Where is Whitmore?
Whitmore and jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr. win the 2018 Forego Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course.
Photo by Steve Heuertz
The Forego Stakes (G1) is coming up at Saratoga Racetrack on Saturday; the winner of last year's Forego, Whitmore, has been noticeably absent in the sprint division this summer. That race gave Whitmore his first Grade One win, a berth to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), and it gave his trainer, Ron Moquett, his second career Grade One win (his first was with Seek Gold in the 2006 Stephen Foster). Whitmore hasn't raced since his last-place finish in the True North (G2) at Belmont Park in June; Tara Cochran caught up with the gelding’s trainer to see how he's doing and what races he is targeting for the remainder of the year.
As many noted, Whitmore's race and finish in the True North was uncharacteristic for him - he almost-always runs his race and seldom finishes off the board (out of 28 lifetime starts, only six have been off of the board). Whitmore lost a rear shoe and sustained some bad cuts on his rear leg during the running of the race, which explains his performance.
Ricardo Santana Jr. was aboard that day and realized something was amiss and took care of him. Whitmore cooled out great after the race, and was kicking and squealing as he did so - so, no serious injury or lameness was caused. But, as you may have noted, it did warrant him getting a few weeks of down time.
He came back onto the work tab at Churchill Downs on August 1 and has been working consistently since, firing off a bullet work on August 13 in :47.20 (the fastest of 27 horses to work at the same distance). He worked again Thursday over a muddy Churchill Downs track.
Whitmore in the paddock prior to winning the 2017 Phoenix Stakes (G2).
Photo by Tom Ferry.
Moquett said that work under assistant trainer Greta Kuntzweiler was intended to be easy and she was very pleased with how he worked in company with stablemate Cabot. Whitmore was clocked in 1:00.80 for five furlongs, but Moquett said he easily could have finished in :58.
It's safe to say there are no lingering ill-effects from the True North.
Moquett is targeting the Phoenix Stakes (G2) at Keeneland Race Course in October, the same race he ran in last year before his start in the Breeders' Cup Sprint. He could possibly have a prep race in an allowance race at Churchill Downs next month, but that's still to be determined.
One thing is for certain, and that is that Whitmore's health is paramount to any pre-determined schedule; Moquett lets Whitmore dictate the plan, ultimately. He wants a healthy racehorse for years to come, and then wants a healthy track pony following his retirement as a racehorse. So, while he may not be in Saturday's Forego starting gate, it's not out of the question to think he could possibly return to it in 2020, and even possibly beyond that.
Moquett is playing the long game, and the sport is better for it.