Brown has Good Magic ready for Haskell

OCEANPORT, N.J. – It doesn’t take a detective to determine the Grade 1, $1 million Haskell Invitational on Sunday goes directly though Good Magic. His strong efforts to undefeated Triple Crown winner Justify in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness are there for all to see.

On Thursday at Monmouth Park, Good Magic drew post 6 with Jose Ortiz named to ride when a field of seven was entered for the Jersey Shore track’s premier event. Morning-line maker Brad Thomas installed Good Magic as the 6-5 favorite.

Good Magic finished second of 20 in the Derby for trainer Chad Brown, then hooked Justify on the lead in the Preakness. They battled hard before Good Magic reluctantly gave ground. He finished fourth, beaten one length.

Brown has worked Good Magic seven times since June 10 for the Haskell.

“We’ve freshened the horse up a little after he ran two tough races back to back,” Brown said. “He needed time to recharge his batteries. I don’t think the layoff will bother him.”

Bravazo ran by Good Magic late in the Preakness to finish second, beaten a half-length, for trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Even though Good Magic did the dirty work on the lead, Bravazo did run well. He came back to finish sixth of 10 in the Belmont.

“We never got a chance to run when we needed to run; that’s simply what happened.” Lukas said of the Belmont. “We were down on the inside. We didn’t get a chance to get into the race at the time we needed to get into the race. When a horse is restrained that long and then you ask them to run, a lot of times they don’t respond. It wasn’t a good race for anybody but the winner.”

Bravazo will start from post 5 under Luis Saez, who was aboard for the Preakness and Belmont. He is the 3-1 second choice on the track line.

Core Beliefs and Lone Sailor were separated by a nose at the finish of the $500,000 Ohio Derby at Thistledown on June 23. Both raced extremely well and neither had an especially good trip.

Core Beliefs, whom trainer Peter Eurton shipped to New Jersey from California on Tuesday, was four wide throughout the 1 1/8-mile Ohio Derby. Lone Sailor, who races for trainer Tom Amoss, broke slowly, split horses in upper stretch and made the lead, then was caught on the wire.

Core Beliefs drew post 4 and is the 4-1 third choice for the Haskell. Flavien Prat will be his third rider in the last three races.

Lone Sailor is 5-1 and will start from the inside stall under Monmouth legend Joe Bravo, who won the 2004 Haskell on Lion Heart.

The field also includes Long Branch winner Navy Commander, who is based at Parx Racing with Butch Reid, and two locally based runners, Pegasus runner-up Roaming Union, who is trained by Kelly Breen, and 15-1 Kent Stakes winner Golden Brown, who is conditioned by Patrick McBurney.

Navy Commander drew post 2, with jockey Angel Arroyo; Roaming Union will start from post 3 under Albin Jimenez; and Golden Brown has post 7 and Jairo Rendon.

Navy Commander is 12-1, Roaming Union is 10-1, and Golden Brown is 15-1.

Good Magic will be Brown’s third starter in the 1 1/8-mile Haskell. Last year he sent out Timeline, who was sent off the 9-5 favorite but finished fifth, and third-place finisher Practical Joke, who was beaten a half-length by Girvin and McCraken.

Timeline hesitated and was bumped at the start, then dragged jockey Javier Castellano up along the inside on the clubhouse turn to contest the pace. He tired in the final quarter-mile.

Brown will be attempting to complete a sweep of the two Grade 1’s at the Monmouth Park meet, having won the United Nations for the third time in the last six years on June 30 with Funtastic.

This will be Ortiz’s first Haskell mount.

Good Magic is by Curlin, who finished third as the 4-5 favorite in the 2007 Haskell. Curlin returned to Monmouth Park that fall and redeemed himself by winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

The Stonestreet Stables of Barbara Banke owned Curlin and bred Good Magic. Banke and a partner, Harold McCormick, won the Haskell in 2009 with Rachel Alexandra, one of only two fillies to ever win the race. Curlin and Rachel Alexandra were trained by Steve Asmussen.

Banke owns Good Magic in partnership with the e Five Racing Thoroughbreds of Bob and Kristine Edwards.

The first filly to win the Haskell was the Lukas-trained Serena’s Song in 1995. Bravazo will be Lukas’s first Monmouth starter since Oxbow finished fourth in the 2013 Haskell.

– additional reporting by David Grening