Effinex breezes, starts road to Dubai World Cup

ELMONT, N.Y. – The road to the Dubai desert in March for Effinex began at balmy Belmont Park on Saturday.

Effinex breezed an easy three furlongs in 37.94 seconds shortly after 8 a.m., his first workout since winning the Grade 1 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs in November. It is also his first breeze on the road to the $10 million Dubai World Cup at Meydan on March 26.

Under partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-40s – not bad for early January in New York – Effinex broke off at the three-furlong pole in 12.61 seconds before exercise rider Rodrigo Hernandez took a little hold of the colt, who got his final quarter in 25.33. Hernandez didn’t allow Effinex to gallop out very strongly.

“All we were trying to do is stretch his legs, get him woke up,” said Steve Moyer, the New York-based assistant for trainer Jimmy Jerkens. “Physically, I don’t think the horse could look any better. Coming off the track, he looked like an absolute Grade 1 winner. His muscle tone is still good, his color’s terrific. He’s a happy horse right now.”

Effinex, who finished second to American Pharoah in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, had basically been out of training for a month after his Clark Handicap victory. The original plan was to get additional time off and point to the Stymie Stakes at Aqueduct in March for his return.

But Russell Cohen, the racing manager for his family’s Tri-Bone Stables, had a change of heart and wanted to point for the Dubai World Cup. Effinex had the tack put back on him Dec. 31 for two days of walking, returned to the track Jan. 2, jogged for three days, and galloped for four days before breezing Saturday.

“This was more like an extended gallop,” Moyer said.

Effinex likely will have another breeze at Aqueduct next Friday or Saturday before a decision is made on whether he remains in New York or ships to Jerkens at Palm Meadows in south Florida.

Options for a World Cup prep for Effinex include the Haynesfield Stakes for New York-breds on Feb. 13 at Aqueduct or the Grade 2, $500,000 Gulfstream Park Handicap, a one-turn mile at Gulfstream on March 5.