Stephen Foster looks right for Effinex

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Effinex returned to New York a few days after he won the Oaklawn Park Handicap last Saturday, but he likely will hit the road again for his next start.

Effinex is targeting the Grade 1, $500,000 Stephen Foster Handicap on June 18 at Churchill Downs, according to Russell Cohen, who manages the horse for his mother Bernice’s Tri-Bone Stable.

Cohen said the Stephen Foster “makes sense” for a variety of reasons. Effinex won the Grade 1 Clark Handicap at Churchill last fall. Second, the race is a Win and You’re In for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, meaning a victory would guarantee that all entry fees and travel expenses are paid for the Nov. 5 race at Santa Anita. Lastly, Effinex would have nine weeks between starts and be ready for a summer campaign that could include races like the Suburban, Whitney, Woodward, and then the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

Cohen said he gave a “fleeting thought” to the Grade 3, $300,000 Pimlico Special on May 20 but thought that race would “do nothing for him as a stallion prospect.”

“You can’t dance every dance,” he said. “You want to hit those spots that are the most prestigious.”

Effinex returned to the track at Belmont on Wednesday for a jog, according to trainer Jimmy Jerkens.

“He’s good,” Jerkens said.

The Jerkens-trained Unified, the winner of the Grade 3 Bay Shore on April 9, worked a half-mile in 49.77 seconds Wednesday morning over the Belmont Park training track as he begins preparation for the Grade 2, $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont on May 11.

Under exercise rider Kelvin Pahal, Unified went his first quarter in 24.62 seconds. Standing on the outside rail above the eighth pole, Jerkens raised his hand, a signal to Pahal to slow down.

“We didn’t want him to do anything more than that,” Jerkens said. “We’ll take him over to the main track next time. He looks good. He hasn’t missed a beat.”

Unified, a son of Candy Ride, is 2 for 2, with a debut win at Gulfstream going six furlongs in February and an equally solid victory in the Bay Shore going seven furlongs.

Also on Wednesday, Jerkens worked Shaman Ghost, last year’s Queen’s Plate winner who was transferred to him during the winter. Shaman Ghost, unraced since getting beat a neck in the Prince of Wales last July, went five furlongs in 1:02.70 over Belmont’s main track.

It was the fourth work for Shaman Ghost since he resumed training after a setback during the winter in south Florida.

“I had him in Florida,” Jerkens said. “He had a little ankle trouble, and we had to stop on him or he would have run by now. It took a while to get him going again.”

Jerkens was unsure where Shaman Ghost would make his seasonal debut.