Keeneland: Wise Dan turns in bullet workout

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Wise Dan, the reigning Horse of the Year, worked Wednesday morning over the Keeneland main track, going five furlongs in 59.60 seconds, the fastest time at that distance among 14 workouts that morning.

The Wednesday work was the first for Wise Dan since he won the Grade 1 Maker’s 46 Mile at Keeneland on April 12, defeating four other horses.

“I just wanted to work him one time and see how he worked and how his fitness level was,” trainer Charles LoPresti said. “He worked really good today.”

LoPresti had said prior to the Maker’s 46 Mile that he did not believe that Wise Dan was 100 percent fit for the race. The Maker’s 46 Mile was Wise Dan’s first start since he won the Breeders’ Cup Mile in course-record time on Nov. 3.

Plans for Wise Dan’s next race are still up in the air, LoPresti said, in part because the horse’s older half-brother, Successful Dan, won the Ben Ali Stakes at Keeneland last Sunday, in his first race since June 30. Both horses are based at Keeneland and are owned and bred by Morton Fink. LoPresti has said he would like to keep the two horses separated.

The Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic on the Kentucky Derby undercard May 4 is a possibility for Wise Dan, LoPresti has said. Successful Dan was scheduled to return to the track for the first time since the Ben Ali on Thursday.