Code of Honor back to work; Performer sidelined

ELMONT, N.Y. – Code of Honor, half-length winner of the Grade 3 Westchester Stakes on June 6, returned to the work tab Friday morning, breezing a half-mile in 50.31 seconds, with a final quarter of 24.07, according to Daily Racing Form clocker Mike Welsch. Code of Honor galloped out five furlongs in 1:02.35 and six furlongs in 1:14.96.

Trainer Shug McGaughey said he is still taking a wait-and-see approach as to Code of Honor’s next start. The potential targets are the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap on July 4 at Belmont or the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes on Aug. 1 at Saratoga.

McGaughey said he is giving the Met Mile some consideration.

“I’ll nominate him and take a look,” McGaughey said. “I just don’t want to overdo it. I’ve been [walking] him some myself in the afternoons, and he’s got plenty of energy.”

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Meanwhile, McGaughey said he has stopped on Performer, who was scratched from the Grade 1 Carter on June 6 due to an ankle injury. He will be out of training for a minimum of 30 days.

“Just has some minor hyperextension of his ankle,” said McGaughey, who plans to send Performer to Blackwood Farm in Kentucky.

Performer was a late-developing 3-year-old of 2019. McGaughey may have a late-developing 3-year-old of 2020 in Creed, who on June 11 won a 1 1/16-mile allowance race by 7 3/4 lengths, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 89.

McGaughey said he would like to run Creed in an allowance race next “and see where that takes us.”

McGaughey said he wasn’t surprised that Creed delivered that kind of performance after finishing second in his debut going seven furlongs at Tampa Bay Downs in April.

“He had trained awfully well and his first race was really good and he improved a lot off his first race,” McGaughey said. “I would have been disappointed if he hadn’t run good, but I was excited about the way he did run. Came out of it fine.”