First Captain might target Clark via Fayette Stakes

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – First Captain, third in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup, could make his next start in the Grade 2, $350,000 Fayette Stakes at Keeneland on Oct. 29, trainer Shug McGaughey said.

McGaughey said First Captain could use the Fayette as a stepping-stone to the Grade 1 Clark at Churchill Downs on Nov. 25.

McGaughey said First Captain would be nominated to the Grade 1, $500,000 Woodward at Aqueduct on Oct. 1 just to give him that option should that race come up a light field. The presence of Life Is Good will likely limit the size of the Woodward field.

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Before the Jockey Club, First Captain finished second in the Grade 2 Suburban and won the Grade 3 Pimlico Special.

McGaughey said the multiple graded stakes-winning 3-year-old filly Kathleen O. would likely have her first local workout at Belmont Park on Sunday. She is targeting the Grade 3, $175,000 Comely Stakes at Aqueduct on Nov. 25.

Kathleen O., unraced since finishing fifth in the Kentucky Oaks in May, worked three furlongs in 38.20 seconds on Sept. 8 at Churchill Downs before shipping to Belmont.