By Mike Kane
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – With the $1.25 million GI Travers S. on Aug. 27 as his summer goal, trainer Chad Brown said Thursday morning that he is close to declaring what path his GI Preakness S. winner Early Voting (Gun Runner) will take to Saratoga's biggest race.
Brown has two options: send the colt to Monmouth Park to face unbeaten stablemate Jack Christopher (Munnings) in the GI Haskell Invitational S. on July 23 or wait a week and race him against another stablemate, GI Kentucky Derby third-place finisher Zandon (Upstart) in the GII Jim Dandy S. at Saratoga.
“I'm going to work the horse on Saturday and I will decide after the work,” Brown said. “If he's going to run in the Jim Dandy then he's going to ship up here the next day. If he's going to run in the Haskell then he will stay at Belmont because it's closer to Monmouth. That's why I've left him there. I've got Jack Christopher down there, who is also going to work.”
While Brown committed Jack Christopher and Zandon to their pre-Travers races long ago, he has not been in a hurry to place Early Voting.
Brown said he wants to look at everything: “Who is running where? Make sure everyone is healthy and doing well. These fields might come together a little bit more, be a little more focused. Weather.”
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