Meanwhile, trainer Allen Jerkens had Puzzlement work an unorthodox 1 1/8 miles, with a final time of 1:55 after getting a mile in 1:41 4/5. With jockey Jean Luc-Samyn aboard, the son of Pine Bluff was equipped with blinkers for the work."I would like to have seen him close a little better, but he's not that much of a work horse without company," Jerkens said of the colt who worked by himself Monday.""He did it beautifully," Samyn said. "We just wanted to go the first three-quarters (of a mile) nice and easy and finish the last three-eighths. When I pushed him inside the eighth pole, he really responded. He blew the way you like to see a horse blow after the work. This horse is improving quickly."
Sunday Break and Puzzlement, the respective first- and second-place finishers in the Peter Pan Stakes (gr. II), worked at Belmont Park on Monday in preparation for Saturday's Belmont Stakes (gr. I).Both of the 3-year-olds are in the hands of Hall of Fame trainers and are considered among the top challengers to War Emblem's Triple Crown quest.Belmont clockers caught Sunday Break in 1:02 1/5 for a five furlong workout, while trainer Neil Drysdale timed the Japan-bred son of Forty Niner in 1:16 for a six-furlong work, with a seven-furlong gallop out time of 1:29.