Saratoga
McCraken in sharp Whitney drill
Barbara D. Livingston McCraken might make his next start in the Whitney on Aug. 4 at Saratoga.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The multiple graded stakes winner McCraken worked six furlongs in 1:12.60 Wednesday morning over the Saratoga main track in preparation for a start in the Grade 1 Whitney on Aug. 4.
Trainer Ian Wilkes said he was looking for a sharp work from McCraken, who is coming off a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Cornhusker Handicap at Prairie Meadows on July 6. McCraken, according to Daily Racing Form’s Mike Welsch, went his first three furlongs in 36.50 seconds and his final quarter in 26.10 while being asked by jockey Brian Hernandez Jr.
“I wanted him blowing today,” Wilkes said. “I wanted this horse to get something out of it because I didn’t get anything out of that race.”
– additional reporting by Mike Welsch
