Catholic Boy possible for Travers or Saranac Stakes

ELMONT, N.Y. – It may be a while before we get Round 3 in the budding rivalry between Catholic Boy and Analyze It.

The 1-2 finishers from Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.2 million Belmont Derby, Catholic Boy and Analyze It both emerged from their performances in good order but appear to be targeting different summer objectives.

Catholic Boy, who returned to Saratoga on Sunday morning, will likely skip the Grade 1 Secretariat Stakes at Arlington Park on Aug. 11 to target a race at Saratoga. He will be considered for either the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers, a 1 1/4-mile race on dirt Aug. 25, or the Grade 3, $300,000 Saranac at 1 1/8 miles on turf Sept. 1, trainer Jonathan Thomas said Sunday.

“The Secretariat is a very lucrative and important race; myself, I like the timing of the Travers or even the Saranac better for this particular horse,” Thomas said.

Thomas noted that Catholic Boy had two tough races in a five-week period, beating Analyze It by a neck in the Grade 3 Pennine Ridge and then coming back to beat Analyze It by a head in the Belmont Derby. In both races, Analyze It got in front of Catholic Boy in mid-to-deep stretch before Catholic Boy came back on.

Catholic Boy, a son of More Than Ready, is already a stakes winner on turf at Saratoga, having won last year’s With Anticipation. He is a Grade 2 winner on dirt, having won the Remsen at Aqueduct last fall.

In regards to a possible start in the Travers, Thomas said he would evaluate how that race is shaping up – i.e., does Triple Crown winner Justify run in it? – before he and his ownership group decide whether or not to run.

Meanwhile, trainer Chad Brown said Analyze It would make his next start in the Secretariat. Brown felt the horse proved the 1 1/4 miles is within the colt’s scope.

Brown said he may experiment with blinkers to see if it helps Analyze It finish off his races better.

“We’ll observe the horse training, I’ll try to figure out maybe a change of equipment or is there anything else I can do to correct his issue of wanting to idle when he makes the lead,” Brown said.

Both Catholic Boy and Analyze It were assigned a 99 Beyer Speed Figure for the Belmont Derby.

Brown said that Significant Form, who finished fourth in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks, would be cut back in distance and be pointed to the Grade 2, $300,000 Lake Placid Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on Aug. 18 at Saratoga.

O’Brien quartet ships home

Shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday, the four horses trainer Aidan O’Brien shipped here left Belmont Park for their return trip to Ireland.

O’Brien won the Belmont Oaks with Athena while running third in the Belmont Derby with Hunting Horn. Mendelssohn and Seahenge finished third and fifth in the Grade 3 Dwyer.

The marathon turf races on Aug. 11 at Arlington Park will likely include something from O’Brien. On Sunday, assistant trainer T.J. Comerford didn’t rule out the Grade 1 Beverly D. for Athena, though it would mean the 3-year-old daughter of Camelot would be taking on older fillies and mares.

“I think that she could take on older fillies over here; it’s probably harder to do, but it can be done,” Comerford said.

Athena has run three times since June 21, so O’Brien could elect to give Athena a little more time before her next start.

Athena earned a 97 Beyer for the Oaks victory.

Comerford felt Hunting Horn, beaten two lengths in the Belmont Derby, was compromised by the slow early pace.

“I think if they went the pace they had gone in Athena’s race, it would have suited him a lot better,” Comerford said.

Comerford said he was pleased enough with Mendelssohn’s third in the Dwyer, his first start since finishing last in the Kentucky Derby. Comerford did not know if O’Brien would ship the horse back to the U.S. for the Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 22, as had been previously mentioned, or aim for a race back in Europe.

“Ryan [Moore] and Aidan will have a chat and see what they come up with,” Comerford said. “There’s mile races on the turf at home as well. You might consider them, I’m not sure.”