By Bill Finley
The connections of GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic) may have waited until the 11th hour to make their schedule known, but in the end they gave Monmouth Park the answer everyone there was hoping for. Mage will be starting in Saturday's $1-million GI Haskell S.
The decision was not revealed until about 4:30 ET Thursday when trainer Gustavo Delgado, Sr. tweeted the following: “After much consideration and planning Mage's summer goal of getting to the G1 Travers; we have decided to have a prep run in the G1 Haskell this weekend.”
The other option, the connections had been saying for a couple of weeks, was to pass both the Haskell and the GII Jim Dandy S. and go into the GI Travers S. after a series of works. Watching Mage train, they decided a race in the Haskell was the best way to fulfill the goal of winning the Travers.
“Since the day after the Preakness, we have been targeting the Travers as our summer jewel,” said co-owner Ramiro Restrepo. “And we've identified the Haskell as the best route to get him ready for the Travers. We look forward to competing in our fourth consecutive Grade I and putting forth a quality effort.”
Mage hasn't run since finishing third in the GI Preakness S.
The Haskell had already lined up a strong field before the confirmation that Mage would be running, but the race is now shaping up to be one of the strongest Haskells in years.
“We have the Derby winner,” said racing secretary John Heims. “We have Bob Baffert's 'A' horse in Arabian Knight [Uncle Mo]. We have Tapit Trice [Tapit], a Grade I winner who was third in the Belmont. We have Geaux Rocket Ride [Candy Ride {Arg}], who is from the barn of Hall of Famer trainer Dick Mandella, who has been pointing to this race for some time. We have Extra Anejo [Into Mischief], Salute the Stars [Candy Ride {Arg}]. We had a very good race and I think with the addition of Mage it's a great race.”
The field for the Haskell will be drawn Wednesday at noon.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
