Rich Strike Gearing Up for Trip to Spa

Seventy-five days have passed since Rick Dawson's RED TR-Racing's Rich Strike  shocked the world in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). 

The 3-year-old son of Keen Ice   reappeared in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) and ran a dud, finishing sixth. Now Rich Strike has had his time off and has gotten back to work, aiming for a start in the $1.25 million Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) Aug. 27 at Saratoga Race Course.

"He has grown a lot and he was plenty big enough already," trainer Eric Reed said from Kentucky. "He has just filled out even more with the time off. He is really happy now. He was not happy not getting to train like normal. He did not understand a 30-day break. I was trying to rest him and just give him a chance to unwind. He is happy that he is able to gallop like his normal self and not have easy days."

The horse has been training at Reed's Mercury Equine Center in Lexington. His first published work since the Belmont came July 8 when he went four furlongs in :50 2/5.

PEREZ: Kentucky Derby Winner Rich Strike Works at Mercury

The plan is for Rich Strike to move on to Churchill Downs for a couple of works before shipping to Saratoga a few weeks before the Travers.

Reed said Rich Strike, who won the Derby at odds of 80-1, is as popular as ever. Maybe more.

"I can't get over it," Reed said. "I receive so many things in the mail. Poems and pictures from children. Fans constantly want to come and see him. We try to accommodate them the best we can, but it's something I'm really not used to."

According to Equibase, the last time Reed ran a horse at Saratoga was Sept. 5, 2020, when he saddled Complicit  to a seventh-place finish in the Glens Falls Stakes (G2T). In his career, he has started 18 horses at Saratoga.

Reed has never won a stakes race at the Spa. He has two wins and two second-place finishes. In his first Saratoga start, he ran fourth with Sweet and Flawless  in the 2009 Alabama Stakes (G1).