Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Seize the Grey resumed breezing June 22 at Churchill Downs after running seventh in the June 8 Belmont Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course. The 3-year-old colt is expected to have another workout in the next day or two before he departs Kentucky for a summer campaign in the Northeast.
Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said the July 20 Haskell Stakes (G1) at Monmouth Park is likely next for the MyRacehorse-owned son of Arrogate, with the July 27 Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) at Saratoga Race Course another option. Either race would be meant to propel the gray or roan toward the Aug. 24 Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga, where Seize the Grey will be stabled with a division of Lukas trainees this summer.
Lukas said June 28 that Seize the Grey would “probably” run in the Haskell because it is a grade 1. He also noted its “good spacing” into the Travers.
He won the Haskell in 1995 with his champion 3-year-old filly Serena’s Song.
The Haskell, a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series event for the Nov. 2 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar, carries a $1 million purse. The Jim Dandy is worth $500,000, with the latter race often appealing to horsemen by providing a pre-Travers start for their horses over the Saratoga main track.
Seize the Grey disappointed in the Belmont Stakes over the Saratoga surface, weakening after setting the pace to finish 12 3/4 lengths behind victorious Dornoch . The race marked his third start in five weeks following a triumph in the May 4 Pat Day Mile Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs and the May 18 Preakness at Pimlico Race Course.
Lukas said he did not think Seize the Grey “was himself that day. Coming back, he had a series of races, strong races right in a row there, and he was probably due to have one that wasn’t that perfect. He didn’t seem to be real comfortable on the track that day either.”
He added of the latter possibility, “I’m hoping that’s not the case,” owing to his desire to run him in the Travers this summer.
As for Lukas, the 88-year-old said he needed some recovery time from illness after returning from Saratoga. He suspects he was knocked out by a 15-hour truck ride back to Kentucky and collective travel over two-thirds of the Triple Crown.
“I think I brought a virus back out of New York, too,” he said, noting he was negative for COVID-19.
Lukas, who is now feeling better, became the oldest trainer to win a Triple Crown race this spring when Seize the Grey was triumphant at Pimlico. That gave him 15 wins in Triple Crown races during his legendary career.
Seize the Grey is among 23 horses he intends to stable at Saratoga this summer, with another 20 staying behind to race in Kentucky. He expects to start sending his equipment up to Saratoga June 29 and his horses following soon after.
“I’m probably going Monday or Tuesday,” he said.
The spring meet at Churchill Downs, where Lukas bases his stable before Saratoga, concludes June 30.
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