McLaughlin Not Sure What to Do With Alpha

Godolphin Racing's Alpha emerged from his sixth-place finish in Saturday's Whitney in good order but left trainer Kiaran McLaughlin uncertain where the 4-year-old Bernardini colt would start next.

"He came out of the race great; it was just too tough a field," McLaughlin said. "We're not sure what we're going to do from here, but he's fine. He's in good shape."

The Whitney marked the first career loss at Saratoga for Alpha, who broke his maiden here in 2011 and swept the Grade 2 Jim Dandy and Grade 1 Travers last summer, winning the latter in a dead heat with Golden Ticket.

Under Joel Rosario, Alpha raced near the back of the eight-horse field and was strung out three wide on both turns in the Whitney, never threatening at any point. He finished seven lengths behind the front-running winner, Cross Traffic, who led through fractions of 24.17 and 47.28 seconds.

"We were expecting a much faster first quarter and half," McLaughlin said. "We were well back, and it's hard to make up ground on these types of horses going 24 and 47. But, we knew we were in tough to start with."

Alpha has failed to hit the board in six starts since the Travers, including a pair of stakes in Dubai to start this year. His best finish came in his pre-Whitney start, running fourth in the Grade 2 Suburban Handicap on July 6 at Belmont Park.

"We just have to regroup and figure out what we're going to do," McLaughlin said.