Fort Larned gallops ahead of Jockey Club Gold Cup

Fort Larned, reigning winner of the Breeders' Cup Classic and a dominant

winner of the Stephen Foster Handicap, returned to the track at Churchill Downs

on Saturday to resume his preparations for bid for a second consecutive victory

in the Classic at Santa Anita.

The gallop by the six-year-old son of E Dubai was Fort Larned's first journey

to the track since trainer Ian Wilkes announced on August 29 that a muscle

strain would knock his star out of a planned run in the Woodward at Saratoga two

days later.

"He got back (to Churchill Downs) on Wednesday and I rode him in the shed,

but I tracked him today," Wilkes said. "He looked good."

The November 2 Breeders' Cup Classic remains the ultimate goal for Fort

Larned, but Wilkes has the $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park on

September 28 penciled in as a near-term objective. Whether he makes that race

will depend on his progress over his home track at Churchill Downs during the

next few days.

His 6 1/2-length victory in the Stephen Foster remains the only victory in

four 2013 starts for Fort Larned, but Wilkes continues to express strong

confidence in his horse. He finished fifth to Cross Traffic as the favorite in

Saratoga's Whitney Handicap, a race he won in 2012, and finished fifth in the

Oaklawn Handicap after stumbling at the start and tossing jockey Brian Hernandez

Jr. in his season debut in the Gulfstream Park Handicap on March 13.

"I really believe that he's as good as last year," Wilkes said. "It's just

been one of those years. If we could start over again -- you know, get a

're-do,' we'd be fine. Boy, it's been a bumpy road."

Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com