Barnes preps for trip to Saratoga for Jerkens
?q=100)
Barnes, a Grade 2 stakes winner in January who has not raced since a fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby in April, worked six furlongs in 1:12 at Del Mar on Friday in preparation for a scheduled start in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 23.
The $500,000 Jerkens is run at seven furlongs and is one of the nation’s leading sprints for 3-year-olds.
Barnes has had a series of fast works in recent weeks, including five furlongs in 59 seconds at Del Mar on July 26.
“He’s doing a lot better,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “He needed freshening. He went off form on me.”
Owned by Amr Zedan, Barnes has won 2 of 4 starts, highlighted by a victory by 5 1/2 lengths in the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes at seven furlongs at Santa Anita in January.
Barnes later finished behind Journalism with a second-place finish in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on March 1, and the Santa Anita Derby, in which he was last of five. Journalism has since won two Grade 1 races and finished second to Sovereignty in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.