Exaggerator, Destin, Stradivari put in five-furlong works

Three of the leading members of the 3-year-old division prepped for assignments later this month with five-furlong works Saturday morning at Saratoga.

Stablemates Destin, the Belmont Stakes runner-up, and Stradivari, fourth in the Preakness and fifth in the Belmont, went in company in 1:02.35 after posting early splits of 24.60 and 37.49 seconds, both going easily throughout. They galloped out six furlongs in 1:15.92.

"Kind of nice, steady, maintenance kind of moves," said trainer Todd Pletcher. "I thought they both did fine."

Pletcher said nothing is etched in stone regarding either horse's next start, although he is leaning toward the Jim Dandy Stakes here on July 30 for Destin, with the Haskell also still in the mix, while Stradivari is most likely to make his next start in the Curlin Stakes here on July 29.

Preakness winner Exaggerator, a disappointment as the favorite in the Belmont in his last start, went in 1:00.54 with exercise rider Carlos Correa aboard. Exaggerator went quick early, completing his opening quarter and three-eighths in 23.60 and 35.59 before appearing to tire a bit after being put under steady urging from the three-sixteenths pole to the wire. He galloped out in 1:15.72.

"It looked like to me [that Correa] was having to push him at the wire, which was a bit of a concern," said Julie Clark, assistant to trainer Keith Desormeaux. "When I talked to Carlos, he said he felt full of run; he said he was just gawking at things. He did everything he was supposed to. I would have liked to have seen him look like he was doing it rather easily, but Carlos was pleased with him."

– additional reporting by David Grening