After emerging in good form from his GIII Count Fleet Sprint H. victory, MGSW Skelly (Practical Joke) will look to climb the class ladder with future targets including the GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. and the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, announced trainer Steve Asmussen Sunday morning.
Having posted the meet's best time for six furlongs at 1:08.82 in that Count Fleet effort, beating the prior mark of 1:09.38, which he also set in his 2024 debut, the Oaklawn star will be setting his sights on bigger prizes this summer and autumn.
“I think that the two main targets for the rest of the year are the Vanderbilt at Saratoga and Breeders' Cup,” Asmussen said. “I do know I want to keep him at three-quarters of a mile.”
The Count Fleet was Skelly's first race back in the States since having his seven-race winning streak snapped by Remake (Jpn) (Lani) in the G3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint.
“Very fortunate to have him,” Asmussen said. “Believe it or not, [Skelly] went to Saudi [Arabia] and came back faster. Speaks volumes about who he is.”
The Vanderbilt runs July 27 at Saratoga and the Breeders' Cup Sprint will go Nov. 2 at Del Mar.
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