75 days have passed since Rick Dawson’s RED TR-Racing’s Rich Strike shocked the world in the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).
3 year old son of Keen Ice reappeared in the Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (G1) and played badly, finishing sixth. Now, Rich Strike has taken a break and is back to work, aiming to start with $1.25 million in Runhappy Travers (G1) on Aug. Racecourse Saratoga.
Coach Eric Reed from Kentucky said: “He has grown a lot and is big enough already. “He just filled in more time off. He’s really happy right now. He’s not happy when he’s not training as usual. He doesn’t understand the 30-day break. I tried to give him a break. He takes a break and just gives him a chance to relax. He’s happy because he can gallop like he normally does and doesn’t have easy days.”
The horse was trained at Reed’s Mercury Horse Center in Lexington. His first published work since Belmont comes July 8 when he goes four in: 50 2/5.
PEREZ: Kentucky Derby Winner Rich Strike Works at Mercury
The plan is for Rich Strike to switch Churchill Downs for a few works before moving to Saratoga a few weeks before Travers.
Reed said Rich Strike, who won the Derby 80-1, is as popular as ever. Maybe more.
“I couldn’t get over it,” Reed said. “I get a lot of things in the mail. Poems and pictures from children. Fans constantly want to come and see him. We try to accommodate them as best we can, but that’s what I do. really unfamiliar.”
According to Equibase, the last time Reed ran a horse in Saratoga was September 5, 2020, when he rode Accomplice finished seventh in Glens Falls Stakes (G2T). During his career, he started 18 horses at Saratoga.
Reed has never won the stake race at Spa. He has two wins and two finishes in second place. In the first Saratoga warm-up, he finished fourth with Sweet and perfect in the 2009 Alabama Stocks (G1).
