Phileas Fogg targeting Suburban for next start

Phileas Fogg, second to Awesome Aaron in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special on May 16, will be pointed toward the Grade 2, $400,000 Suburban at Saratoga on July 4, trainer Gustavo Rodriguez said Wednesday.

Rodriguez noted that Phileas Fogg won last summer at Saratoga in an optional $62,500 claimer at 1 1/8 miles in his first start off the Rodriguez claim.

Though disappointed Phileas Fogg couldn’t win the Pimlico Special, Rodriguez overall was pleased with the performance.

“We thought maybe we could get the lead but he broke a step slow,” Rodriguez said. “What I didn’t like was that they sealed the track [before the race] and the horse right from the start was not comfortable, switching leads back and forth, but he ran good.”

Among the top contenders for the Suburban is Locked, a three-time Grade 1 winner who won the Santa Anita Handicap two starts back at 1 1/4 miles, the distance of the Suburban.

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