Trainer Todd Pletcher said Travers Stakes (gr. I) winner Stay Thirsty and Foxwoods King’s Bishop Stakes (gr. I) runner-up Uncle Mo appeared in “great shape” Aug. 28, while trainer Bob Baffert said Travers last-place finisher Coil appeared no worse for wear.
Pletcher did report, however, that Hilda's Passion, a dominant winner of the Ballerina Stakes (gr. I) on the Aug. 27 Travers Stakes undercard, sustained a non-displaced condylar fracture and was headed to Kentucky for surgery. He called it a “relatively minor” injury.
Pletcher said he would talk to Mike Repole, who owns Stay Thirsty and Uncle Mo, to decide on their next races. Stay Thirsty most likely will race in the Oct. 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr. I); the connections aren’t so sure about the next race for Uncle Mo, who hadn’t raced since the spring but ran lights out in the King’s Bishop to miss by a nose to Caleb's Posse .
“We’re going to see (what’s next for both),” Pletcher said. “We’ll try to manage two horses at once and do what’s best for each horse.”
Baffert said Coil, a strong second choice behind Stay Thirsty in the Travers, simply didn’t run his race. Coil had won the Haskell Invitational (gr. I) at Monmouth Park in last-to-first fashion.
“He never got out there,” Baffert said of Coil, who was never involved. “He took a lot of dirt in the face and he wasn’t comfortable. He was discouraged being that far back in the field.
“He looks fine. I was worried that something happened to him. He’s still a young horse and we’re still learning about him. He comes home (Aug. 29), and we’ll see where to go from there.”
Shackleford , who finished eighth in the Travers after grabbing the early lead, also exited the race in good shape, trainer Dale Romans said.
“We don’t have an explanation for (his performance),” Romans said. “He wasn’t quite on the bit. He’s still on track for the Breeders’ Cup.”