NYRA Press Office
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.— LSU Stables’ Kuchar breezed a half-mile in 49.04 seconds Thursday over the Saratoga main track and will likely next contest the Grade 2, $350,000 Suburban, a 10-furlong test for older horses, on Belmont Stakes Day June 8 at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by Rudy Rodriguez, the 5-year-old Uncle Mo horse has made his last three outings at nine furlongs at Aqueduct Racetrack, winning versus optional claiming company on March 1 and May 9 with a third in between when contesting the Listed Excelsior on March 30.
“The owners were here to watch him work this morning. The owners want to go to that race and I think the horse deserves his chance,” said Rodriguez. “I love the distance. He is a big, nice-looking horse and what he wants to do is a mile and a quarter and two-turns. I’m very happy with the way he breezed this morning.”
Rodriguez said the added ground could be appreciated by Kuchar and that it will be a good experiment going a distance he hasn’t competed at since winning an off-the-turf allowance in May 2022 at Churchill Downs for conditioner Rodolphe Brisset.
“We just have to hope we get a good trip. All these races at Saratoga, everybody comes ready, so it is going to be a good race to figure out what we should do with him,” Rodriguez said.
A good result from Kuchar, who entered Rodriguez’s care after previously being trained by Jamie Ness until late August, could propel him to a try in the Spa’s Grade 1, $1 million Whitney on August 3 which offers a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic.
“Hopefully, he gives us an indication that he keeps improving. Since we got him, it’s been steady progress,” Rodriguez said. “It is a good race to take a shot. If he likes Saratoga, maybe we can go to the Whitney.”
Rodriguez said Flavien Prat, who piloted his last-out closing score when a nose better than Ouster, will have the call on Belmont Stakes Day.
Bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm, Kuchar, out of the multiple Grade 1-placed Street Hero mare Street Girl, was a $500,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Horses of Racing Age Sale in July 2022.
