Good Magic to get full workup after exiting Travers sick

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Good Magic emerged sick from his ninth-place finish as the 7-5 favorite in last Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes and, when healthy, will be shipped to Kentucky to undergo a full physical examination, trainer Chad Brown said Thursday.

Brown said blood tests taken following the Travers revealed that Good Magic had a significantly high white blood cell count. Brown said Good Magic has responded to antibiotics, and he hopes to ship him to Lexington, Ky., next week to “check him out head to toe.”

“Him coming out of the race sick is a little disappointing and a little bit of a relief to know something wasn’t right with the horse, because that’s not him,” Brown said. “Hopefully, it’s just some internal issue and not a soundness issue.”

Brown said Thursday morning was the first one since the race that Good Magic “started to get back to himself, attitude-wise.”

Good Magic, last year’s 2-year-old champion, didn’t break well in the Travers and never got into the race, finishing 15 1/2 lengths behind Catholic Boy in ninth of 10.

Brown said he didn’t want to make any declarations on Good Magic’s status for the rest of the year until after the horse undergoes more tests. However, with the Breeders’ Cup just nine weeks away, he would be under a bit of a time crunch to be ready to run in the Classic at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3.

“He’s done so much for us this year, he doesn’t owe us anything,” Brown said.

Following his physical exam, Good Magic is likely to spend time at Stonestreet Farm in Lexington, Ky. Good Magic is owned by Stonestreet and Bob Edwards.