Speaking by telephone from South Florida, where he soon
will be joined by Grade 2 Remsen hero Honor Code, Hall of Fame trainer Shug
McGaughey said the A.P. Indy ridgling came out of his victory in good order and will
be prepared for a 2014 Triple Crown campaign.
“What impressed me the most was how he handled the day; he
shipped over (from Belmont Park) well and broke a lot better,” McGaughey said.
“They went three-quarters in 1:17 (2/5) but he was right there. He made the
lead, lost it and then refocused. They went the last part in :11 and change and
he beat a very nice horse (in Cairo Prince) who’d run twice since Honor Code’s
last race.”
Honor Code is now 2-1-0 from three career starts, having
broken his maiden in a last-to-first effort going seven furlongs at Saratoga
on August 31 and then finishing second to Havana by just a quarter-length in the
Champagne going a mile at Belmont Park on October 5.
“I was watching the replay and he galloped out well, which
is what (jockey Javier Castellano) said in our conversation after the race,” McGaughey
added.
McGaughey indicated Honor Code most likely would begin his
three-year-old campaign in Florida but left open the option of returning to New York
for the Wood Memorial.
“He’s going to be here in Florida; we’ll watch him and see
how he’s doing,” the trainer said. “I’ve got nothing specific in my head other
than he’ll start when and where he tells us.”
Cairo Prince just missed in the Remsen, losing by a nose in a head-bobbing
finish with Honor Code, and Kiaran McLaughlin is convinced he has a top
three-year-old prospect in the the gray son of Pioneerof the Nile. The trainer
reported that his charge emerged from Saturday’s efforts in good order.
“He was wide on both turns and then when he got there at
the eighth-pole, the jockey (Luis Saez) was maybe a little overconfident and
thought he was the winner,” McLaughlin declared. “Then Javier came back (aboard
Honor Code) and it was his day yesterday, winning five.
“Honor Code is a nice horse, but we were giving him six pounds and to lose by
a nose, we feel like we have the best horse right now. Moving forward, we’ll
see.”
McLaughlin said Cairo Prince would depart for Florida this
week, with an eye toward the Triple Crown preps, possibly to include the Gotham and
Wood Memorial at Aqueduct.
“He’s the real deal,” said the trainer. “He’ll get the distance; he was
unlucky yesterday.”
McLaughlin added that four-year-old filly
Wedding Toast, who ran her win streak to four in Saturday’s Grade 3 Comely, also came
out of the race in good order and will be traveling to Florida as well.
“Wedding Toast ran great; Javier rode her great and she dug
in gamely,” he said. “We’ll look at coming back up here for races like the Top
Flight and the Ruffian, just trying to keep her and (Grade 1 winner) Dance Card
apart.”
Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com