John's Call to Wait for Man o'War

John's Call, the 10-year-old gelding based in Maryland, will bypass the Sussex Handicap Saturday at Delaware Park and run instead in the Man o' War Stakes Sept. 8 at Belmont Park, trainer Tom Voss said.

Voss said he decided to wait for the Man o' War because of concern over the condition of Delaware Park's turf course. Also, he said, John's Call would get one more week to recover from his last-place finish Aug. 11 in the Sword Dancer Invitational Handicap at Saratoga. In that race, John's Call bled from the lungs for the first time.

On Monday, Voss breezed John's Call at Saratoga on Lasix -- the first time the gelding had ever run on the drug. That went well, Voss said.

He plans to breeze John's Call early the week of Sept. 2 at his farm in Maryland, again on Lasix. Then, John's Call will run on Lasix in the Man o' War, in which he will attempt to become the oldest horse to win a grade I non-steeplechase race.