Clement Offers Update on Winchester
Trainer Christophe Clement offered an update on Mr. and Mrs. Bertram Firestone’s Winchester, winner of last year’s Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic and Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Manhattan Handicap at Belmont Park. The 6-year-old son of Theatrical is unraced since an 11th -place finish in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Vase Stakes at Sha Tin on December 12 and missed some time earlier this spring with a splint.
“Winchester is doing very well,” Clement said. “He’s going to work tomorrow on the turf and then I’m going to decide do I bring him back in two weeks for [The Grade 3, 1 ½-mile Stars and Stripes on July 23] at Arlington, or just train him to the Sword Dancer. I’ve got to talk to Mr. Firestone and we’ll have a plan after that.”
The Grade 1 Sword Dancer, also run at 1 ½ miles on the turf, is scheduled for Saturday, August 13 at Saratoga Race Course.
Turning to turf fillies, Clement said he was pleased with recent victories notched by Giants Play, in the Grade 2 New York Stakes on June 25 at Belmont, and Cheetah, in the Grade 3 Robert G. Dick Memorial Stakes yesterday at Delaware Park.
“Cheetah ran well,” Clement said. “It’s nice because we went with Giants Play to the New York, she won, and Cheetah went to the race at Delaware, she won. One of the two maybe we’ll have to think about the Diana [Grade 1, 1 1/8 miles, July 30 at Saratoga], the Beverly D. [Grade 1, 1 3/16 miles, August 13 at Arlington Park], the Glens Falls [Grade 3, 1 3/8 miles, September 5 at Saratoga], all of these races coming up.”