Effinex might keep campaign domestic after all

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Two weeks ago, the Grade 1 winner Effinex was being strongly considered for the $10 million Dubai World Cup at Meydan on March 26. He might alter course and make his seasonal debut in the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap on March 12 instead.

Russell Cohen, the racing manager for his family’s Tri-Bone Stable, has not ruled out a trip to the World Cup but said he’s concerned about the potential impact of a trip to Dubai on the horse. By running in the Santa Anita Handicap, Effinex gets a race over the track and at the distance of the Breeders’ Cup Classic later this year, something Cohen said is appealing to him. Effinex, a New York-bred son of Mineshaft, finished second to American Pharoah in the 2015 Classic at Keeneland.

“It’s still a 20-hour trip [to Dubai], and he’s not standing at stud outside of the States,” Cohen said Wednesday at Belmont Park. “It’s a ton of money, but I risk potentially not being able to run him in Saratoga. Winning a Grade 1 race in the States versus running second or third in the Dubai World Cup, the Grade 1 weighs a lot more. I want to do what’s in the best interests of the horse.”

Effinex was scheduled to leave Belmont Park by van Thursday morning and head to trainer Jimmy Jerkens at Palm Meadows in south Florida. Cohen had considered leaving Effinex in New York and possibly prepping him in the Haynesfield Stakes for New York-breds on Feb. 13 but has changed his mind.

Effinex, who ended his 4-year-old season with a Grade 1 victory in the Clark Handicap at Churchill last November, has been in steady training for about a month but has only a pair of slow three-furlong breezes under his belt. Clockers credited Effinex with a time of 40.44 seconds for three furlongs Wednesday over the training track.