Exaggerator Shows 'Improvement' in Workout

Exaggerator, winner of the Preakness and Betfair.com Haskell Invitational (both gr. I), put in his final workout ahead of the Travers (gr. I), breezing five furlongs in 1:00.95 on Saratoga Race Course's main track Aug. 20.

Ridden by jockey Dylan Davis, Exaggerator was turned loose from his pony escort on the backside and New York Racing Association clockers caught him in splits of :25 and :36 4/5. The 3-year-old dark bay galloped out to six furlongs in 1:14 3/5 to wrap up a move Julie Clark, assistant to trainer Keith Desormeaux, described as a "marked improvement" over the Curlin   colt's previous breezes on the local surface.

"I liked this work," Clark said. "It was much nicer than the two that Keith was worried about. He went through the lane with his head nice and level—didn't have to be asked. Dylan didn't even get after him—didn't push him at all. He thought he had actually worked him a little slower than he did, so he was surprised he did it so easy."

Clark said that the characteristically energetic colt will have a typically light schedule before the Aug. 27 Travers.

"Surprisingly, he wasn't even blowing," she said of the expected Travers favorite. "He cooled out really easily and wasn't really sweating. Granted, it was cooler this morning than it's been, but he was good.

"He has (bounced back since the Haskell), definitely. I'm sure the whole series leading up to the Triple Crown was affecting him to a degree, but it seems like he was more ready to come back to his usual self after the Haskell than after the Preakness."

Trainer Chad Brown worked all three of his Travers hopefuls Saturday morning on the main track after the renovation break at 8:45 EDT, and later said they are all on target for the race.

Gift Box, with Javier Castellano in the irons, worked alone, went five furlongs in 1:02.48, and picked it up during his gallop out.

Connect, ridden by Hall of Famer John Velazquez in company, covered five-eighths in 1:01.11. My Man Sam, in company and with Manny Franco up, was credited with a five-furlong move in 1:02.65.

"I thought all three horses who are pointing to the Travers worked excellent," Brown said later in the morning at his barn. "Gift Box went solo and I thought he did just what I wanted him to. It was just a maintenance move for him. He looks to be training very well. He did it on his own, but that's him. He's a very good workhorse. That's why we worked him alone. He doesn't need any encouragement to do anything.

"I chose to work Connect in company with another horse. I also worked My Man Sam in company. Both horses seem to work a little better with a target. That's why I did it that way. Both horses worked well and galloped out extremely well. Everyone cooled out fine so far, so I'm happy with that."

Brown said the focus on each of the works was the gallop out.

"I expected the track to be very busy after the break," he said. "I felt like we had more control over what they do on the gallop out the way we had the works set up. That's why I broke them off all at the half-mile pole, expecting them to record at a minimum of a five-furlong work, and all three of them galloped out six furlongs in great time, all around 1:15, give or take, so, it was just what I wanted."

Unlike some of the more seasoned runners expected to contest the Travers, Brown's trio is seeking a first graded stakes win.

"I have a lot of respect for this field," Brown said. "It's a really strong group of 3-year-olds. Most of them have better résumés than my three, but I want to point to this race, first and foremost, as a race that is at the top of my list, that me and the rest of my staff would like to win at some point. I think my three horses are well-suited to run a mile and a quarter. I like the fact that all three of them have had local preps over the surface here. They get to run out of their own barn—this is home for us. All these reasons made the Travers an obvious target for us."

Brown said Velazquez will have the Travers mount on Connect. Franco will be aboard My Man Sam, and Gift Box's rider is still to be determined. Castellano, who worked Gift Box Saturday and has ridden him in each of his five starts, is also the regular rider of Travers hopeful Destin.

Destin went to the gate Saturday morning and is maintaining a typical schedule heading to the Travers. He registered his final breeze Aug. 19, when he officially recorded four furlongs in :50 flat on the Oklahoma training track.

"He stood at the gate and behaved very well," trainer Todd Pletcher said. "We'll have some routine gallops this week and paddock school once or twice. All the heavy lifting is done."

Shadwell Stable's Mohaymen, whose half-mile workout in :47.33 was fastest of 74 at the distance on the main track Friday, came out of the bullet move in good order, and could run next Saturday in either the Travers at 1 1/4 miles or the $500,000 Ketel One King's Bishop (gr. I) at seven furlongs, although trainer Kiaran McLaughlin is leaning to the former.

 

"He came out of the work excellent," McLaughlin said. "I'm going to speak to (Shadwell vice president and general manager) Rick Nichols this morning, but all is well. I'm just saying I'm going to speak to him because the King's Bishop is in the loop, but we'll point to the Travers most likely."

 

McLaughlin wasn't surprised at Mohaymen's sharpness Friday.

"I knew he was doing great, he's a nice horse, and always works pretty well," he said.

 

Mohaymen, fourth as the favorite in the Jim Dandy (gr. II), is a four-time grade II winner from eight to nine furlongs.