Saratoga: McGaughey points Hymn Book to Baruch

Trainer Shug McGaughey had considered running Hymn Book in Saturday’s Grade 1 Whitney Invitational Handicap, but ultimately opted against it and will point the Suburban runner-up to the Grade 2, $200,000 Bernard Baruch Handicap at 1 1/8 miles on turf here Aug. 26.

Ultimately, McGaughey found the Whitney field significantly tougher than the Suburban.

“In the Suburban, we thought we were the nuts, and Flat Out ran a great race,” McGaughey said. “I don’t know that we would be [the nuts] in this one, not that there’s a Quality Road in this one. There might be one that comes out of it.”

Hymn Book, a 5-year-old gelded son of Arch, has three wins and two seconds from six turf starts. He has not run on the grass since finishing second to Beau Choix in a third-level allowance at Keeneland on April 15. Since then, Hymn Book won the off-the-turf Three Coins Up Stakes at Belmont on May 19 before finishing second in the Suburban.

“I think he’s better on turf myself,” McGaughey said.

McGaughey also is pointing Boisterous, winner of the on-the-turf Three Coins Up Stakes on May 21, to the Grade 1 Sword Dancer here Aug. 13. Boisterous is coming out of a third-place finish behind Cape Blanco and Gio Ponti in the Grade 1 Man o’ War on July 9. Those two horses are pointing to the Arlington Million the same day.

“I thought he ran a good race,” McGaughey said of Boisterous’s Man o’ War. “Johnny [Velazquez] and I both think he can run better. That was a pretty big step up; two races before he was running in a two-other-than then he’s running against that European horse and Gio Ponti.”