Wise Dan breezes five-furlong bullet

Two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan continued preparations for his comeback in the September 13 Woodbine Mile (G1) on Tuesday morning, breezing five furlongs in a bullet :59 over the fast Keeneland track.

Unraced since his victory in the Shadwell Turf Mile (G1) last October, Wise Dan was sidelined by a non-displaced fracture at the bottom of his cannon bone in his right front fetlock. The 8yo gelding returned to the worktab on July 17 and has now posted six moves in preparation for his return.

Trainer Charlie LoPresti plans to work Wise Dan once more before shipping him to Canada for the $1 million Woodbine Mile, a race the six-time Eclipse Award winner captured in 2012 and 2013.

Bred in Kentucky by owner Morton Fink, Wise Dan has earned $7,552,920 from a 31-23-2-0 record.

The October 31 Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) is the ultimate goal for the son of Wiseman’s Ferry, who won back-to-back runnings of the Mile at Santa Anita during his Horse of the Year campaigns of 2012-13. And this year’s Mile will be held in his backyard at Keeneland.

If all goes well for Wise Dan at Woodbine, he could receive his final Breeders’ Cup prep in the $1 million Shadwell Turf Mile (G1) at Keeneland on October 3.

The classy chestnut loves the turf at the Lexington, Kentucky oval, winning two previous editions of the Maker’s 46 Mile (G1) (2013-14) and Shadwell Turf Mile (2012 and 2014). His lone setback since June 2012 came when the 2013 Shadwell Turf Mile was washed off the turf and run on Polytrack.

Wise Dan has won 14 straight races on turf.

Wise Dan photo courtesy of Keeneland/Coady Photography