Ahead of Haskell, McCraken not ready to concede division title

The first half of the year was not the smoothest for McCraken, who had to overcome two minor injuries, but the second season for 3-year-olds is just beginning, and there is still time for the Ghostzapper colt to prove that he belongs with the best of the division.

McCraken, a three-time graded stakes winner around two turns for trainer Ian Wilkes, is one of seven 3-year-olds pointing to the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational on Sunday at Monmouth Park. The undefeated Timeline and Belmont Stakes runner-up Irish War Cry will vie for favoritism in the 1 1/8-mile race. They will face a solid supporting cast that is expected to include Practical Joke, Battle of Midway, Girvin, and Hence.

The Haskell follows the Jim Dandy at Saratoga by a day. The Jim Dandy will match Kentucky Derby and Florida Derby winner Always Dreaming against Preakness hero Cloud Computing. The weekend races should both produce starters for the Aug. 26 Travers, which Belmont Stakes winner Tapwrit is pointed toward.

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Wilkes hopes McCraken earns his way into the Travers.

“Always Dreaming has an advantage in the division, but things are very wide open,” Wilkes said. “Anyone who has a great second half can win the championship.”

McCraken ranked among the division leaders early in the season. He went 3 for 3 as a 2-year-old, winning the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club and Street Sense stakes at Churchill Downs. He began the year by defeating Tapwrit in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs, but a minor problem kept him out of the Tampa Bay Derby.

“He came up with a slight strain in an ankle,” Wilkes said. “We probably could have pushed on, but I didn’t want to jeopardize the future of the horse. From that point on, we were playing catch-up. When you are pointing to these races, timing is key.”

Wilkes brought McCraken back in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. He made a middle move into contention into the stretch but flattened out and finished third to Irap and Practical Joke.

“He got a little tired on me, came up a little empty,” Wilkes said.

The Blue Grass result was widely panned because it was Irap’s first win. He has since won the Ohio Derby and Indiana Derby. Practical Joke is coming off an impressive score in the Dwyer Stakes at Belmont Park.

McCraken went on to rally wide and finish eighth at 6-1 in the Kentucky Derby. He came out of the race with a puncture wound that wasn’t serious but kept him from running in the Preakness and Belmont. Instead, Wilkes legged McCraken up in the Grade 3 Matt Winn, a 1 1/16-mile race at Churchill.

Although he won the Winn by 2 1/4 lengths under regular rider Brian Hernandez Jr., the race, which earned a 93 Beyer Speed Figure, did little to enhance McCraken’s standing in the division. The Winn did serve its purpose though and has McCraken ready for the Haskell.

“I have a lot of confidence in my horse and am very happy with how he is doing,” Wilkes said. “I have no excuse moving forward.”

McCraken was bred and is owned by the family of Janis Whitham. Wilkes and the Whithams had great success in 2012 and 2013 with Fort Larned, who won the Breeders’ Cup Classic and the Whitney in 2012 and the Stephen Foster Handicap the following year – all under Hernandez – while earning more than $4.4 million.

The Whitham family also has campaigned two-time filly-and-mare champion Bayakoa; four-time Grade 1 winner Affluent; two-time Grade 1 winner Listening; and Grade 1 winners Mea Domina and Toda Una Dama, all with Hall of Fame horseman Ron McAnally.

While Bayakoa and Toda Una Dama were imported from Argentina, the Whithams bred the others.

“It’s remarkable they have done so well with a small operation,” Wilkes said. “They have 10 broodmares or so.”

The Whithams plan to be in from western Kansas to see the Haskell. Fort Larned was named for a historic site in the state, while McCraken is named for a rural Kansas town, population 190.