Idolo Porteno will focus on turf racing

Idolo Porteno, the 2014 Horse of the Year in Argentina who ran a game third in the Grade 3, $350,000 Razorback Handicap last Saturday at Oaklawn, will now focus on turf racing, said trainer Ignacio Correas.

Idolo Porteno, a Group 1 winner on dirt and turf, was making his North American debut in the Razorback. He shipped Tuesday from Oaklawn, where he has been based over the winter, to Keeneland.

“I was very happy with his race,” Correas said of the horse’s first start since June. “I think it was a good experience for him to come back at a mile and a sixteenth. That was perfect. I need to get him on the grass again. We are going to go long on the grass. That’s his thing.”

Correas said Idolo Porteno will be considered for the Grade 2 Elkhorn, a 1 1/2-mile turf race April 23 at Keeneland. The horse has also been nominated to the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at 1 1/8 miles on turf May 7 at Churchill Downs, but that might be a less-than-optimal distance for him, said Correas.

“The good thing is the turf season is just starting,” said Correas.