Cocked and Loaded eyes another New York invasion

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Cocked and Loaded returned to training Wednesday at Arlington for the first time since winning the $246,000 Tremont Stakes on Friday at Belmont Park, and he could return to New York for the Sanford Stakes on July 25 at Saratoga.

Trainer Larry Rivelli said Cocked and Loaded came out of his win Friday in good shape.

“He was a little on the muscle, jogged with the pony, looked great,” Rivelli said of Cocked and Loaded’s Wednesday training.

Cocked and Loaded might have been a little on the muscle Wednesday, but his mind is advanced for his age. Cocked and Loaded comported before his race like an old pro, never turning a hair in a new environment. He broke sharply but was taken back off the pace from post 1 by Irad Ortiz Jr. and came with a solid rally to win by a half-length. His 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:04.17 produced a 79 Beyer Speed Figure.

“The way he ran showed me he can do it from anyplace, and that’s what I like about him,” said Rivelli, who also will look at Del Mar stakes races for Cocked and Loaded, a diminutive colt by Colonel John and out of a Malibu Moon mare.

Cocked and Loaded, purchased privately following a fast debut win April 9 at Keeneland, is owned by Richard Ravin and Patricia’s Hope LLC.

Easy money? Not here

The purse in the featured fourth race Friday at Arlington is a paltry $26,000, and the field competing for that pot would not be misplaced in a race worth four times the money.

:: Bet Arlington Park with DRF Bets. Get up to a $500 cash bonus! Find out more today.

In fact, that’s kind of the idea: The seven-furlong Polytrack race with a couple of high-end allowance conditions and also open to $62,500 claimers could serve as a prep for the $100,000 Hanshin Cup, a one-turn Polytrack mile here July 18.

That’s what Rivelli has in mind for Good Bye Greg, the 5-2 morning-line favorite off an opening-week drubbing of second-level allowance foes in a Polytrack sprint.

Good Bye Greg showed similar promise about one year ago but didn’t really fulfill it in 2014. Rivelli said a small hernia was affecting his performance and led to a layoff of nearly eight months prior to his May 3 comeback win.

“For $26,000, it’s an unbelievable race, but this horse is doing something good right now,” Rivelli said. “I really think he’s going to win.”

Hogy, a multiple stakes winner, starts for the claiming tag Friday and can’t be ignored while returning to his preferred synthetic surface after four dirt races. And both of trainer Chris Block’s entrants have a chance. Sweet Luca was the only horse in 2014 to beat champion sprinter Work All Week, while Sir Applesolutely is well suited to the seven-furlong trip and appears to have trained strongly for this comeback run.