Keeneland: Wise Dan works, on target for Maker's 46 Mile

Wise Dan, the reigning two-time Horse of the Year, continued on a resolute path toward a comeback when he breezed six furlongs Tuesday morning in 1:13.20 over the Polytrack surface at his home base at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky.

Trainer Charlie LoPresti said he is “keeping his fingers crossed” in hopes that Wise Dan continues to thrive toward his targeted return, the Grade 1 Maker’s 46 Mile on April 11 over the Keeneland turf.

“The track was a little slower and deeper than normal this morning,” said LoPresti. “He came home the way he usually does – he got his final quarter in 24. He got a good blow out of it. We’re happy.”

LoPresti said he hopes to work Wise Dan again next Tuesday and that “everything is going the way we’d hope” toward the start of a 7-year-old campaign. This latest workout was the fifth for Wise Dan since late February.

Wise Dan, bred and owned by Morton Fink, has not raced since clinching his second straight Horse of the Year title with a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Mile in early November.

Turf races in the one-mile range have been a specialty for Wise Dan in his two championship seasons (2012-13), but Fink and LoPresti both have said they intend to try different types of races with the gelding as 2014 unfolds.

Wise Dan, by Wiseman’s Ferry, has 19 wins from 27 starts and earnings of $6,293,610.