OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The New York-bred Whatchatalkinabout, winner of Saturday’s Grade 3 John Nerud Stakes, could be headed west for his next start, that being the Grade 1, $400,000 Bing Crosby at Del Mar on July 26.
Trainer Wesley Ward said the combination of the Bing Crosby being six furlongs, the 11 weeks between races, and the fact he has another top sprinter, Nakatomi, pointed to the sprint stakes this summer at Saratoga are the reasons he’s looking at the Bing Crosby for Whatchatalkinabout.
Whatchatalkinabout came off a 114-day layoff to win the Nerud by a head over Silver Slugger and Surveillance. He earned a 94 Beyer Speed Figure.
“I was proud of that horse. He ran a really big race, they took it to him on both sides, he fought it out and got it done off a lengthy layoff,” Ward said.
Meanwhile, Nakatomi, most recently second by a head in the Dubai Golden Shaheen at Meydan on April 5, returned to the work tab on Friday at Keeneland, breezing a half-mile in 51.60 seconds. Ward said Nakatomi is being pointed to the $400,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt at Saratoga on July 19. The Vanderbilt, a Grade 1 when Nakatomi won it last year, will be run as a Grade 2 this year.
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