At Belmont
Park, other runners from the
Gotham
Day card appeared to emerge from their races well.
Grade 2 Top Flight winner
Summer Applause departed Chad Brown’s New York barn early Sunday morning en route to the trainer’s winter base at
Palm Meadows
Training Center in
Florida.
“She’s great,” said Brown’s assistant Cherie DeVaux. “She came back well and I put her on the plane to
Florida this morning.”
Overanalyze, beaten favorite and fifth-place finisher in the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes, also was bound for Palm Meadows Sunday morning.
“He pulled up great,”
said Whit Beckman, assistant to trainer Todd Pletcher. “No real excuse
for him from a physical standpoint. We sent him back to
Florida and Todd will take a look at him.”
Overanalyze was one of two runners on the card for owner Mike Repole, who also had New York-bred
Johannesburg Smile finish seventh in the Grade 3 Tom Fool.
“He pulled up well
also,” said Beckman. “I think with yesterday’s track he would have been
better being forwardly placed – with his running style, he wasn’t going
to get there. I think a little more distance
is going to be in his near future. He looked like he was getting
strongest about the time the wire hit, and I think a little more ground
would have been our answer there.”
Elnaawi, third in the
Gotham, appeared to emerge from the
race in good shape and the Shadwell Stable representative could make his
next appearance in the Grade 1, $1 million, 1 1/8-mile Wood Memorial at
Aqueduct on April 6.
“Great run, we were
happy with him,” said Art Magnuson, assistant to trainer Kiaran
McLaughlin. “He appears fine now and the plan is the Wood.”
Magnuson added that Godolphin Racing’s
Consortium, fourth in Saturday’s Tom Fool, might also run back on April 6 in the Grade 1, $400,000 Carter Handicap at seven furlongs.
“He came out great,”
Magnuson said. “Unlucky at the break, a little flat-footed, but good
run, good fight. We’d absolutely look at the Carter – good timing.”