Poseidon's Warrior , upset winner of the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap (gr. I) Aug. 5, could make his next start in the seven-furlong, $500,000 Forego Stakes (gr. I) at Saratoga Race Course Sept. 1.
A 4-year-old son of Speightstown owned by Swilcan Stable, Poseidon’s Warrior posted his first graded-stakes win when taking the Vanderbilt at 36-1 as favored Shackleford failed to handle the muddy track and finished last in the eight-horse field.
"He ate everything up last night, and he was even tough to walk," Virginia Reid, wife of trainer Robert "Butch" Reid, said Aug. 6. "This morning he went to graze, and I couldn't get him back inside."
Reid said Poseidon’s Warrior will stay in Saratoga as his connections ponder their next move.
"He might go in the Forego," Reid said, noting the race might not be at his preferred distance. "We're a little hesitant because he likes three-quarters (of a mile)."
Six of the Vanderbilt winner’s seven victories have been at six furlongs. In two attempts at the Forego distance, Poseidon’s Warrior finished sixth in the Foxwoods King’s Bishop (gr. I) at Saratoga and fourth in the Philmont Stakes at Parx Racing.