Saratoga: Wise Dan heading to Woodbine Mile

Wise Dan, the dominant winner of the Grade 2 Fourstardave Handicap here Aug. 11, will make his next start in the $1 million Woodbine Mile at Woodbine on Sept. 16, trainer Charles Lopresti said Monday.

Lopresti had given some thought to transferring Wise Dan to the dirt for the Grade 1 Woodward on Sept. 1, but said the race was “too quick back.”

Lopresti, who won last year’s Woodbine Mile with Turallure, said one reason the race is attractive is that the Woodbine Mile is a Win and You’re In race for the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Should Wise Dan win that race, all entry fees are paid and the connections get a $10,000 travel stipend to Santa Anita for the Breeders’ Cup.

While Lopresti said that he and owner Morton Fink are focusing on the Breeders’ Cup Mile, he didn’t dismiss the Breeders’ Cup Classic as an option.

“I wouldn’t call the Classic out of the question,” Lopresti said.

Wise Dan is likely to work on the turf here Friday and ship to Keeneland around Sept. 1 before going to Canada.

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