The roadmap for Grade 2 winner Simplification's summer and fall campaign will involve stops in Pennsylvania and Kentucky, co-owner Tami Bobo said Tuesday while shopping for horses at the Fasig-Tipton July Yearling Sale.
Bobo, who owns Simplification in partnership with Tristan de Meric, said the 3-year-old Not This Time colt will make one prep start before entering the G1 Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 24 at Parx Racing. If that effort is satisfactory, Simplification will target either the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile or Classic at Keeneland on Nov. 5.
Simplification has been based at Gulfstream Park with trainer Antonio Sano, preparing for his return start after finishing sixth in the Preakness Stakes on May 21. He finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby two weeks earlier.
After the Preakness, Simplification spent some time at Bobo's First Finds Farm in Ocala, Fla., but the owner said the colt made it clear he didn't want to be on the bench for long.
“He ate sweet potatoes by the pound,” Bobo said. “He had three weeks of sweet potatoes, and decided he was ready to go back into training, so unfortunately, we couldn't give him as long a break as anticipated.”
Simplification turned in the first timed breeze of his comeback on July 2 at Gulfstream Park, covering four furlongs in :50.75.
Once again, Bobo said the colt forced the issue.
“That was just kind of him last week,” she said. “He's a hard horse, and he loves to train, so you've got to let him do something.”
Bobo said Simplification's first serious breeze will take place later this week, then he will ship to Parx to train locally for the Pennsylvania Derby. His return start will likely come in the G3 Smarty Jones Stakes on Aug. 23 at Parx to serve as a local prep for the Grade 1, but Bobo said the the G3 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer on Aug. 6 was also under consideration for his prep start.
As for the Breeders' Cup, Bobo said the connections would place Simplification strategically, based on where other looming figures in the class decided to settle.
“I think Jack Christopher's going to dictate a lot of what we do,” she said. “I'm going to let Jack Christopher tell me where we need to be.”
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