Cocked and Loaded on track for Sanford

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Cocked and Loaded, who shipped from Arlington to win the Tremont Stakes on June 5 at Belmont Park, remained on track for a return trip to New York and a start July 25 in the Grade 3 Sanford Stakes at Saratoga when he worked five furlongs in 1:02 last week over Arlington’s main track.

Cocked and Loaded has won both of his starts and was privately purchased after a debut win at Keeneland in April. The two races were on dirt, but trainer Larry Rivelli said Cocked and Loaded traveled at least as well over Arlington’s Polytrack as he does on a dirt surface.

“He’s training super right now,” Rivelli said.

Cocked and Loaded earned a 79 Beyer Speed Figure in winning the $246,000 Tremont by a half-length, and he figures among the favorites in the Sanford, which, despite being a graded race with a richer history, offers a purse roughly $100,000 less than the Tremont.

Cocked and Loaded, by Colonel John, might get a chance to race over Arlington’s main track later this summer if Rivelli’s long-term plan comes to pass. After the Sanford, Rivelli said, he’d like to point Cocked and Loaded to the Arlington-Washington Futurity as a prep for a Breeders’ Cup race this fall at Keeneland.