Brad Grady's Girvin, winner of the July 30 Betfair.com Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1), turned in his penultimate work for the Aug. 26 Travers Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1), breezing four furlongs in :50.45 over the Oklahoma training track soon after the track opened at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 12.
With trainer Joe Sharp aboard for the move, the 3-year-old Tale of Ekati colt went the first quarter-mile in :24 4/5 and galloped out to five furlongs in 1:04 1/5, according to NYRA clockers.
"He worked excellent," said Sharp. "He just went a maintenance half (mile) and he appears to have come out of it super so far. We're all systems go.
"He'll come back and work next weekend, probably next Saturday, depending on the weather. He'll probably work in company for his last work before the Travers. We're still on the fence whether we're going to work over the main track or Oklahoma. He did gallop over the main track this week and will again this week. We'll make a decision as the week goes on."
Girvin picked up his first grade 1 victory when he rallied to edge McCraken by a nose over in the Haskell. That effort was on the heels of a close runner-up effort to multiple graded stakes winner Irap in the Ohio Derby (G3) in June. Both of those rivals are also targeting the "Mid-Summer Derby." Girvin finished 13th in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) after being treated for a quarter crack.
"It's like he knows he's getting good and he's getting more confident in himself physically and mentally," Sharp said of the colt's progression. "I think having a full shoe on and being able to go out on a daily basis on a normal regimen, he's just getting more confident in the routine and it's shown in his performance."
Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Cloud Computing was also on the work tab Saturday morning, logging four furlongs in :49.09 on the fast main track. He remains possible for the 1 1/4-mile Travers.
Cloud Computing breezed for the first time since finishing fifth in the July 29 Jim Dandy Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G2). Ridden by Javier Castellano, the 3-year-old Maclean's Music colt impressed trainer Chad Brown.
"The horse went great," Brown said. "It was an easy half-mile, but he was moving very well. I'm very pleased with it. I just wanted to see how he was moving over this track because clearly he didn't run his race in the Jim Dandy, but it's a much different track today than it was that day; a lot tighter, in better condition. I thought the horse was moving extremely well, galloped out strong, it was just what I was looking for."
Castellano, who rode Cloud Computing in both the Preakness and Jim Dandy, said he was also happy with the colt's morning run.
"He wasn't looking for something, timing-wise," the Hall of Fame rider said. "He wanted a nice, comfortable work. He felt great, he worked really good, nice and comfortable. ... I just let him breeze in a nice comfortable rhythm, he worked pretty good. I'm happy the way he felt galloping out."
Brown said he is still determining where Cloud Computing will run next.
"I haven't made my mind up yet. Initially, I would have said after his Jim Dandy race (that) I probably would not go on after a poor effort like that," Brown said. "But now, evaluating it in hindsight; how deep the track was that day, and how he wasn't the only horse that struggled that day and how he's come back and trained well since, we have to at least consider it."
