Whitmore works four furlongs in Vanderbilt Handicap prep
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Whitmore, the reigning male sprint champion, turned in his one and only serious local prep for his upcoming start in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap on July 31, going four furlongs in 47.32 seconds immediately after the renovation break here Sunday.
Whitmore and stablemate Prime Time Player, a 3-year-old who won a maiden special weight dash at Churchill Downs in his last start, shaded :14 easing away from the five-furlong pole before beginning the work in earnest at the half. The two sizzled an opening quarter in 22.35 seconds over a track that was fast but on the dullish side all morning. Whitmore edged away readily from his overmatched mate through the final sixteenth, tiring some to the wire before galloping out solo in 1:01.21 with former jockey Greta Kuntzweiler aboard.
Whitmore, an 8-year-old gelded son of Pleasantly Perfect, clinched the Sprint championship after rallying to a convincing 3 1/4-length triumph in the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Sprint. He has made three starts this season, finishing second twice behind Breeders’ Cup Sprint runner-up C Z Rocket at Oaklawn Park before being beaten a head by Flagstaff when third in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs Sprint on May 1.
“I felt we’d have better luck if we got (to Saratoga) early and I wanted him to really get something out of his breeze today, especially since it’s kind of a new track surface there than what he’s been used to in the past,” trainer Ron Moquette said. “I’ll come back with a couple of easier moves the next two weeks.”
Whitmore is no stranger to Saratoga, having won the Grade 1 Forego here in 2018. Last year, Whitmore, among the most popular horses in training today, finished second behind the heavily favored Volatile after breaking through the gate just prior to the start of the Vanderbilt before returning the following month to finish seventh in the Forego, a race decided in a driving rainstorm over a sloppy track.