonhro colt boasted four wins from six starts in Europe before getting transferred to Brown’s care. In the Belmont Stakes, he rallied from last of 10 to finish 1 ¾ lengths behind Justify in his Triple Crown-winning effort, marking an impressive North American debut.
“I’ve only run him one time,” said Brown. “He didn’t break well from the gate. He got a great, great ride from Jose. He had a good trip in the Belmont despite the break and after that, he got a really good trip. He’s a pretty straightforward, smart horse. I don’t see anything complicated about him.”
Also on Sunday, OXO Equine’s Instilled Regard breezed four furlongs in 49.55 seconds over the main track. It was the fourth work at Saratoga since the 3-year-old Kentucky-bred by Arch was transferred from Jerry Hollendorfer’s barn to Brown in June.
“He’s another one I thought had a nice gallop out,” he said. “A good breeze, real strong gallop out. He’s still on target for the Pennsylvania Derby [Grade 1, $1 million, September 22]. I’m not going to try and sneak a prep in there.”
Winner of the Grade 3 Lecomte in January, Instilled Regard finished fourth in both the Grade 2 Risen Star and Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. He finished fourth again in the Kentucky Derby, his most recent effort, weaving through heavy stretch traffic to round out the superfecta at odds of 85-1 on May 5.
Peter Brant’s multiple Grade 1 winner Sistercharlie, who took Saturday’s Grade 1 Beverly D. at Arlington Park by a half-length over stablemate Fourstar Crook, will be pointed to the Grade 1 Flower Bowl at Belmont Park on October 7 according to Brown.
“She’s in that top, very selected group of best turf mares I’ve had,” he said. “Remarkable talent to come back in three weeks and run a real blinder. She ran terrific.”
The Beverly D. was the second straight Grade 1 victory after the 4-yearold Irish-bred daughter of Myboycharlie captured the July 21 Diana by a nose over Ultra Brat.
“She ran fast, her number came back fast,” said Brown. “She had to really work to get the win by a small margin, and come back in three weeks, then ship, she’s tough. She got a little cut up in the [Beverly D.], too. Had some sutures in her hind leg, but still ran on, she’s tough.
“The plan was to always go to the Flower Bowl and then the Breeders’ Cup, and right now I’d prefer to do that,” he noted. “She’ll be late going back to the track. I have a feeling it was [Athena]. They did a lot of bumping by the wire first time. I have a feeling it was her.”
Fourstar Crook, winner of the Grade 2 New York on June 8 and who finished a game second in the Beverly D., will also point to the Flower Bowl, said Brown.
“She’s a great mare. She’s really consistent,” he said. “Really a top racehorse. She ran a great race that would win most Beverly Ds. She loves Belmont.”
William H. Lawrence’s Analyze It, second to longshot Carrick in Saturday’s Grade 1 Secretariat at Arlington, will likely point to the Grade 2, $500,000 Hill Prince on October 6. The runner-up finish was the third in a row for the 3-year-old by Point of Entry after suffering narrow defeats by Catholic Boy in the Grade 3 Pennine Ridge and Grade 1 Belmont Derby.
“[I’m] disappointed he didn’t win,” Brown said. “He ran another really good race. I thought the winner ran very well in that race. He just came up second best. He attended a really quick pace on turf with some give in the ground, and he was the only one there at the end. I give him a lot of credit, but you still need to win. The horse that won, I thought got a great trip and ran a really great race. At the end of the day, I’d say that Analyze It was just second best yesterday.
“The Hill Prince, back to a mile and an eighth, seems like it would be a better distance for him. If I could run the horse two more times this year, it would probably be the Hill Prince and the Hollywood Derby, then give him a proper break,” he added.
Shadwell Stable’s Grade 1 winner Almanaar, second to stablemate Robert Bruce in the Grade 1 Arlington Million, will likely get a cutback in distance, said Brown. The English-bred gelding by Dubawi owns a victory in the February 11 Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap.
“I’m not feeling a mile and a half for Almanaar,” said Brown. “So I have to think about what to do with that horse. I’ll talk to Rick Nichols from Shadwell after the horse gets home here, and evaluate him and we’ll see. He’s an extremely talented horse. I know he’s lightly raced over here. He’s had some issues but when he’s right, he’s very, very good. He’s fast. I always thought he was a mile-and-an-eighth, a mile-and-a-quarter [horse]. He might be able to cut back as much as a mile, he’s versatile enough. He has a really good turn of foot.”
Brown also added that Arlington Million winner Robert Bruce will likely point to the Grade 1, $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic on September 29 at Belmont Park.
“[We’ll] probably try him at a mile and a half,” he said. “He has run that far back home. I think he’ll do it here.”