Arklow comes back at the top of his game

Arklow won his first start following a layoff of nearly seven months when he captured a second-level turf allowance race Saturday. Arklow got up by just a neck, but rallied from far behind a relatively slow pace while racing a distance, about 1 1/16 miles, that’s short of his best.

“I thought he ran really well,” trainer Brad Cox said. “He was ridden the way he has to be ridden, which is get him out in the middle of the track and let him do his thing. He’s a big horse with a big stride. He beat a solid group of horses, and he’s only going to get better with more distance.”

More distance is what Arklow will get March 24 in the 1 1/8-mile Muniz Memorial Handicap on the Louisiana Derby undercard. Arklow, whose Sunday win yielded a 90 Beyer Speed Figure, won the Grade 2 American Turf last May at Keeneland, then went off form in the Belmont Derby and the Hall of Fame Stakes before going to the sidelines.

Cox might have a second Muniz starter. Mr. Misunderstood, second last out to Synchrony in the Fair Grounds Handicap, still is under consideration for the race, but Cox said the Maker’s 46 Mile at Keeneland also is an option for Mr. Misunderstood, who won his first eight turf starts before the recent defeat.