Gunnevera aiming for Woodward

Gunnevera emerged from his Friday comeback race at Gulfstream Park in good order and remains on pace for a start in the Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward Sept. 1 at Saratoga, according to his trainer, Antonio Sano.

The Woodward is part of a plan to get Gunnevera back to the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Gunnevera on Friday was making his first start since coming out of an eighth-place finish in the Dubai World Cup with an injury to his right front hoof. He rolled by 6 1/2 lengths in the 1 1/16-mile allowance, winning in hand in 1:42.03 and earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 85.

He returned to the track Monday at his base of Gulfstream Park West.

“Everything is good – everything is a go right now,” Sano said Monday. “The horse came back great. He went back to the track today because he’s doing so good.”

Sano said two works are planned ahead of the Woodward, with a major drill scheduled for Aug. 24. Gunnevera is scheduled to arrive at Saratoga on Aug. 26.

Edgard Zayas, who rode Gunnevera on Friday, has the mount in the Woodward, said Tito Fuentes, agent for Zayas.

Gunnevera was fifth in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic and second to West Coast in the Travers. Gunnevera, a multiple Grade 2 winner who has earned $2.9 million, races for the stable Margoth.