OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Though the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile ultimately went off with just six horses at Del Mar earlier this month, trainer Danny Gargan said he has no regrets that Talkin was not in that field.
Talkin, second to Napoleon Solo in the Grade 1 Champagne at Aqueduct, was barely considered for the Breeders’ Cup in large part because his connections did not want to ship cross-country to Southern California. The Juvenile, won by Ted Noffey, originally drew eight entrants but went postward with just six horses.
“You can’t look back. We did everything right for the horse,” Gargan said. “If the Breeders’ Cup would have been in Kentucky or New York, I would have run him. I think he would have been second. It’s just a pain in the ass to go out there and the track is speed-biased. That track is so one-dimensional. Especially on the 2-year-old day, it really was one-dimensional.”
Since the Champagne, Gargan has been focused on the Grade 2, $250,000 Remsen Stakes on Dec. 6 at Aqueduct. Gargan won back-to-back runnings of the Remsen with Dubyuhnell (2022) and Dornoch (2023), with Dornoch going on to win the Belmont Stakes and Haskell in 2024.
Talkin, a son of Good Magic, continued his preparations for the Remsen when he worked a half-mile in 47.83 seconds on Thursday over Belmont Park’s training track. Talkin, under jockey Kendrick Carmouche, worked in company with the New York-bred 4-year-old Russian Realm, who stuck with Talkin all the way around.
“He worked good,” Gargan said. “Kendrick was really happy with it. He said he did everything easy. He’s a little bit lazier, so it was good for him to do that without having to be asked for anything.”
Gargan said Talkin will have another work before the Remsen. Gargan said that regardless of how the Remsen turns out, Talkin will head to Florida to prepare for his 3-year-old campaign. Gargan said the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream in late February could be a potential spot for his 3-year-old debut. Gargan also did not rule out the Withers, a race typically held in early February at Aqueduct.
Nominations for the Remsen close over the weekend. Others who are pointing to that race include Courting and Renegade from the Todd Pletcher barn; Paladin, trained by Chad Brown; and Igniter, a maiden winner on Sept. 27 for trainer Rick Dutrow.
Courting, a 2 1/2-length winner of a Nov. 9 maiden race, worked an easy half-mile in 50.24 on Friday morning at Belmont Park. Paladin, who was elevated to first after the disqualification of Renegade from an Oct. 17 maiden race, worked a half-mile in 49 seconds on Friday.
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