Wilko pointing to World Cup

[Merlinsky]

(The Dubai World Cup, not the soccer tournament although that's what I realize the title implies to some people--clearly this isn't a soccer board so oh well) Here's the DRF quote since it's part of a lot of stuff and I didn't want to just make you go find it. Frankly I'd be excited if he just won the prep race but I gotta say I enjoy Wilko so I hope he comes away with something in either race. He did well in the DWC last year and his first race of this year (after last year having colic surgery) was a 4th on turf which I seem to recall thinking was good considering he obviously would've rather been somewhere else, a turf mile wasn't apparently something he looked forward to, but he still tried.

Thinking World Cup again with Wilko

Wilko, winless in 14 starts since the 2004 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, will start in the $75,000 Santana Mile on Sunday as a possible prep for the $6omillion Dubai World Cup at Nad Al Sheba on March 31, trainer Craig Dollase said on Wednesday.

Wilko finished third in the 2006 Dubai World Cup and was promoted to second after runner-up Brass Hat failed a postrace drug test.

Owned by Paul Reddam and Susan Roy, Wilko has made one start this year, finishing fourth in an allowance race over a mile on turf on Feb. 10. The race was his first start since last summer. Wilko underwent colic surgery last fall.

At one point earlier this year, Wilko was a candidate for the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap, which was run last Saturday, but he was pointed for the Santana Mile instead.

"We're hoping to get an invite to Dubai and this fits our plans," Dollase said of Sunday's race. "He wasn't ready for the Big Cap. He ran so well over that track in Dubai last year. We need to get a race into him. He'll be going in a fresh horse."

The field for the Santana Mile is expected to include C'Mon Tiger, Preachinatthebar, Raise the Bluff, and Yes He's a Pistol. C'Mon Tiger, a half-brother to 2000 Horse of the Year Tiznow, will be making his stakes debut. He has won a maiden race and an allowance race since joining trainer Bob Baffert's stable last fall.