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Saratoga stakes targeted by McLaughlin runners Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said this morning that multiple Grade 1 winner It's Tricky will most likely make her next start at Saratoga, either in the Grade 1 Ballerina on August 24 or the Grade 1 Personal Ensign on August 26. "She'll work tomorrow morning but my gut feeling is that she'll skip the (Grade 2) Delaware Handicap," McLaughlin said of It's Tricky, who captured the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps when last seen in May. "It's 1 1/4 miles, the track is tiring, and she doesn't ship all that well. So that's doubtful, and we'll look at the seven-furlong (Ballerina) or the 1 1/8-mile (Personal Ensign)." Last year at Saratoga, the Mineshaft filly won the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks and was runner-up to eventual champion three-year-old filly Royal Delta in the Grade 1 Alabama. Opening weekend at the Spa could be a busy one for McLaughlin, who is looking at the Grade 3 James Marvin on July 20 for Crossbow and the July 21 CCA Oaks as a possibility for Questing. Fifth in the Grade 2 True North Handicap on June 9 in his most recent start off a 3 1/2-month layoff, Crossbow worked four furlongs in a brisk :47 1/5 Friday morning at the Greentree training center in Saratoga. "He's doing great," McLaughlin said of the four-year-old Bernardini colt, who won his first two starts this year, both in optional claimers, at Aqueduct. Questing, who was fourth and fifth in two turf starts for McLaughlin at Gulfstream Park, returned to the dirt at Belmont on June 24 and was an impressive 3 3/4-length winner in a one-mile optional claimer. "She ran huge that day," McLaughlin said of the British-bred Questing, who began her career in England. "If she ran that race back, she would look pretty good. And sometimes, it's OK to be third in a Grade 1." McLaughlin said the Hard Spun filly would work Saturday morning, after which a decision would be made. The trainer added that Grade 3 Withers winner Alpha, unraced since finishing 12th in the Kentucky Derby, would likely make his next start in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy on July 28. Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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