Mandaloun Drills Sharp Six Furlongs for Stephen Foster
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Photo: Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia/Mathea Kelley
Mandaloun trains in February ahead of the Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racecourse
Juddmonte’s 2021 Kentucky Derby sponsored by Woodford Reserve (G1) winner Mandaloun continued his serious preparations for the July 2 $750,000 Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) with a swift six-furlong move the morning of June 19 at Churchill Downs.
Maybe one of the only good things for @flothejock having airline issues yesterday on his way to Monmouth was he made it back in time to breeze Mandaloun this morning. The 2021 Derby winner went 6 furlongs in 1:12.40. pic.twitter.com/cOLuSRsR5d
— Kevin Kerstein (@HorseRacingKK) June 19, 2022
The Brad Cox-trained Mandaloun, who has been away from the races since finishing ninth in the Saudi Cup (G1) in February, rattled off fractions of :12 4/5, :36 2/5, and 1:00 1/5 under regular jockey Florent Geroux. Churchill Downs clocker John Nicholas caught the 4-year-old son of Into Mischief in 1:12 2/5 for six furlongs, with a seven-furlong gallop-out time of 1:25 4/5.
For Geroux, it was a whirlwind 24 hours, and he wasn't necessarily scheduled to work Mandaloun. Geroux was slated to ride Saturday at Monmouth Park, where he had the mount on Cox's TVG.com Pegasus Stakes winner Home Brew , but he didn’t make it to the Jersey Shore track due to several travel delays. He caught an early flight back to Louisville for the 5:30 a.m. work.
The 1 1/8-mile Stephen Foster is a Breeders' Cup Challenge event for the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) Nov. 5 at Keeneland. Other Stephen Foster probables include grade 1 winner Americanrevolution and June 4 Blame Stakes victor Dynamic One , both from the barn of Todd Pletcher.