Sprinter Recruiting Ready could target Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap

Sagamore Farm's Recruiting Ready, who ran third in the Grade 2 True North on June 7 as part of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, could be making his first Grade 1 appearance in the $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap on July 27.

The 5-year-old son of Algorithms earned a 102 Beyer in the 6 ½-furlong True North, finishing behind Strike Power and the winner Catalina Cruiser.

Since taking over training responsibilities from Horacio DePaz, Stanley Hough has seen Recruiting Ready post a 2-2-1 record in six starts, all against stakes company, dating to Dec. 23 when he won the Gravesend by a neck at Aqueduct Racetrack.

His 3 ¼-length win in the Gulfstream Park Sprint (G3) at the Vanderbilt distance of six furlongs earned him a personal-best 105 Beyer.

Recruiting Ready would be making his second career start at the Spa and first since running fourth in the 2016 Saratoga Special (G2).

"He's doing well, so we might go that route and see how he's feeling. There aren't that many Grade 1s, so you know they are going to be tough," Hough said.

Recruiting Ready has already won at six racetracks, Belmont, Aqueduct, Gulfstream, Pimlico, Laurel Park and Oaklawn, and will look to add Saratoga as No. 7.

"He puts in a very good effort wherever we run him," Hough said. "If he does make it, I think he'll be (competitive)."