Stronghold getting a break; will target Met Mile

Stronghold, winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby last April, is in the midst of a brief vacation after finishing 10th of 11 in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 25, and could resume racing in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Mile at Saratoga in June.

Trainer Phil D’Amato said on Friday that Stronghold remains at his Santa Anita stable.

“He’s never had a true break where we’ve turned him out,” D’Amato said. “We’re going to try to do that in-house with him at Santa Anita. We want to give him an extended break.”

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In the $3 million Pegasus World Cup, Stronghold was near the front early before fading through the stretch.

“The other day we got in a speed duel at a mile and an eighth and that’s definitely not what he wants,” D’Amato said.

The Met Mile is one of the nation’s leading dirt races at the distance, and is expected to be run on the same program as the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga on June 7.

Owned by Eric and Sharon Waller, Stronghold finished second in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes at seven furlongs at Santa Anita on Dec. 26. On Friday, D’Amato mentioned the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar on Nov. 1 as a long-range goal.

“I think we’ll keep him at seven-eighths to a mile,” D’Amato said. “I think a flat mile would be nice.”

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