Kentucky Derby winner Country House points to Saratoga starts

Country House, last seen when promoted to a Kentucky Derby victory, has returned to training following a cough and mild sickness that forced him to miss last weekend's Preakness Stakes.

Now, trainer Bill Mott's looking beyond the Triple Crown series, telling the New York Racing Association Press Office on Sunday that the son of Lookin At Lucky will point to Saratoga's lucrative stakes for 3-year-olds.

The centerpiece of that meet, of course, is the $1.25 million Travers Stakes (G1) on Aug. 24. That, Mott called the "goal," while Country House is "a horse you'd look at" for the $600,000 Jim Dandy (G2) that could mark his return to the races.

"Country House is back on the track at Churchill (Downs)," Mott said. "He's jogging. He's doing fine."

Second across the wire at Churchill Downs, Country House finished 1 3/4 lengths behind Maximum Security but inherited the top spot when stewards disqualified the winner for interference on the far turn.

The Derby victory was the first for Mott, a Hall of Fame trainer, and regardless of the stewards' call marked a major improvement for Country House, who hit the board in two major Derby preps when fourth in the Louisiana Derby (G2) before third in the Arkansas Derby (G1).

Mott will be represented in the third leg of the Triple Crown by Tacitus, the Wood Memorial (G2) winner placed third at Churchill Downs.