Lemon Drop Kid, Early Pioneer Work

Lemon Drop Kid continued preparing for the $500,000 Woodward Stakes (gr. I), completing a six-furlong drill over the main track in 1:13 1/5, handily, at Saratoga on Thursday. Under exercise rider George Martens, Lemon Drop Kid reeled off opening fractions of :24 4/5 and :49 before coming home the final 1/4 mile in :24 2/5.

The work was the third since the 4-year-old son of Kingmambo won the Whitney Handicap (gr. I) on Aug. 6. He will ship back to Belmont Park on Monday morning to continue preparing for the 1 1/8-mile Woodward.

Lemon Drop Kid has won three consecutive graded races since being equipped with blinkers, including a 2 1/2-length win over Behrens in the Suburban Handicap (gr. II). The Woodward will be run on Sept. 16.

At Del Mar, Early Pioneer worked a mile in 1:39 2/5, handily. The Hollywood Gold Cup (gr. I) winner, trained by Vladimir Cerin, is being pointed toward a start in the $500,000 Kentucky Cup Classic (gr. II) at Turfway Park, where he will likely face Pimlico Special (gr. I) and Stephen Foster (gr. II) winner Golden Missile.