Hronis Racing's Higher Power, third in last year's Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), continued his acclimation project at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., on Sunday morning by working six furlongs in 1:12.80 in company over a fast main track.
Working with Mongolian Hero, Higher Power posted splits of :13, :24.60, :36.80, :48.20 and 1:01.20, galloping out seven furlongs in 1:26.60 under Juan Leyva, assistant to trainer John Sadler.
“He seems happy,” Leyva said. “He's got two works left and that will tell us if he is up to running in the Classic.”
Sunday's work was the third this month at Keeneland for Higher Power, who shipped in from Southern California to have plenty of time to settle in at Keeneland before his expected Breeders' Cup engagement Nov. 7.
A 5-year-old by Medaglia d'Oro, Higher Power hasn't won since his upset victory in the G1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar in 2019.
Sadler has two other Breeders' Cup hopefuls on the grounds: Hronis Racing's Chaos Theory for the Turf Sprint (G1) and Paul and Karen Eggert's Ollie's Candy for the Distaff (G1).
On Sunday morning, Chaos Theory worked a bullet half-mile in :47.80 over firm turf with a final quarter-mile in :22.40. It was his first work since finishing fourth in the Woodford (G2) Presented by TVG on Oct. 3.
Ollie's Candy, runner-up in the Juddmonte Spinster (G1) on Oct. 4, is scheduled to work in the next couple of days, according to Leyva.
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