Wise Dan puts in solid work

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Had things gone as planned, Wise Dan would have performed in front of thousands of fans at Saratoga on Saturday afternoon instead of a handful of early risers Saturday morning.

A bout of colic that required surgery in mid-May threw Wise Dan off schedule and basically blew the two-time Horse of the Year’s summer, including missing Saturday’s Grade 2 Fourstardave, a race he had won here the previous two summers.

On Saturday, however, Wise Dan showed trainer Charlie LoPresti that he’s getting closer to a return. In his most aggressive move since resuming training, Wise Dan worked six furlongs in 1:13.14 over the Saratoga main track shortly after 5:30 a.m.

Breaking off six lengths behind stablemate Luzianna Man, Wise Dan was clocked in 24.47 seconds for the first quarter-mile and 47.49 for the half – getting on equal terms with his mate at that point – and then finished his last quarter in 25.65. He galloped out seven furlongs in 1:27.64.

“He got a good blow out of it. That’s what we wanted. We wanted to get a good one in him,” LoPresti said. “That would have been his Fourstardave today, but I think he needed to be a little better than that.”

The work was the fourth for Wise Dan since he came to Saratoga and the fifth since he resumed training following colic surgery. Wise Dan has not raced since winning the Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at Churchill Downs on May 3.

LoPresti has three races in mind for Wise Dan’s return: the Grade 2, $250,000 Bernard Baruch on turf or the Grade 1, $600,000 Woodward on dirt, both here Aug. 30, and the $1 million Woodbine Mile on Sept. 14.

“If you held a gun to my head, I would love to run him in the Bernard Baruch. That would be the easiest race for him for his comeback race,” LoPresti said. “Sure, I’d love to run him in the Woodbine race, but that’s going to be a tough race off the bench, too.”

One of LoPresti’s major goals for the fall is the Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland on Oct. 4.

King’s Bishop contenders work

Amsterdam Stakes winner Coup de Grace likely will be favored when he returns to Saratoga in two weeks for the Grade 1 King’s Bishop. But there certainly will be no shortage of challengers awaiting his arrival, three of whom worked over the main track here Saturday.

C. Zee, who finished a game second in the Amsterdam after being hard used throughout while breaking from the rail, zipped through a 47.21-second half-mile work for trainer Nick Zito with exercise rider Maxine Correa aboard.

“He’s doing great,” Zito said. “We planned sort of an easy work. Max was just sitting on him. He’s just so fast. He’s a very deceiving horse. I loved everything about it. What we need in the King’s Bishop is a better post, no doubt about it. He had to commit from the rail and take pressure all the way in the Amsterdam. I told Luis [Saez] he had to come out of there, and he did a good job getting him out, but that 30-1 shot [Big Guy Ian] killed us running with him like that.”

Zito said Joel Rosario will ride C. Zee in the King’s Bishop.

The Big Beast looked extremely sharp while working shortly after the renovation break Saturday, going five furlongs in 58.86. The Big Beast broke off three lengths behind Today’s Agenda and finished a half-length best at the wire off a 34.14-second opening three-eighths split.

The aptly named and grand-looking Big Beast has been an impressive wire-to-wire winner of his last two starts, including an 8 1/2-length allowance victory on the Amsterdam undercard for which he received a 102 Beyer Speed Figure.

“It seems like the last six weeks, he’s come forward immensely,” said trainer Anthony Dutrow. “Mentally and physically, I guess it’s just taken him that long to reach his full potential. The horse is finally there all the way now. His previous workout over the main track wasn’t as fast but was just as impressive as this one. This horse just couldn’t be any better. Obviously, this is a big step for him, but we have to feel as confident as we can about this horse coming into the King’s Bishop.”

Trainer Kathy Ritvo brought the undefeated Fast Anna up from Gulfstream Park this week for the King’s Bishop and sent him out to breeze an easy seven furlongs in 1:28.43 early Saturday, with Mucho Macho Man’s regular exercise rider, Nick Petro Jr., aboard.

“He had a fast work last week before leaving Florida, so I didn’t want to work him too fast today,” Ritvo said. “I just want to make sure he’s fit, which is why I had him go seven-eighths this morning. We still have time to come back with a quicker work next weekend.”

– additional reporting by Mike Welsch