By Ben Massam
By all accounts, Donegal Moon (Malibu Moon) signified that he is ready to tackle tougher competition in the future after his win in the GIII Pegasus S. at Monmouth Park this past Sunday, and Donegal Racing's Jerry Crawford has wasted little time scouting out possibilities for the talented chestnut's next start. Although the Pegasus is a logical local prep for the July 31 GI Betfair.com Haskell Invitational, Crawford said he and trainer Todd Pletcher are keeping a number of options open depending on how the leaders of the sophomore division sort themselves out in the coming weeks.
“Todd got to me today and said he came out of [the race] very well,” Crawford said. “I think that there are a number of options, obvious ones. I've been doing a little research over the last couple of days on what it would take, in terms of numbers, to win the Haskell–which of course we ran in last year with Keen Ice (Curlin)–what it would take to win the [July 30 GI] Jim Dandy, what it would take to win the [Aug. 6 GII] West Virginia Derby. I've been in touch with Len Friedman at Ragozin [performance sheets], and they're pretty high on him. So we'll give him some time and put him in an aggressive spot, because everyone thinks he's doing well and could well move forward from here.”
Although Donegal Moon's earlier successes in his career came with a forwardly placed running style, the colt rallied from last to capture the Pegasus. Crawford said that the new running style was a necessity because the race had a wealth of early speed signed on.
“We knew he should not try to contest that pace on Sunday, because it was going to be a hot one and that didn't figure into him having a good chance at all,” Crawford continued. “I thought he'd be sitting fourth… He bobbled just a little at the break, so instead of fourth he was at the back of the pack, which was still fine. It wasn't like he lost contact with them or anything… It worked to perfection, it was one of those times when everything went right.”
Crawford also had positive news to report about 4-year-old Keen Ice (Curlin), best known for his upset victory over Triple Crown hero American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) in the GI Travers S. last August while under the care of trainer Dale Romans. Sidelined with a fracture to his hind cannon bone following an eighth-place finish in the G1 Dubai World Cup Mar. 26, the bay has healed up and resumed training at WinStar Farm.
“Keen Ice got a clean bill from Dr. [Larry] Bramlage the other week and he's back on the track,” Crawford explained. “He's down at WinStar and he'll be there for probably three weeks and then come join Todd at Saratoga.”
The recent good fortune for Team Donegal comes on the heels of a victory by stable stalwart Finnegan's Wake (Powerscourt {GB}) in a Santa Anita optional claimer last Thursday. The 7-year-old went a bit off form following a win in Churchill's GI Woodford Reserve Turf Classic in May 2015 and failed to hit the board in his first two starts this year, but rebounded nicely with a rallying half-length victory in the 1 1/8-mile event. Finnegan's Wake could make his next start in the GII Eddie Read S. at Del Mar July 17.
“We were very pleased with Finnegan's Wake last Thursday, with his win out at Santa Anita,” Crawford concluded. “We were looking to see if there were signs that he was still at full capacity, because if he is, he'll go to the Eddie Read and eventually the [Aug. 13 GI] Arlington Million. We'll just have to see how he does in his next breeze, but he looks to have passed that test.”
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