Derby Scratch Haikal Begins Comeback at Aqueduct

Eight months after Haikal's Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) aspirations hit a bump in the road a few days before the race, the Shadwell Stable colt will push the restart button Jan. 5 when the grade 3 winner makes his first start since finishing third in the Wood Memorial Presented by NYRA Bets (G2).

The homebred son of Daaher  will take his first step on the comeback trail in the seventh race at Aqueduct Racetrack, an $80,000 allowance optional claiming race at a mile.

Haikal will return to the same track and distance where he won the Gotham Stakes (G3) a year ago for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. He was a prime Triple Crown candidate until a bone bruise ended those thoughts.

Video: Stymie S. (BT)

"We went home Derby morning," said McLaughlin, who had to scratch Haikal from the opening leg of the Triple Crown because of the injury. "He checked out well at the clinic. It was just a little bone bruising on a foot. We decided to just give him 45 days off, and then 45 days turned into several months to get him back ready."

McLaughlin originally hoped to run Haikal in a seven-furlong allowance race at Aqueduct, but it didn't fill. He was appreciative of the work by the New York Racing Association's racing office to card Sunday's race with a five-horse field.

"It took a while to find a race. I wanted a race at seven-eighths, but it didn't go, so I appreciate NYRA hustling up some horses to make this one go," McLaughlin said. "I don't know if he'll win. We're just looking to get him started."

Haikal has won three of five starts, all at Aqueduct. His most recent work was a :48.77 four-furlong breeze at the Belmont Park training track Dec. 24, the sixth-fastest of 98 at the distance.

"He's a nice horse doing everything well. We would have liked another work, but the weather has been tough," said McLaughlin, whose stretch-running 4-year-old will break from post 2 under Manny Franco. 

Haikal is scheduled to join McLaughlin in Florida after the race to begin a yet-to-be-determined schedule in 2020.

"We'll try some stakes races in Florida when he's ready," McLaughlin said. "We'll see how he does Sunday, and then we'll look to move up the ladder."

Out of the Distorted Humor  mare Sablah, Haikal is a half brother to 2017 Vosburgh Stakes (G1) winner Takaful (by Bernardini ).

The field includes Wachtel Stable, George Kerr, and Gary Barber's Multiplier, winner of the 2017 Illinois Derby (G3), and Matthew Schera's stakes-winning Vorticity, who is making just his third start since finishing third in the 2018 Pat O'Brien Stakes (G2) at Del Mar. He races for an $80,000 claiming tag.