Attfield back on work tab; might run on dirt
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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Attfield, last seen winning the Central Park Stakes on turf at Aqueduct on Nov. 7, returned to the work tab Thursday at Belmont Park, breezing a half-mile in 49.90 seconds over the training track.
While it was Attfield’s first official work of his 3-year-old season, trainer Tom Morley said the horse “had a little leg-stretcher” last week.
Morley said it has not yet been decided where Attfield will make his 3-year-old debut. Morley is leaving all options open, including a try on dirt, a ship to Turfway Park for a synthetic race, or perhaps somewhere south for a turf race.
“There is no reason why this horse should not be able to run on dirt. He’s always worked very well on it,” Morley said. “Am I going to compromise what could be a very big 3-year-old turf campaign and make a mistake by starting the year off on the wrong foot? He has a lot more hoops to jump through before we start talking about racing.”
Morley said jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. was aboard for Thursday’s workout and confirmed the suspicions that Morley had about the way Attfield has matured physically since his brief winter break.
“He looks to have filled out from his break, looks to have gotten quite significantly stronger behind the saddle,” Morley said. “Ricardo was very happy with him and felt he’s matured from 2 to 3. We’ll press on with some more serious workouts after today, but no targets, no plans, no thoughts, no nothing.”
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