Breakin the Fever aims for three-peat in George W. Barker Stakes

Breakin the Fever is the king at Finger Lakes as the three-time reigning horse of the meet. But when he made his 6-year-old debut in a May 12 allowance sprint, he didn’t look it, tiring to third, beaten six lengths.

Ronnie Breed and his wife, Debra, own, bred, and train the winner of 20 races and $567,000. Ronnie Breed expects significant improvement Monday when Breakin the Fever looks to win the $50,000 George W. Barker, a six-furlong sprint for New York-breds, for the third year in a row.

“He wasn’t ready for that first race, but I had to run him somewhere to get him ready for the Barker,” Breed said. “He came up short on me. I think you’ll see a different horse on Monday.”

The Breeds typically move into their barn at Finger Lakes in March, but this past winter dragged on, and spring was a late arrival.

“I didn’t want to train him much early. I didn’t want to hurt him,” Breed said. “I lost a lot of days of training.

“Then, when I worked him in 47 and change, it kind of knocked him out.”

Breed has seen recent improvement in Breakin the Fever.

“He’s training better now,” he said. “When we started him back, he was breaking out and sweating before he’d train. He’s not doing that anymore. He’s acting good.”

Breakin the Fever, a son of Roaring Fever out of the Rodeo mare Breakers West, is 17 for 21 at Finger Lakes. He scored his richest victory in the $142,000 Hudson Handicap at Belmont Park in October 2016, defeating Weekend Hideaway by a half-length in the slop.

The six-horse Barker also includes Saratoga Giro and Manipulated, the first- and second-place finishers in the May 12 allowance, and Mighty Zealous, who has won two of his last three starts downstate for trainer Gary Contessa.

Saratoga Giro, winner of 9 of 25 races for co-owner and trainer Paul Barrow, chased Breakin the Fever in the five-furlong allowance, overtook him in upper stretch, and pulled away for a 4 1/4-length victory. He defeated Mighty Zealous in a statebred second-level optional claimer in January at Aqueduct.

Manipulated rallied from several lengths off the pace in that May 12 allowance to overtake Breakin the Fever for second but never challenged Saratoga Giro. Manipulated, a winner of 6 of 20 starts, is owned and trained by Samuel Morales.

Contessa claimed Mighty Zealous for $25,000 last December and has since earned $115,000 with him. The winner of 10 of 44 starts has won New York-bred, second-level optional-claiming races in two of his last three starts, the first time for a tag and most recently under the allowance condition.