Woodward contenders get tune-ups

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y – Without a standout, next Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward at Saratoga is expected to draw close to a full field, and many of the major players put in workouts for the race on Friday morning.

At Gulfstream Park West, Gunnevera – the potential Woodward favorite – worked six furlongs in 1:13.20. He was expected to leave South Florida on Friday night by van and arrive in Saratoga early Sunday morning, according to trainer Antonio Sano.

“Very good,” Sano said by phone from Florida when asked about the work. “The horse is good, good, good. I am so happy with my horse.”

Gunnevera has run three times this year. He finished third to Gun Runner in the $16 million Pegasus at Gulfstream and then eighth in the $10 million Dubai World Cup. He came out of that race with a foot injury and was given plenty of time to recuperate.

Gunnevera returned from the layoff Aug. 10 with a 6 1/2-length win in an allowance race that Gulfstream Park put up to get him ready for the Woodward.

“He came back very well from that race, and his foot is very good now,” Sano said.

This will be the third straight summer Gunnevera will run at Saratoga. In 2016, he won the Saratoga Special. Last year, he finished second behind West Coast in the Travers.

Edgard Zayas will retain the mount on Gunnevera.

At Saratoga, Seeking the Soul worked a strong five furlongs in 59.28 seconds over the Oklahoma training track. Seeking the Soul went in fractions of 12.21, 23.78, and 35.56 and got his final quarter in 23.72 while being asked late. He galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.25.

“We wanted a good work just to be ready,” trainer Dallas Stewart said. “He’s had several good works, but today I was really impressed with the way he cooled out back at the barn. He wasn’t blowing, wasn’t tired at all. Coming off a layoff, you need good works.”

Seeking the Soul, winner of last year’s Grade 1 Clark Handicap at Churchill, is coming off a head loss to Pioneer Spirit in the Michael G. Schaefer Memorial at Indiana Grand on July 14.

Stewart said Javier Castellano would ride Seeking the Soul in the Woodward.

Ron Paolucci is part owner of three horses who are under consideration for the Whitney. Dalmore, Imperative, and Uno Mas Modelo all put in workouts Friday. Dalmore, last in the Whitney last out, worked five furlongs in 1:00.71 over the main track. Imperative, fourth in the West Virginia Governor’s Stakes, worked six furlongs in 1:13.83 equipped with blinkers over the main. Uno Mas Modelo, winner of a seven-furlong allowance last out here, went an easy half-mile in 50.03 over the training track.

Trainer Anthony Quartarolo oversaw the works for all three. He noted that Imperative will likely wear blinkers in the Woodward. He has not worn them in his last seven starts. From 16 starts in blinkers, Imperative has won just once, the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic in 2014.

Trainer Todd Pletcher’s trio of potential Woodward runners worked Friday – Patch (five furlongs in 1:01.60; Rally Cry, five furlongs in 1:00.89; and Tapwrit, five furlongs in 1:01.12).

Others under consideration for the Woodward include Discreet Lover, Kurilov, Realm, Sunny Ridge, and Term of Art.