Reigning Illinois Horse of the Year Work All Week put the finishing touches
Sunday on preparations for his next start, and later on a possible run in the
Breeders’ Cup Sprint on November 1.
The The Midwest Thoroughbreds homebred is set
to embark for Keeneland at the end of the
Arlington meet for its marquee Sprint prep.
“He’s being pointed to the (Grade 3, $200,000) Phoenix (on October 3) in
Kentucky,” said Richard Papiese, principal of Midwest Thoroughbreds. “If he
keeps working well and all goes well there, we’ll look at the Breeders’ Cup.”
The Phoenix has a history of being conquered by some of the fastest horses
around, including
Breeders’ Cup Sprint runner-ups Xtra Heat, an Eclipse Award winner, and Fatal Bullet,
a Canadian Horse of the Year; Bet on Sunshine, third in two editions of the
Breeders’ Cup Sprint; and reigning dual Horse of the Year Wise Dan, who
annexed the event in his sophomore year to give fans a glimpse of what was to come.
Work All Week, who has won 10
of 13 and comes off a tough beat when giving 11 pounds to the winner as the 130-pound
highweight in the July 26 Addison Cammack Handicap at Arlington,
has continued to train extremely well in Illinois.
After a series of moves over the Chicago oval’s synthetic Polytrack, the Illinois-bred son of City Zip switched to
Hawthorne‘s
fast dirt
course on Sunday morning to prepare him for Keeneland’s newly installed dirt
course, going five furlongs in a swift :59 3/5.
“He’s working really well,” Papiese said. “I expect a big race on the dirt
with him. It’s probably his best surface. He ships well and he doesn’t care
where he’s at — he runs his race. I would say right now he’s training like a
million dollars and I’m very happy with him and confident in his chances.”
The Phoenix, which will be Work All Week’s graded debut, is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series
“Win &
You’re In” race, allotting the winner guaranteed entry to the Sprint and a
substantial travel allowance.
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