SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Wildcat Red shipped in from Monmouth Park on Monday to begin preparations for the Grade 1 King’s Bishop on Aug. 23.

Wildcat Red is also nominated to the 1 1/4-mile Travers, but trainer Jose Garoffalo said the seven-furlong King’s Bishop just makes more sense for him. Wildcat Red, who won the Grade 3 Hutcheson at seven furlongs and the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth going 1 1/16 miles this winter at Gulfstream Park, is coming off a third-place finish in the Haskell Invitational.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Last year’s Forego winner, Strapping Groom, will not return to defend his title later this month, said trainer David Jacobson. Strapping Groom, idle since finishing fifth in the Grade 1 Carter Handicap on April 5, worked five furlongs in 1:07 here Tuesday.

“He had some troubles with his feet after the Carter, and it would just be too much to ask of him off the layoff to run in the Forego without a race, without any foundation,” said Jacobson. “He’d already had two races up here last year before he won the Forego.”

The three champion 2-year-old Quarter Horses of 2013 are among 96 horses running in 12 time trials on Saturday for the $1,920,887 All American Derby at Ruidoso Downs.

The horses with the 10 fastest times, regardless of finishing positions, will qualify for the 440-yard final on Aug. 31. All 12 races at Ruidoso Downs on Saturday are time trials.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – The 43-year-old Pennsylvania-based trainer Eddie Graham never has started a horse in a graded stakes race, but Graham is jumping into the deep end. He said Monday that Hardest Core will make his next start in the Arlington Million on Saturday.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Malcolm Pierce smokes. You can hear it in his raspy voice beneath the heavy Canadian accent. He’ll shake a cigarette out of a pack while sitting on his pony in front of the Fair Grounds clocker’s stand during the winter, watching his stock go around. Contemporary attitudes stamp smoking as archaic. Fine. Pierce, 57, is that kind of old school.

He came to Woodbine from a small town in 1981 and got work with trainer Jim Day. He moved up to assistant and stuck with Day for 14 years. As far as Pierce is concerned, what he saw then still works now.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – I Spent It and Cavorting, the winners of Sunday’s Grade 2 juvenile stakes at Saratoga, both came out of their races in good order, and now their connections will ponder whether to give them a Grade 1 opportunity sooner or later.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer George Weaver had high expectations for Requite on Saturday, and the 2-year-old son of Warrior’s Reward did not disappoint, winning at first asking by 3 1/2 lengths. He ran 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:04.44 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 77.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Three potential starters for the Grade 1 Travers worked over the main track here Monday, including Ulanbator and Viva Majorca from the barn of trainer Ian Wilkes.

Ulanbator, who finished fifth after racing forwardly placed in the Jim Dandy, was the first to work, breezing an easy five furlongs in 1:03.39 after loping through an opening three-eighths 39.03 seconds. Ulanbator galloped out extremely well, completing six furlongs into the turn in 1:16.19 before pulling up seven-eighths in 1:30.01.

Monday morning trainer Greg Tracy was sitting on the fence regarding running Consecrate in the Grade 3, $200,000 Canadian Derby on Saturday at Northlands Park, or opting for the easier spot on the undercard in the $50,000 Sonoma for 3-year-old fillies. In her second start for Tracy, Consecrate crushed her opponents in the $48,980 Northlands Oaks, winning by 11 1/4 lengths. She would likely be a heavy favorite in the Sonoma. Consecrate would also be among the favorites in 1 3/8-mile Derby, however.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Multiple graded stakes winner Five Iron, who faded to sixth after an early pace duel with Really Sharp in the Grade 2 Nijinsky Stakes in his last start July 19, could run in Saturday’s Grade 2 Sky Classic Stakes at Woodbine for trainer Brian Lynch.

“We’ll certainly look at the race if there’s no speed,” he said. “We got into suicide fractions with Ian Black’s horse [in the Nijinsky], and that certainly took us out of our own tactics.”