After watching him work a bullet four furlongs Aug. 23, Bob Baffert confirmed that Coil will start in the $1 million Travers (gr. I) Aug. 27 at Saratoga, but he still has not made up his mind about stablemate Prayer for Relief .
Baffert was on the fence about Coil’s Travers status until watching him breeze a half-mile in :46.12 Tuesday morning on a fast main track. The Haskell Invitational (gr. I) winner, with Martin Garcia up, worked in company with Prayer for Relief, who finished up in :47.31. Coil, who galloped out five furlongs in :58 2/5, recorded a time that was the best of 32 at the distance.
Coil, who scratched his right eyeball last week, breezed with a protective cup shielding that eye from dirt and debris.
West Virginia Derby (gr. II) winner Prayer for Relief also went well, but Baffert said he will not decide until Wednesday about his Travers status.
“They worked really well, but I’m still deciding about Prayer for Relief,” Baffert said. “The way Coil went, if he looks good tomorrow morning, he’s going. His time was fast, but it didn’t really look that way when he was going.
“I have to think about Prayer for Relief. He got a little bit tired. He was blowing a little harder when he was done. He’s just starting to wake up from his race in West Virginia.”
Coil, 4-1-1 from six starts, is expected to be one of the favorites in Saturday’s Travers. His sire, Point Given , won the race in 2001.