Twinkle Town to miss Hopeful

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Twinkle Town, the impressive six-length winner of the Grade 2 Saratoga Special on Aug. 1 who was scheduled to run in Sunday’s Grade 1 Hopeful, will miss that stakes due to a slight injury, trainer Kenny McPeek said Sunday.

Twinkle Town worked five furlongs in 59.75 seconds on Saturday morning over the Oklahoma training track, but McPeek didn’t like the way he came out of the workout.

“It doesn’t look like it’s anything surgical, best guess it’s either a foot or a shoulder, and we’re trying to sort it out,” McPeek said. “He was walking a little bit tender, he wasn’t himself. He’s a good-feeling horse, he’ll probably walk out of it in two or three days, but I’m not going to venture to enter him the way that he walked today.”

In addition to his Saratoga Special victory, Twinkle Town, a son of Take Charge Indy, won a six-furlong maiden race by 6 1/4 lengths at Churchill Downs.

Entries for the Hopeful will be taken Wednesday. Expected to enter are Booked, Constant Force, Flight Command, Lifesong, Midnight Still, The Good Life, and possibly Tatters.

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