LoPresti pleased with Wise Dan's work
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Wise Dan didn’t work a bullet or do anything fancy by his standards, although trainer Charlie LoPresti was all smiles back at the barn about 90 minutes after the two-time Horse of the Year breezed an easy five furlongs in 1:02.13 over the main track shortly after the renovation break here Saturday.
With regular exercise rider Damien Rock aboard, Wise Dan covered his opening three-eighths in 37.17 seconds before shading 25 for the final quarter-mile while in reserve throughout. He then galloped out willingly under a hold into the turn, completing six furlongs in 1:15.42 before finally pulling up all the way back around at the half-mile marker.
“I was really pleased this morning. Damien said he dragged him around there the whole way, and this was the best he’s felt since coming back,” LoPresti said. “The last time he worked on the grass, he slipped twice on the turn. There’s a place on the course down inside the dogs that’s a little slick, and his hind end just slipped out from under him, so Damien grabbed a hold of him a little bit until he felt he was okay. He didn’t do it here. That’s one reason I decided to come over to the main track.
“The other is that he’ll get stronger on the dirt, build himself up better, because it pulls on him more. It’s a little easier to work on the grass.”
LoPresti has already ruled out the Grade 2 Fourstardave Handicap this coming Saturday for Wise Dan’s next start. He still has the Grade 2 Bernard Baruch Handicap in mind as an option Aug. 30 while also not ruling out the Grade 1 Woodward over the main track that same day.
“I feel better now because I felt like I was really trying to push everything inside of a bag trying to get him ready for the Fourstardave,” LoPresti said. “Now we have some time and don’t have to set him down just yet. I might space his works out a little bit, not bring him back for eight to 10 days. It’s something we’ve done with him before, and people shouldn’t read anything into it. He’ll tell us when he’s ready, and the way he went over the main track today, I certainly wouldn’t rule out the Woodward as a possibility.”