Count Again rejuvenated since being freshened

ARCADIA, Calif. – Count Again, the winner of the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita on Saturday, is far removed from a winless campaign in five races in 2021.

The turnaround has been so profound that trainer Phil D’Amato is hoping the 7-year-old Count Again can progress into a candidate for the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Keeneland in November. Such a thought would have seemed remote last summer when Count Again finished third in the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes and last of five in the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile. After the Del Mar Mile, Count Again did not race again until a win in the Grade 3 Thunder Road Stakes at a mile on turf at Santa Anita on Feb. 5, the first time he was ridden by Flavien Prat.

“I think he had bad luck last year in the big races,” D’Amato said. “We thought maybe if we give him some time we’d have a different horse.

“I think pairing him with Prat and the freshening made a difference.”

D’Amato said on Sunday that Count Again will be considered for the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile, a $600,000 race at Keeneland on April 15. Another possibility is the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile on turf at Santa Anita on May 30.

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“We’ll see if we can make one or both,” D’Amato said. “I imagine he’d have three or four races to get us to the Breeders’ Cup.”