Lukas says Seize the Grey is targeting the Jim Dandy Stakes

Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

D. Wayne Lukas, eager to capitalize on massive incentives being offered by Gainesway Farm as part of its deal to acquire breeding rights to Preakness winner Seize the Grey, intends to use the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes on July 27 and not next Saturday’s Haskell (G1) as a prep for the Aug. 24 Travers.

“There is a large incentive if we win the Travers and it could make us a champion, too,” Lukas said. “So the Travers now becomes a huge purse. The other guys are going for $1 million (actually $1.25 million). We’re running for $5 million and maybe more because it may be a steppingstone to 3-year-old champion. The Travers and 3-year-old champion would put millions in the coffers.”

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MyRacehorse’s deal with Gainesway for the son of the late Arrogate has been reported to be worth more than $12 million if performance bonuses are reached.

Although the $1 million Haskell at New Jersey’s speed-favoring Monmouth Park is a Grade 1 contest that carries twice the purse of the Jim Dandy, the opportunity to get another race over the surface at Saratoga appeals to Lukas. Seize the Grey turned in a disappointing seventh-place finish when the Belmont Stakes was contested at Saratoga on June 8.

“Getting an out over the racetrack is probably overworked,” Lukas said, “but it doesn’t hurt.”

Lukas added, “I think everything we do right now should be pointed toward the Travers. Before the syndication, I would have said Haskell-Travers.”

The Hall of Fame conditioner is very confident Seize the Grey will rebound from the Belmont, which marked the colt’s third start in five weeks following victories in the Pat Day Mile (G2) at Churchill Downs and the Preakness at Pimlico.

“I wasn’t real pleased with the Belmont effort. I thought he was flat that day,” he said. “I didn’t blame the racetrack or anything. I just think he was flat.

“I thought his energy level was a little less. He didn’t come back quickly the next day. Now, he’s full of himself.”

The grey speedster returned to the work tab for the first time since the Belmont with a five-furlong drill in 59.22 seconds July 9. Lukas was delighted with that move on Saratoga’s Oklahoma training track, a surface he praised as “very forgiving.”

“He couldn’t be doing any better,” he said. “His sire, Arrogate, got better as he got older. This colt is starting to show that to me. He’s getting thicker, he’s getting bigger. He’s very easy to train.”

Lukas expects MyRacehorse to collect some, if not all, of the incentives available. He said he told Gainesway officials, “I think you guys are going to have to write a check. I think his best races are still in front of us. He has done nothing to make me think he’s backing up. Nothing.”

Lukas believes Seize the Grey has a great opportunity to justify Gainesway’s confidence in him. “Arrogate was going to be a top sire, maybe as good as we have in this generation,” he said. “This colt has great conformation, a great mind. If any of Arrogate shows up, he has a great chance to be a sire.”