Trainer Jimmy Toner glanced at his stopwatch after Winter Memories had
concluded a five-furlong workout over Belmont Park's inner turf course
Monday morning and was shocked at what it read: 58.50 seconds.
Admitting that he can be a little quick on the trigger finger, Toner
figured to hear a slower time when he called the official track
clockers.
He was right. Kind of. Officially, Winter Memories went five
furlongs in 58.57 seconds in a work that looked every bit as impressive
visually as the time would indicate, and which only confirmed her
status as the horse to beat in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf
on Nov. 5 at Churchill Downs.
With regular rider Jose Lezcano in the irons, Winter Memories
was just galloping into her breeze and went off in a relatively easy
12.47 seconds, while in the three-path. On this day, there were no
traffic cones on the course to force the horses to work well off the
hedge.
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