Bevo in Bullet Work; Cigar Mile Likely Next Start

Peter Callahan's Bevo worked five furlongs around "dogs" at Belmont Park Thursday morning in 1:00 2/5, the fastest work of the day at the distance. The 3-year-old is entered in both the $100,000 Fall Highweight Handicap (gr. II, Aqueduct, Nov. 23) and the $350,000 Cigar Mile Handicap (gr. I, Aqueduct, Nov. 25), but trainer Bill Badgett said the Prospector's Gamble colt is more likely for the Cigar Mile.

"Things have gone according to plan since the Forest Hills," said Badgett. "He's as sound as can be and has been training great. We're leaning towards the Cigar Mile."

In his most recent start, Bevo finished second to Delaware Township in the Forest Hills Handicap (gr. II) after finishing fifth in the King's Bishop (gr. I) in August. Bevo has been kept sprinting during a limited 3-year-old campaign, but he did win the one-turn mile Futurity Stakes (gr. I) at Belmont Park as a 2-year-old.

"We've been battling his feet all year, but the glue on shoes have really helped," said Badgett. "We were forced to take our time with him over the last few months. It wasn't by design, but it was the right thing to do for the horse."

Also listed as probable for the Cigar Mile by the New York Racing Association are last year's winner Affirmed Success, El Corredor, Forty One Carats, Golden Missile, Left Bank, More Than Ready, One Way Love, and Peeping Tom. NYRA lists Chasin' Wimmin as questionable.

Expected for the six-furlong Fall Highweight are Brutally Frank, Kashatreya, Late Carson, Mister Tricky, Oro de Mexico, and Western Expression. Listed as questionable are Exciting Story, Go to the Ink, Lion Hearted, and Mountain Top.