Whitmore Aiming for Dash

Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect), an impressive winner of the GIII Count Fleet Sprint H. Apr. 15 and GIII Maryland Sprint S. May 20, is expected to make his next start in Laurel's GIII Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash Sept. 16.

The chestnut had a five-race winning streak snapped when a well-beaten third as the even-money favorite in Belmont's GII True North S. June 9. Trainer Ron Moquett had planned on running Whitmore in the GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt July 29 at Saratoga, but he was forced to withdraw the 4-year-old due to a minor injury.

“He pounded his foot traveling on the plane and he basically dislodged his shoe,” Moquett said. “It caused him to be sore, but it was just very temporary. The timing was unfortunate, but I'm just glad he's OK. Our major goal is the [GI] Breeders' Cup [Sprint at Del Mar Nov. 4]. It leads us toward that goal plus the De Francis is a historic race, and it would be a feather in our cap to win it.”