McCraken has final Travers work

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer Ian Wilkes had been wavering on whether to work McCraken one more time or simply give him an extended gallop five days out from Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga.

After watching the 3-year-old gallop strongly on Monday morning, Wilkes opted to give McCraken one more breeze Tuesday morning. McCraken, working by himself at 6:25 a.m., went a half-mile in 51.21 seconds over the Oklahoma training track. Under exercise rider Yoni Orantes, McCraken went his first quarter in 26.19 seconds and his second quarter in 25.02 with Orantes smooching a little to him in the final furlong. McCraken galloped out five furlongs in 1:04.75.

Wilkes said he wanted to give McCraken “a little more” than a gallop on Tuesday. McCraken typically gallops on the main track, and for the last three weeks has worked on the Oklahoma training track.

“When he comes here he knows he’s working and he’s a little tough to pull up,” Wilkes said outside the Oklahoma clocker’s stand. “I just wanted a light work, but I wanted to some more with him, wanted to get his adrenaline pumping a little bit.

“I felt if I didn’t do something I wouldn’t have been right for the race."

McCraken finished eighth in the Kentucky Derby and came out of the race with a gash to a hind leg. He healed in time to run in the Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs on June 17, and he won by 2 1/4 lengths. That seemed to set up McCraken for the Grade 1 Haskell at Monmouth Park, a race where he had a one-length lead at the eighth pole but was run down late by Girvin, losing by a nose.

“Girvin won - you can’t take anything away from him,” Wilkes said. “I could analyze the whole race - if we did this or we did that we would have won - but the thing is we got beat. I felt like the horse idled a little when he got the lead, but I don’t want to make excuses because we got beat. We need to just jump up and do it this time.”

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McCraken was the only Travers horse to work on Tuesday. Two horses from Southern California, West Coast and Irap, were scheduled to arrive this afternoon on a flight that was also scheduled to bring Songbird for Saturday’s Grade 1 Personal Ensign.

Entries for the Travers were to close on Tuesday and post positions were to be drawn Tuesday evening at a reception at Salt & Char, a downtown Saratoga Springs restaurant.

With riders, the field is expected to be: Always Dreaming (John Velazquez), Cloud Computing (Javier Castellano), Fayeq (Luis Saez), Girvin (Robby Albarado), Giuseppe the Great (Tyler Gaffalione), Good Samaritan (Joel Rosario), Gunnevera (Edgard Zayas), Irap (Mario Gutierrez), Lookin At Lee (Ricardo Santana Jr.), McCraken (Brian Hernandez Jr.), Tapwrit (Jose Ortiz), and West Coast (Mike Smith).

Bird Song will skip Forego

Bird Song will skip Saturday’s Grade 1 Forego Stakes and be pointed to the Grade 2, $300,000 Kelso Handicap at Belmont Park on Sept. 23, Wilkes, his trainer, said Tuesday.

Wilkes said his ultimate goal for Bird Song is the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar on Nov. 4, and he felt the Kelso, a one-turn mile, is a better race to use as a prep.

“The horse is fine, everything is fine," Wolkes said. "I could run him, I just felt where I’m trying to go with him I just felt the Kelso might be a better race for him."

Bird Song won the Grade 2 Alysheba Stakes, a two-turn race at 1 1/16 miles, at Churchill Downs on May 5. After finishing eighth in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster, Bird Song was turned back to six furlongs in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt and finished fourth.