Al Khali,
fourth over yielding turf in the Woodford Reserve Manhattan on June
11, will take another shot at Grade 1 glory when he competes in
Saturday’s Man o’ War, Leana Willaford, assistant to Hall of Fame
trainer Bill Mott, confirmed Sunday morning.
Owned by Brous Stable, Al Khali won the Grade 2 Bowling
Green on firm turf over the Man o’ War’s course and distance in
September, and Willaford believes Al Khali will fire his best shot if
he gets similar conditions next Saturday.
“I don’t think his last race was a bad race at all,” said
Willaford. “He really doesn’t like much of a cut in the ground. He
prefers firm turf. He’s run on this turf course before when it was a
bit soft and he didn’t run very well, so I thought it was a pretty
valiant effort on his part. Hopefully we get firm ground on the
weekend.”
Al Khali, a 5-year-old ridgling, tuned up for the Man o’ War with a 1:02.07 five-furlong breeze on Saturday.
“He worked nicely,” said Willaford. “Everything is good.”
Live Oak Plantation’s To Honor and Serve,
who swept the Grade 2 Nashua and Grade 2 Remsen at Aqueduct in
November, on Sunday morning posted a 48.16 four-furlong breeze on the
training track, his second workout since he was sidelined with a
suspensory injury following his third-place finishes in the Grade 2
Fountain of Youth and Grade 1 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.
“There’s no pressure now,” said Willaford. “The Derby is over. We get to take our time.”