Mr. Z on target for King’s Bishop

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer D. Wayne Lukas said that Mr. Z, the winner of the Ohio Derby in June, remains on schedule for the Grade 1 King’s Bishop at Saratoga on Aug. 29.

Lukas said Tuesday that in hindsight, he regretted not entering Mr. Z in last Saturday’s Jim Dandy Stakes, noting that it became a four-horse field when Monmouth Park raised the Haskell Invitational’s purse to $1.75 million and lured Competitive Edge and Upstart.

“If I had known how Monmouth was going to screw up the racing world, I would have gone in the Jim Dandy,” Lukas said. “As it turned out, a four-horse field with no speed, that would have been a good fit for me.”

Mr. Z was second to Tiz Shea D in the Indiana Derby last out.