By Justina Severni
Zayat Stable's El Kabeir (Scat Daddy) breezed five furlongs in 1:01.55 over the Belmont training track Monday in preparation for a start in the GI Malibu S. at Santa Anita Dec. 26.
“Everything went great,” said trainer John Terranova. “He worked fantastic and went really well throughout. We were all pleased, and it looks like he's in great shape right now.”
El Kabeir, winner of the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. as a
2-year-old and the GIII Jerome S. and GIII Gotham S. earlier this year, was third in the GI Twinspires.com Wood Memorial S. before scratching from the GI Kentucky Derby with a foot abscess. He returned to the races with a fifth in the GIII Bold Ruler H. at Belmont Oct. 31 and annexed the City of Laurel S. last time Nov. 14.
“We didn't really know what to make [his Bold Ruler] effort too much,” Terranova explained. “We breezed him and wheeled him back in two weeks to head down to Laurel. We just scratched our heads at the Bold Ruler, we didn't really know to make of it–it did come up a very strong race for him coming off a layoff against older horses He was sound, happy, feeling good, so we came back in the City of Laurel and he won that with a gutsy effort. It was maybe not his best race yet, but he managed to win it and came out of it really well. We're thinking the Malibu is our next start, and we just wanted to see how he'd breeze back. We're getting ready to ship him out to California in a couple of days.”
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