Private Zone Works for Sprint

Private Zone (Macho Uno), a leading contender for the GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint, worked a half mile in :48.60 under Carlos Marquez Jr. at Keeneland Saturday just before the track closed for morning renovation at 8 a.m. Going from the three-eighths pole to the seven-eighths in a light drizzle, the GI Forego S. winner produced fractions of :12.80, :35.80, :48.60 and galloped out five-eighths in 1:03.60 over a track labeled as fast.

“Before a big race, I want better than that,” trainer Jorge Navarro revealed. “I wanted a little more. We were going to go at 8:30, but they were sealing the track and I didn’t want to work on a sealed track.”

He continued, “This is the first time he has worked for me when it was this dark. He came back OK and that’s the main thing. Carlos is an old-time rider who takes care of the horse. He said not to worry [about the work], that he is still doing good.”