(Trainer D. Wayne Lukas had Warrior’s Club on the track at Churchill Downs this morning / Photo Courtesy of Keeneland)

Every day, we scour the work tabs at racetracks all over the country.  We are looking for workouts that may be of interest and helpful to you — as both race fans and handicappers.  Some of the horses we will be tracking, you will know.  Some of them, you may not know — as of yet.  We will keep a keen eye and stopwatch to see who may be working their best and ready for a key race.  Here is a look at today’s top works:

  1. Warrior’s Club, a real success story for both the Churchill Downs’ Racing Club and HOF trainer D. Wayne Lukas, is coming off two of his biggest race performances to date. He won the G3 Commonwealth Stakes at Keeneland at huge 21-1 odds, and followed that up with a game second in the Churchill Downs Stakes in the slop on Derby Day. He was back in training this morning for “The Coach,” going an easy half-mile in :49.40. That was the 14th best time out of 26. It will be interesting to see where he will show up next, but make no mistake — it will be a Stakes event with high drama attached. Good luck to all the Club members.
  2. Proforma, a 4YO Munnings gelding trained by Michael Stidham, has run in five straight Stakes events since breaking his maiden at Churchill Downs last November. In those Stakes, he has two wins and two thirds. He captured the Sugar Bowl Stakes at the Fair Grounds in December 2016, and then won the Jersey Shore Stakes at Monmouth in June of last year. He has not been seen in the afternoons since he was third in the Allied Forces Stakes at Belmont Park last September. He is working his way back to you, though, and had his fifth published work since late April this morning at Fair Hill. He went 5 furlongs over the dirt track there in 1:00.20, which was the bullet move of the day at that distance.
  3. Mannerly, a 4YO Unbridled’s Song filly trained by Brendan Walsh for Stonestreet Stables, has two nice races under her belt to start the 2018 race year. She won the New Orleans Ladies Stakes in her 2018 debut on March 24, and followed that up with a really nice win over a staunch allowance field at Keeneland on April 27. Now, she may be pointed for a new spot after training this morning at Keeneland. She went 5 furlongs in 1:02 flat, which was the second best time out of 5 to go that distance today.
  4. Thirteen Squared, a 3YO Liaison filly trained by Bob Baffert, has been right there in four starts this year, to date. She was 4th in the G2 Las Virgenes Stakes to her undefeated teammate Dream Tree; she was second in the G3 Ysabel Stakes to Midnight Bisou; was third to the same filly in the Santa Anita Derby; and, most recently, was fourth in the Angels Flight Stakes to another stablemate, Emboldened. Team Baffert turned it up a notch this morning when the filly worked 6 furlongs in 1:10.80 — which was the bullet move out of the first four to go that distance this morning. Watch for this one on return. Talented.
  5. Zulfikhar, another talented 3YO colt in the barn of Bob Baffert at Santa Anita, worked this morning, as well. The son of Bodemeister went 6 furlongs in a more leisurely 1:12.80 — which was the second best of the four. This guy ran third to Kanthaka, and Beautiful Shot in his Stakes debut — the Las Barrera Stakes — on May 12. Watch for this one’s return. He could be a handful, too.