Wicked Strong blows out in the slop for Travers; Bayern gets acquainted with Spa

Wicked Strong blows out in the slop for Travers; Bayern

gets acquainted with Spa

Trainer Jimmy Jerkens gave Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers contender Wicked

Strong a blowout over a sloppy Oklahoma training track on Thursday morning.

Winner of the TwinSpires.com Wood Memorial at Aqueduct and  Jim

Dandy on July 26 at Saratoga, Wicked Strong was timed in :38 3/5 for three

furlongs.

"It was good, just a basic little quarter of a mile," Jerkens said. "The track

was flat and even, so it went good. We weren't looking for a whole lot, anyway,

but he skipped over it and got a little something out of it."

Jerkens said he considered putting off the move until Friday but the ultimately

stuck to his regular routine with Wicked Strong, the 7-2 third choice on the

morning line for the "Midsummer Derby."

"It's not going to be any better tomorrow, so I figured we'd do it," Jerkens

said. "He's been accustomed to doing it two days out. If he does it two days out

and he does a little more than you expect or wanted him to do, at least he has

another day to get over it. We decided to go ahead and do it."

Jerkens and his father, Hall of Fame horseman Allen Jerkens, typically give

their horses a blowout leading up to races. The younger Jerkens had Curlin

Stakes winner V. E. Day out for three furlongs in :37 3/5 on Wednesday for

Saturday's 1 1/4-mile Travers.

"Anytime you expand the lungs close to a race as grueling as that, I would have

to think it would be beneficial as long as you're not overdoing it," Jimmy

Jerkens said. "We always thought it just put the finishing touches on a horse's

fitness. A lot of people don't even dream of doing it and do very well. We just

feel a little more comfortable doing it."

Also on Thursday, Haskell Invitational winner Bayern, the 2-1 program favorite for the

Travers, had his first look at Saratoga's main track since arriving from

California late Wednesday afternoon.

The three-year-old son of Offlee Wild jogged one mile and will gallop on Friday

after the renovation break. Stablemate Fiftyshadesofhay, pointing to Friday's Grade 1,

$500,000 Personal Ensign, also jogged.

"He was going to do something light, anyway," said Jim Barnes, assistant to Hall

of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. "Tomorrow, he'll gallop. The rain should go away

and be a nice weekend."

On the Travers undercard,

Noble Cornerstone will become the first graded stakes starter for trainer Tom

Morley, a 31-year-old who started his first horse in March 2013, when he

competes in the Grade 1, $500,000 King's Bishop.

A homebred owned by Len Riggio's My Meadowview Farm, Noble Cornerstone has won

two straight against New York-breds, taking a one-mile entry-level allowance by

three-quarters of a length in June at Belmont Park and a 6 1/2-furlong optional

claimer by a half-length on July 25 at Saratoga. Both starts came against older

horses.

Jose Ortiz will ride Noble Cornerstone, 15-1 on the morning line, from post 4 in

the seven-furlong King's Bishop.

"The horse has been indicating to me all year that seven furlongs probably is

his best trip," Morley said. "He's had to run against older statebreds. He just

got there last time going 6 1/2 furlongs, and this is an opportunity to go a trip

that I think is really going to suit him against his own age group."

Morley is a native of England and is a nephew of David Morley, whose

accomplishments include a win in the 1997 Ascot Gold Cup with Celeric. A graduate of

the Darley Flying Start program, Morley has worked in England with Ed Dunlop and

Jeremy Noseda and in the United States with Eddie Kenneally. Since going out on

his own, he has won 21 races from 131 starts through Wednesday.

"It's an exciting weekend," Morley said. "I'm looking forward to

(running Noble

Cornerstone in the King's Bishop). As I said to the owner, I wouldn't

be running him if I didn't think he fit in the race."

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