Harlan's Holiday next step toward Pegasus World Cup for Audible
Following a successful return to the races in the $200,000 Cherokee Run Stakes on Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup card at Churchill Downs, Audible was scheduled to ship to South Florida on Tuesday to prepare for the Harlan’s Holiday Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Dec. 15.
The Harlan’s Holiday will be his next step toward the $9 million Pegasus, also at Gulfstream, on Jan. 26.
Audible hadn’t run since finishing third to Justify in the Kentucky Derby. He won the Cherokee Run by two lengths, covered the seven furlongs in 1:22.46, and earned a 99 Beyer Speed Figure for the fourth consecutive race. Audible won the Grade 2 Holy Bull and Grade 1 Florida Derby at Gulfstream earlier this year.
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Trainer Todd Pletcher said that Audible simply needed time following the Kentucky Derby.
“Sometimes it’s hard to wait, but you got to,” Pletcher said. “Hopefully, it pays off down the road.”
Bulletin, who won Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint for Pletcher, went to WinStar Farm on Monday for a brief freshening. Pletcher said the horse would likely join his stable after the holidays at Palm Meadows.
Pletcher said owner Elliott Walden mentioned the possibility of pointing Bulletin to a race at the Royal Ascot meeting in June. He could be a candidate for the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup at six furlongs for the Group 1 St. James’s Palace going a mile.
“If he gets a mile that creates a lot of options,” Pletcher said. “Elliott had thrown out that Ascot thing, too. We’ll see how things progress. He’ll go [to WinStar] and get a little break first.”
Of his other Breeders’ Cup starters, Pletcher said that only Opry, who finished 10th in the Juvenile Turf, is being considered for another start this year.
Pletcher said Opry had his head turned at the start “and blew the break.” Pletcher said Opry came out of the race pretty fresh and may be given another shot on dirt later this year, perhaps in the Remsen.
In his career debut, which was rained off the turf at Saratoga, Opry finished third, a half-length behind Cairo Cat, who came back to win the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs.