Lookin At Lucky turned in his first work since winning the IZOD Haskell Invitational (gr. I) Sept. 8 at Del Mar, working an easy half-mile in :49 2/5 at Del Mar,.
The leading candidate for champion 3-year-old and last year's champion juvenile male, Lookin At Lucky developed an illness after winning the Aug. 1 Haskell at Monmouth Park, causing him to miss significant training time. Trainer Bob Baffert said the Smart Strike colt was finally well enough to get back on the work tab but he is going to take things slow with his star, who worked alone.
“He went real nice and easy,” Baffert said. “It was nice to get him back. He got pretty sick and we couldn’t do anything with him for a while. We had to take a few weeks off. With all the shipping and running, he lost a lot of weight. The last couple weeks he’s done some jogging and light galloping, but we still have a ways to go. We lost a lot of time.”
Baffert said there was no timetable for Lookin At Lucky’s return to racing and no race has been picked out, but he said the Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I) on Nov. 6 at Churchill Downs is still a goal.
Lookin At Lucky has won three of five starts this season, including the Rebel (gr. II) and Preakness Stakes (gr. I). Owned by Karl Watson, Mike Pegram, and Paul Weitman, the bay colt is 8-1-1 from 11 starts overall and has earned more than $2.7 million.
