Phipps Stable and Stuart Janney III's Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Orb is scheduled to arrive at Saratoga Race Course on Aug. 11 to finish his preparations for the Aug. 24 Travers Stakes (gr. I), Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey said the morning of Aug. 7.
Orb will have one more breeze at the Fair Hill Training Center near Elkton, Md., on Aug. 10 and will ship the following day to McGaughey's barn next to the Oklahoma training track.
Since arriving at Fair Hill shortly after running third in the Belmont Stakes (gr. I), his most recent start, Orb has worked five times including five furlongs in 1:00 flat on Aug. 3.
"We kind of put our heads together and said, 'Let's get our last major work done there and then move him up here,'" McGaughey said. "I'm very relaxed with this. He'll have two weeks here. He'll have his major work, then have a week to get adapted here and we'll blow him out on Monday (Aug. 19). He'll have plenty of time to settle in."
Another horse McGaughey had at Fair Hill, multiple graded stakes winner Boisterous , is being pointed to the Aug. 17 Sword Dancer Invitational (gr. IT). The 6-year-old son of Distorted Humor won the Man o' War (gr. IT) last time out at Belmont Park. On Aug. 4 had his first Saratoga breeze since returning from Maryland, going a half-mile in :46.55 on the Oklahoma training turf course.
"He's doing very well," McGaughey said. "He had a great work here the other day and came out of it really well. I thought his Man o' War as a very, very good race, and I'm looking forward to running him here."
