In a burst of excitement that was a fitting end to a rough week in horse racing, two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan breezed a half-mile at Keeneland this morning in his first workout since suffering a non-displaced ankle fracture last fall.
The incredible eight-year-old gelding has won 11 grade I races, six Eclipse awards, and $7,552,920 during a career that began in 2010. He reached the pinnacle of the sport in 2012 and 2013, when he won two renewals of the Breeders’ Cup Mile (gr. I) to claim back-to-back Horse of the Year titles. In 2014, he went unbeaten in four starts (including three grade Is) despite having colic surgery in May.
Wise Dan’s first workout of the year was conducted over the Keeneland turf course and was timed in :48 1/5, with a gallop-out time of 1:01 3/5 for five furlongs according to a tweet from Claire Novak of Bloodhorse.com. Trained by Charles LoPresti, the son of Wiseman’s Ferry is expected to seek a three-peat in the Breeders’ Cup Mile later this year, with the September 7th Bernard Baruch Handicap (gr. II) at Saratoga or the September 13th Ricoh Woodbine Mile (gr. I) at Woodbine as possible options for his first race of the season.
Here’s a tweet from Keeneland with the link to a story about Wise Dan’s workout:
Keeneland-Based Two-Time Horse of the Year Wise Dan Returns to Worktab, going 4f in 48.20! http://t.co/DxSQxwz2C6 pic.twitter.com/Wkpi4kIhdH
— Keeneland (@keeneland) July 17, 2015
