Godolphin's homebred Grade 1 winner Proxy, who is based at Keeneland with trainer Mike Stidham, breezed five furlongs in 1:02.40 on Friday in one of his final tuneups for the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) to be held Nov. 4 at Santa Anita.
With jockey Joel Rosario in the saddle, Proxy went in company with allowance winner Nelson Avenue.
“I was pleased with it,” Stidham said. “Proxy is one of those horses that never really overdoes it in the morning. In every work, the rider kind of has to (encourage) him a little bit just to make him do what we want him to do. He went on out three-quarters (of a mile). I had him in like 1:14 and 3/5ths for the three-quarters and then a nice gallop out down the backside. Very happy with what he did.”
Winner of the 2022 Clark (G1) Presented by Norton Healthcare, Proxy has two wins in six starts this year. He took the Oaklawn Handicap (G2) in April and the Monmouth Cup (G3) in July. Proxy most recently finished a nose behind Bright Future in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) on Sept. 2 at Saratoga.
The 5-year-old son of Tapit, who has earned $2.2 million, turned in his first Keeneland work on Oct. 7, covering 5 furlongs in 1:01. He is scheduled to have two more workouts here before leaving for Santa Anita on Oct. 30.
“He was scheduled to work Saturday but watching the weather (with rain in forecast), I didn't want to take the chance of working him on a sloppy track,” Stidham said.
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