McCraken ‘professional' in six-furlong work for Travers

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Jockey Brian Hernandez spent approximately 12 hours in the Capital Region, but the most important minutes were those spent on the back of his Travers mount McCraken on Wednesday morning.

Hernandez flew in from Louisville Tuesday night, and early Wednesday morning he guided McCraken through a six-furlong workout in 1:16.20 over the Oklahoma training track in preparation for a start in the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers on Aug. 26.

McCraken, working after fog that enveloped the Oklahoma track early Wednesday morning lifted, went his first quarter in 26.25 seconds, the half-mile in 51.39, and he got his final quarter in 24.81 seconds. McCraken galloped out seven furlongs in 1:29.29 and a mile in 1:43.58.

“His last eighth of a mile was really good,” said Hernandez, who looked down at his wristwatch and said he caught the final eighth in 12 seconds. “And he galloped out really well.”

Hernandez said he told trainer Ian Wilkes that when he worked McCraken at Churchill Downs the horse “kind of messed around.”

“Today, he went out there and he was really professional about everything,” Hernandez said.

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Wilkes said he was looking for stamina-building and not a fast workout.

“The main thing I told him was I wasn’t looking for a 1:12 work, just a long maintenance work because the horse is fit, he’s ready,” Wilkes said. “Just wanted to get a little bit of air in him and keep him happy. He looked good, finished well, galloped out strong.”

McCraken won the first four starts of his career before finishing third in the Blue Grass Stakes. He finished eighth in the Kentucky Derby, and emerged with a significant gash on a leg. He came back to win the Grade 3 Matt Winn at Churchill before losing the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational by a nose to Girvin at Monmouth Park.

“The Haskell is hard to explain how he got beat just because it felt like our horse was running to the wire,” Hernandez said. “In those Grade 1 races like that horses never stop coming at you. I think that’s what it was more than anything – that horse just grinded him out and was able to nip us at the wire.”