Brigand points to General George at Laurel

Adam Coglianese/NYRA

Brigand is being pointed to the Grade 2 General George Handicap at Laurel Park.

Though he successfully navigated two turns and a mile in his victory in Sunday’s Turnofthecentury Stakes here, Brigand will return to one turn and seven furlongs for the Grade 2, $250,000 General George Handicap at Laurel on Feb. 18.

Brigand, a New York-bred son of Flatter, won the Turnofthecentury by 2 3/4 lengths on the front end. Under Irad Ortiz Jr., Brigand ran a mile in 1:36.70 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 98.

“I was really happy with him,” said Tonja Terranova, who is overseeing the training of Brigand for the Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. “There were some nice older, hard-knocking horses in there. [Groomedforvictory] pressed him, he put that horse away and Irad said he had plenty left in the tank. Definitely, he took a step forward.”

In the General George, Brigand will be returning to a track at which he won the City of Laurel Stakes in December.

Brigand, who cost $925,000 as 2-year-old at the OBS March 2011, now has 5 wins and 5 seconds from 13 starts.