Silverton Hill LLC’s Havelock,
winner of the Woodford (GIII) at Keeneland in his most recent start,
worked five furlongs in 1:05.80 shortly after the track opened at 6
o’clock Sunday morning.
The work was the 44th fastest of 47 at the distance but trainer Darrin Miller was not looking for any bullet effort.
“That comes in a couple of weeks,” Miller said with a laugh referring
to the 4-year-old gelding’s anticipated start in the Breeders’ Cup Turf
Sprint (GII). “He got across the ground good and relaxed. It was his
first work back from the Woodford and he was comfortable out there and
looked relaxed.”
Miller’s 17-year-old son Chase was aboard for the work and is expected to be in the saddle next Sunday when Havelock has his final work for the Breeders’ Cup.
Havelock has won his past three sprints on grass at 5 ½ furlongs, but
the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint is run at five furlongs, which is a
concern to Miller for his late-running star.
“He has won at five-eighths before, but not against the kind of field
he’ll face here,” Miller said. “He has improved this year and I feel
better about him after his last two sprint races.”
Havelock is following in the footsteps of another Silverton Hill runner, St. Joe,
who turned into a solid turf sprinter in 2009 as a 4-year-old when he
won two five-furlong dashes on the grass at Churchill Downs and ran
third in the Arlington Sprint Handicap, a race that Havelock won this
summer.
St. Joe has won 8 of 29 career starts and earned $267,652, but is not in Havelock’s league according to Miller.
“This horse has a little more class than St. Joe,” Miller said.