No firm plans for Global Campaign yet

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - There were two stakes races, one a Grade 3, along with a mandatory disbursement of an $8.3 million Rainbow 6 pool here Saturday. But the number one topic of conversation coming out of the card was the performance of the undefeated 3-year-old prospect Global Campaign, who successfully stretched out around two turns for the first time to register an eye-catching victory under entry-level allowance conditions in the afternoon’s 10th race.

Global Campaign, a son of Curlin owned by the partnership of Sagamore Farm and WinStar Farm, had to overcome some early trouble and make a couple of runs before being geared down approaching the wire by jockey Luis Saez at Gulfstream Park. It was in much the same fashion that he won his career debut going seven furlongs five weeks earlier.

Trainer Stanley Hough reported all was well the following morning with Global Campaign, who did miss a few days of training late last month after grabbing a quarter while preparing for what at the time was a likely start in the seven-furlong Swale on Feb. 2.

“I’m very happy with how he came back from the race and how he was doing this morning,” Hough said.

“It seems with the two trips he’s had so far, he really hasn’t been set down yet, it hasn’t taken a whole lot out of him. If he hadn’t grabbed a quarter and missed a few days of training, we’d have likely run him in the Swale. Naturally it was disappointing at the time [that] we had to miss that race, but it might have been a blessing in disguise and probably better for the horse; in the long run he was able to get the kind of experience around two turns he had yesterday.”

While Global Campaign received just a 77 Beyer Speed Figure - eight points lower than in his debut - for his effort Saturday, Hough said the number really doesn’t matter.

“I know the time wasn’t great, but there were a lot of grass races around his race and that might have had some effect,” Hough said. “He also had to snatch up a little bit when Dale’s (Romans) horse nearly dropped me, but that didn’t seem to bother him. He recouped from that and did it pretty handily. When he finally did open up, his ears went straight up in the air and he started looking around. He really hasn’t been set down and asked to run yet, so more important than the time, I thought visually he was very impressive yesterday.”

Hough said while he’s trying not to think about the Kentucky Derby just yet, it’s hard not to have it in the back of his mind when mapping out Global Campaign’s future.

“We’re going to play it by ear right now and let him tell us what to do,” Hough said. “Obviously these next races coming up are very important, and I’m leaning toward running him twice if he continues to be good enough to make the Derby, rather than just once in the Florida Derby or whatever race you would pick and go to during that time period. That leaves the next set of races all in play. It’s only a few weeks to the Fountain of Youth, which makes it less likely, although there are some positive things about that one, too. It’s just going to depend on how he’s doing as we move forward.”