Prayer for Relief wheels back for Whitney Handicap
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The well-traveled Prayer for Relief, who finished third in the Grade 2 Suburban Handicap when taking his game to New York for the first time on Belmont Stakes Day, will take on an even tougher assignment when wheeling back in the Grade 1 Whitney Handicap here Aug. 2.
Prayer for Relief, who banked the bulk of his $1.7 million in earnings as a 3-year-old with Grade 2 victories in the West Virginia and Louisiana Super derbies, was transferred to trainer Dale Romans’s barn early this spring. He got his first feel for the local strip Wednesday, breezing a half-mile in 48.28 seconds and galloping out five furlongs in 1:01.29.
“It was nothing more than an easy maintenance work just to let him get a feel for the racetrack,” said Romans. “He’s an old professional. He doesn’t need a lot. Just keep him happy. Obviously, it’s going to be a very strong field, but a Grade 1 for a million and a half dollars, it’s always going to be strong. He’s a classy enough horse who on his best day can run with the best. You just have to give him a chance.”
On Sunday, Romans will be at Monmouth Park to run Medal Count in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational. He also is eyeing the Grade 2 Fourstardave Handicap here Aug. 9 with his Grade 1-winning turf specialist Silver Max, who launched his 2014 campaign with a popular wire-to-wire victory June 28 in Churchill Downs’s Grade 2 Firecracker Handicap.