Graham Motion has a dilemma with recent grade 1 winner Trikari, but it's certainly a good dilemma to have. The trainer can either run the Oscar Performance colt over the 1 3/16-mile trip again in the Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T)—a distance over which he proved victorious in the July 6 Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T)—or drop him back to a mile in Colonial Downs' Secretariat Stakes (G2T).
"He's doing great but I'm just really torn in what direction to go with him," Motion told BloodHorse. "I'm going to breeze him on Saturday and then decide if we'll go to Saratoga for the Derby or wait and maybe go to Colonial for the Secretariat. I like the idea of giving him five weeks, you know he's run pretty regularly since the beginning of the year and I'm conscious of that."
Since breaking his maiden on the eve of his 3-year-old campaign in December at Gulfstream Park, Trikari has been nearly undefeated in 2024. Owned by John and Jerry Amerman, who campaigned Trikari's multiple grade 1-winning sire Oscar Performance, Trikari netted black-type victories in the Rushaway Stakes and American Turf Stakes (G2T) before his hard-fought win over White Palomino in the Belmont Derby.
"We were really high on him when I took him to Keeneland first time out (as a 2-year-old, where he was 12th in his only off-the-board finish)," Motion said. "He was disappointing but he was just so green that day. I think it was very gratifying when he turned the corner when he won at Gulfstream and he really hasn't done much wrong since then."
Prior to the Belmont Derby, Motion made the final-hour call to run Trikari in the Penn Mile Stakes (G3T). The colt finished a troubled third May 31 but Motion credited the performance with aiding in Trikari's first top-level score.
"I thought he had the worst of it that day at Penn National," Motion said. "He really had a tough trip. But it seems that race set him up well for the Belmont Derby."
The $600,000 Saratoga Derby is Aug. 3 and the $500,000 Secretariat, also for straight 3-year-olds, is Aug. 10.
Motion hasn't ruled out a potential excursion to the Land Down Under for Belmont Gold Cup Stakes (G2T) victor The Grey Wizard. The 5-year-old son of Caravaggio earned an all-expense-paid berth to the Nov. 5 Melbourne Cup (G1) in Australia with his win in the two-mile turf at the Spa.
"It all depends on what happens in the fall if we go to Australia," Motion said. "We're looking at running him in the Cape Henlopen (Stakes, Aug. 21) at Delaware as a prep for Kentucky Downs."
The immediate prize for The Grey Wizard before any foreign escapade is the $500,000 Nashville Gold Cup for 3-year-olds and up Sept. 11 at Kentucky Downs, which is run over 2 1/16 miles.
"The hardest thing about racing in Australia is the handicap weight," Motion said. "They tend to carry a lot more weight down there than we do up here. You don't want him to carry too much weight. The best part of these races (Cape Henlopen and Nashville Derby) is that he won't be penalized too badly if he does run well in those races since they aren't grade 1's. They couldn't penalize him too badly for winning ungraded races."
