Mage (Good Magic) recorded his first published workout since winning the GI Kentucky Derby when he breezed five furlongs in 1:07.20 at the Thoroughbred Center in Lexington Friday morning. His connections have yet to decide on his next start.
“We gave him 17 days without a saddle or, obviously, going to the track, so he got a really big break,” said co-owner Ramiro Restrepo. “He was kind of getting a bit bored and wanting to do something so it was time to get him rolling. He has been back on the track for a little under two weeks now. This was his first leg-stretcher. It was a little wake up call. This was not a matter of tightening the screws. It was more like his first day back in the gym.”
Restrepo said that no one should read too much into how slow the time of the work was.
“He had a little over two weeks of doing absolutely nothing and kind of laying out,” he said. “The last thing you would want is to rip him out of the gate. It was more of a strong gallop that was recorded as a breeze. It was the first work back, so the time has nothing to do with it. It was to show we're back in workout mode. We've never cared about his times in works. There's a bigger objective here than the time of a workout. You don't get prize money or trophies for winning in the mornings. It's just a fitness thing to get him up and at them.”
Restrepo said that three options are being discussed regarding where Mage will run next. They are the GI Haskell S., the GII Jim Dandy S. or the GI Travers.
“Whether we point him to the Jim Dandy, the Haskell or go straight to the Travers, there's a 33 percent chance with all three,” he said. “It's going to be a matter of seeing how he's doing once we get him on a steady work pattern. The No. 1 goal is to make it to the Travers. Bar none, the Travers is the big show for us. He's obviously proven at the mile and a quarter. He'll be shipping to Saratoga sooner rather than later.”
Also, yet to be resolved is what Javier Castellano will do in the event that Mage and GI Belmont S. winner Arcangelo (Arrogate) show up in the same race. If both stay healthy, they will likely face each other sometime this summer, perhaps in the Travers.
“So many things can happen and we are quite a ways away from when he races again, so we haven't even broached the subject with Javier regarding what his decision might be or what his thoughts are,” Restrepo said. “Let's not put the cart before the horse. Let's get him in race shape and then we will start having those discussions with Javier.”
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