Journalism, the 3-year-old son of Curlin, second-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes and winner of the Preakness Stakes, is set to return to action in the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park on July 19.
It was announced Tuesday by the ownership group Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners that, pending a successful workout this weekend at Santa Anita, Journalism will ship to New Jersey and run in the $1 million Grade 1 affair.
Speaking to FanDuel TV this past Sunday, trainer Michael McCarthy gave a bit of a roadmap for what the rest of the colt’s summer may look like but noted that a final decision hadn’t yet been made, stating, “You’ve got two races at Saratoga, the Haskell, obviously later down this summer you’ve got the Pacific Classic, Pennsylvania Derby—so not going to rule anything out.” When asked what might be the deciding factor in choosing Journalism’s next race, he added, “There’s a lot of moving parts to a horse like him, but we’re just going to let him tell us when it’s time to go.”
It has since been confirmed that Journalism will in fact head to Monmouth and, for now, will avoid another run-in with Sovereignty, who is being pointed toward the Grade 2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga a week after the Haskell.
Some notable horses pointed toward the Haskell Stakes include the Brendan Walsh-trained Gosger, who finished just half a length behind Journalism in that dramatic Preakness finish, and the Ian Wilkes-trained Burnham Square, winner of the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes. Other possible entries include the Bob Baffert-trained Goal Oriented and local runner Bracket Buster, who won the local prep for the Haskell in June.
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