ELMONT, NY—Dublin Fjord Stables, Racepoint Stables, Kevin Hilbert and Thomas O’Keefe’s Drafted, who finished fifth last out in the Grade 1 Carter Handicap on April 9 at the Big A, returned to the work tab Sunday covering a half-mile in 49.47 over Big Sandy.
“It was a good breeze and everything went well. He came back good,” trainer David Duggan said.
The 8-year-old Field Commission gelding posted a 4 1/2-length score in the seven-furlong Grade 3 Toboggan in February at Aqueduct ahead of his Carter effort.
Duggan said he was pleased with Drafted’s performance in the Carter, but will now take a step back and point to either the Grade 3, $150,000 Runhappy at six furlongs for older horses on May 14 over Big Sandy, or the Grade 3 Maryland Sprint on May 21 on the Grade 1 Preakness undercard at Pimlico Race Course.
“The Toboggan was a huge run for him,” Duggan said. “We met a different caliber of horse last out and we ran our race and we weren’t totally disappointed. We know where we belong. It’s time to take a step backwards. We’re reviewing the Runhappy and the race in Maryland on Preakness Day, but we’d prefer to stay home if the race came up to suit us.”
The well-traveled Drafted made a winning debut in 2016 at Keeneland ahead of stakes efforts at Ascot and Del Mar. He competed in Dubai from 2017 through 2020, capturing a pair of Group 3 wins for conditioner Doug Watson at Meydan Racecourse, before returning to North America in November 2020 with Duggan.
Drafted was eased last year in the Runhappy and did not return until nearly five month’s later, running a close fifth in an optional-claimer in October at Belmont.
“He had one run here that wasn’t productive, but he got hurt,” Duggan said. “You play the hand you’re dealt. It seems like there should be plenty of pace tied on this time, which would suit us.”
Drafted found rejuvenated form over the winter at the Big A, finishing third in the Gravesend in December before registering a career-best 97 Beyer Speed Figure in the Toboggan.
Duggan said he is hopeful that Drafted, who garnered a 93 Beyer in the Carter, will be ready to elevate his game once more in the Runhappy.
“There’s a lot of horses running 95 and 100 Beyer Figures, so he needs to have his running shoes on,” Duggan said. “It’s the logical step and he’s doing well, so we’ll take a shot at it. We’d prefer to stay here.”
Kingsport Farm’s King Kumbalay, a 4-year-old Shanghai Bobby gelding bred in Pennsylvania by Jonathan Sheppard, may earn a shot in state-bred stakes company following his three-length score in a first-level allowance mile on April 8 at the Big A.
The consistent dark bay boasts a ledger of 9-4-2-1 with purse earnings of $134,160. He notched a career-best 88 Beyer three starts back when pouncing to a one-length score in a state-bred optional-claimer traveling one mile and seventy yards in February over a muddy Parx main track.
“He’s a cool horse and after putting together a couple of nice runs. He’s paid his way,” Duggan said. “I suppose we may have to try a stakes with him. He’s a ‘PA-bred’ so we may have to go in that direction.”
NYRA Press Office
Photo: Janet Garaguso
