Work All Week breezes towards Phoenix

Work All Week breezed a half-mile in 48 seconds Friday morning at Churchill in preparation for the Phoenix Stakes on opening day (Oct. 2) of the Keeneland fall meet. Sal Gonzalez Jr. was aboard the 6-year-old Work All Week for Midwest Thoroughbreds and trainer Roger Brueggemann.

Another Midwest homebred, Arlington Million winner The Pizza Man, was scheduled for a serious breeze Saturday in preparation for the Oct. 3 Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland.

Melancon now Borel’s agent

Larry Melancon rode 2,857 winners in nearly 40 years as a jockey, and now he’s working on compiling another category of success in racing.

Melancon won his first two races as an agent when Hall of Fame jockey Calvin Borel booted home Takepointsandrun ($5.60) and Purim’s Danawa ($60.40) Thursday at Churchill.

“Hopefully there’s more where that came from,” Melancon said.

Melancon, 60, retired as a jockey in 2010 but continued to work mornings as an exercise rider for trainer Al Stall Jr. until early April.

“The physical demands got to be too much,” said Melancon, who remarried last year. “I’m really enjoying life right now.”