Bravazo back to work for Lukas

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said iron-horse Bravazo returned to the track Wednesday morning at Oaklawn Park, two days after working a half-mile in advance of the Grade 1 $9 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational on Jan.

26 at Gulfstream Park in Florida. Bravazo began his busy

3-year-old campaign with an allowance victory in January at Oaklawn and won the Grade 2

$400,000 Risen Star Stakes in February at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans before going through the Triple Crown series.

The Preakness runner-up finished second, beaten a neck, in the Grade 1 $500,000 Clark Handicap on Nov. 23 at Churchill Downs in his 11th and final start this year. Bravazo breezed a half-mile in :48.80 over a good surface Monday morning.

“I gave him one day off after the work,” Lukas said Thursday morning. “I leaned on him pretty good yesterday and coming down through the horse path, he banged me around, jerked me around. He’s something else.”

Bravazo will be based at Oaklawn for the next five weeks before shipping to Florida about five days before the Pegasus, Lukas said, adding breeder and owner Calumet Farm is committed to race the son of Awesome Again throughout 2019.

Following the Pegasus, Lukas said Bravazo would “probably be a pretty good candidate” for the Grade 3 $500,000 Razorback Handicap on Feb. 18 at Oaklawn, with the major spring objective being the Grade 2 $750,000 Oaklawn Handicap on April 13.

Oaklawn reported 500 horses on the grounds Thursday morning. Only two horses recorded workouts over the sloppy surface. Training hours are now 7-10 a.m.

Hall of Fame jockey Calvin Borel announced he will return to Oaklawn for the 2019 meeting following a one-year absence. Borel was Oaklawn’s leading jockey in 1995 and 2001 and has 952 career victories in Hot Springs.