Shadwell Stable's Fayeq (Malibu Moon), a sharp allowance winner in his two-turn debut at Saratoga July 26, remains on course for the GI Travers S. Aug. 26. The half-brother to the brilliant Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d'Oro) and $800,000 KEESEP yearling purchase worked four furlongs in :48.89 (5/58) at the Spa Aug. 17. “I think he wants [to run] all day–if he'll switch leads it will certainly help,” trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said. “He didn't ever switch leads in the last race, he broke on his left and stayed the whole mile and an eighth on his left. He's a very nice horse, a beautiful horse, he's won his last two, and we feel like he's improving all the time, but it's a tough race.”
'TDN Rising Star' and Shadwell Stable homebred Takaful (Bernardini) is being aimed at the GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on the Mid-Summer Derby undercard. The ultra-impressive July 21 Saratoga allowance winner worked four furlongs in :50.88 (56/65) on Belmont Park's training track Thursday. “He worked this morning at Belmont in :50, and is doing well. He stays down there because he's tricky to train,” McLaughlin said. “He'll come up maybe one day before, maybe two. He came up two days before and jogged last time.”
Two-time GISW Shaman Ghost (Ghostzapper) will have a procedure done on his throat on Monday at Cornell Ruffian Equine Specialists in Elmont, New York, keeping him out of the GI Woodward S. Sept. 2. “We're going to ship him down there and have the procedure,” trainer Jimmy Jerkens said. “He was making a little bit of a noise that we didn't like and we investigated it and it needs to be addressed. That doesn't always help, the surgery, but we certainly have to try it.” Shaman Ghost was most recently second in the GII Suburban S. July 8.
Reddam Racing's Irap (Tiznow) continues to progress well at trainer Doug O'Neill's Del Mar summer base as he bids for his third straight graded stakes win in the upcoming GI Travers S. “He's always been a really physically mature horse, even at a young age, but the last three months or so, he's just really matured a ton mentally,” O'Neill said. “And he had some foot bruises here and there and that's really turned around too. Knock on wood, his feet are really good right now and he's coming around at the right time.”
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
