Mr. Money getting break ahead of January return

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Mr. Money checked out fine in the aftermath of a disappointing run in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and is being freshened ahead of a 4-year-old campaign next year, trainer Bret Calhoun said this week.

A winner of four straight Grade 3 races for 3-year-olds this year when based at Churchill Downs, Mr. Money was sent to Shantera Farm in Versailles, Ky., for a 60-day respite after being thoroughly examined days after fading to seventh, beaten 10 3/4 lengths by Spun to Run, in the Nov. 2 Dirt Mile at Santa Anita.

“We did a bone scan and everything,” Calhoun said. “He’s good and healthy – just tired.”

Mr. Money will rejoin the stable in early January at Fair Grounds, Calhoun said.

Meanwhile, Calhoun’s 3-year-old By My Standards and 5-year-old Silver Dust both are approaching their first timed work at Fair Grounds following a layoff.

By My Standards, the Louisiana Derby winner who has gone unraced since finishing 11th in the May 4 Kentucky Derby, “has already had a couple of slow-speed works, two-minute licks,” Calhoun said. By My Standards should be ready to run in early 2020, he said.

Silver Dust, a two-time Grade 3 winner this year, is on a similar schedule after most recently finishing a close second in the Lukas Classic in late September at Churchill.