Kid Cruz back in Rice barn

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Kid Cruz, who emerged from the claiming ranks to be a multiple stakes winner in 2014, is back with trainer Linda Rice after recovering from surgery to remove a knee chip following his fourth-place finish in last summer’s Travers Stakes.

Rice said Friday was Kid Cruz’s first day under tack. He will walk under tack for about two weeks before starting training in mid-December.

Rice said she was hopeful to have Kid Cruz ready to run by March or April.

Rice claimed Kid Cruz for $50,000 in November 2013 and the horse won four stakes in 2014 – the Private Terms, Federico Tesio, Easy Goer, and Grade 3 Dwyer – and earned $480,400 this year.

◗ With rain forecast for the weekend, Friday became quite busy at Belmont with 156 horses putting in timed workouts over the training track. Among those on the worktab was the 2-year-old filly Feathered, who went four furlongs in 50.74 seconds in company. Feathered, trained by Todd Pletcher, is being pointed to the Grade 1 Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos on Dec. 13.