Wake Forest, Long Haul Bay getting time off

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Graded stakes winners Wake Forest and Long Haul Bay were pointing to stakes at Saratoga on Saturday but instead are getting a break, trainer Chad Brown said.

Brown was not pleased with the last couple of workouts by either horse and opted to skip Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Amsterdam with Long Haul Bay and the Grade 2, $250,000 Bowling Green with Wake Forest.

Long Haul Bay won his first two starts, including the Grade 3 Bay Shore. He finished fifth in the Grade 2 Woody Stephens at Belmont.

“He’s not the same horse that won the Bay Shore,” Brown said. “Nothing serious. If they’re not themselves, they’re going to get checked out.”

Brown said that Wake Forest, the winner of the Grade 1 Man o’ War in 2016, is being evaluated for a potential physical issue.

“Something’s not right,” Brown said. “He’s going to get some time, and we’ll get him checked out.”

Wake Forest won the Grade 2 Mac Diarmida at Gulfstream in March, but he has finished last in both the Man o’ War and Grade 1 Manhattan in his two most recent starts.

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