T Kraft possible for Bay Shore, Mott says

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The 3-year-old T Kraft, who ran his winning streak to three with a neck victory in Saturday’s $125,000 Jimmy Winkfield Stakes, could make his next start in the $150,000 Bay Shore Stakes here on April 19, trainer Bill Mott said Sunday.

T Kraft, ridden by Jose Lezcano, squeezed through a narrow opening between horses in midstretch to win the Jimmy Winkfield, earning a career-best 86 Beyer Speed Figure in the process. He’s won twice at six furlongs, once at 6 1/2 furlongs. There are no six-furlong dirt stakes restricted to 3-year-olds on the New York Racing Association circuit through the Saratoga meet. The $150,000 Chick Lang at Pimlico on May 17 is run at six furlongs.

“He certainly looks like he’d go seven the way he finished up his last two races,” Mott said.

T Kraft has run three times in 10 weeks, so Mott said he wants to see how the horse has handled that schedule before committing to the Bay Shore.

“We’ve used him pretty hard up there, we’re really pleased with his consistency in the last three races,” Mott said by phone from Florida. “Anything we do with him will be a move up in class. We’ll see where we go from here.”

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