Madison's Luna works five furlongs in Saratoga debut prep

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The conditions may not have been ideal when the racetrack opened for training here Sunday morning. But the wet and sealed strip did not deter Grade 3 winner Madison’s Luna from working a sharp five furlongs in 1:01.63 with regular rider Julien Leparoux aboard in preparation for his Saratoga debut, which will come later this week in either the 1 1/8-mile Curlin on Friday or 6 1/2-furlong Amsterdam the following day.

Shortly after the work, trainer Phil Bauer, after having talked with stakes coordinator Andrew Byrnes over the weekend, said the Curlin seemed the more likely.

“It sounds like the Amsterdam is coming up a bigger field than in past years, certainly a lot bigger than the Curlin,” Bauer said. “Plus, I think I’d rather keep him around two turns and move progressively forward in distance and see if that’s to his benefit after running him a mile on the grass in his last start.”

Madison’s Luna was an instant hit for Bauer and his owners, Digney Racing LLC, after winning his first two career starts including the Grade 3 Hutcheson at Gulfstream Park by five widening lengths in March. But the gravy train hit a bump in the road after Madison’s Luna, a 3-year-old son of Tapit, turned in very disappointing efforts in both the Pat Day Mile and Woody Stephens.

“He ran two such bad races, with some type of excuses for both, that I put him in that allowance race on the turf at Churchill Downs to try to put some confidence back in him and it seemed to do him good,” Bauer said. “And by running him two turns, it helps him get involved in the race a little easier rather than dropping well back as he did in his two poor outings. I thought he got across the ground real well this morning and Julien was pleased, as well, with the way he worked.”