Trainer Doug O’Neill said
on Sunday that Handsome Mike is headed to the Grade 1 $1 million Haskell
Invitational and Mario Gutierrez will ride the colt, who is owned by J. Paul
Reddam. Handsome Mike and the jockey will partner for the first time.
O’Neill, Gutierrez, and
Reddam are the same connections for the recently retired I’ll Have Another, who
won this year’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness
Stakes.
“Both Mario and Handsome
Mike are ready and raring to go. We are really looking forward to this race at
Monmouth,” said O’Neill by phone from his base in Southern
California.
Handsome Mike, a son of the
hot young sire Scat Daddy, last raced at Turfway Park on March 24, finishing fourth in the
Grade 3 Spiral Stakes on Polytrack. On Saturday (July 21) O’Neill worked him six
furlongs over the Cushion Track at Hollywood Betfair Park under his regular exercise rider and
the colt fired a bullet of 1:11.80 for the fastest move of 11 horses at the same
distance.
“It was a great, great
work. He’s fantastic,” said O’Neill. “Handsome Mike is a very versatile colt.
He’s got speed and he’s also got the ability to track if need be. I expect him
to run very well.”
In other Haskell news, Hall
of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer confirmed that Nonios will also be in the
starting gate when the 45th edition of the race is run on Sunday,
July 29.
The son of 2003 Breeders’
Cup Classic winner Pleasantly Perfect had been competing in graded stakes at
Hollywood and
comes into the Haskell with a win in the Grade 3 Affirmed Handicap and a solid
second in the Grade 2 Swaps Stakes in his last two starts. In the Swaps, he
earned a triple digit Beyer Speed Figure while losing by less than a length to
the Bob Baffert-trained Blueskiesnrainbows. Baffert will send Belmont Stakes
runner-up Paynter to the Haskell.
Post positions will be
drawn on Thursday at noon. While the field is still taking shape, the
connections of Kentucky Derby third place finisher Dullahan and Pegasus Stakes
winner Le Bernardin have also confirmed their participation. Possible runners
include Wood Memorial Stakes winner Gemologist, 2011 Juvenile champion and Iowa
Derby victor Hansen, Long
Branch winner My Adonis, Matt Winn Stakes runner-up
Stealcase, and several other top three-year-olds.