McCraken

McCraken won his career debut in October 2016 at Churchill Downs and returned four weeks later to win the Street Sense Stakes by 3 3/4 lengths. After the Street Sense Stakes, trainer Ian Wilkes tested McCraken in graded stakes company and he responded with a 1 1/4-length triumph in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes in his final race at two.

McCraken made his 3-year-old debut at Tampa Bay Downs in the Sam F. Davis Stakes on Feb. 11 and showed no signs of rust, taking charge in the stretch and powering to a convincing win while setting a track and stakes record for 1 1/16 miles.

McCraken missed a planned start in the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby in March due to an ankle injury. He recovered in time to contest the April 8 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, but could not sustain a bid in early stretch and settled for third behind longshot Irap and runner-up Practical Joke. That finish did net McCraken 20 additional qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby.

In the Derby, McCraken was jostled at the start when Irish War Cry bore in, starting a chain reaction that hindered several horses in the auxiliary gate. He recovered to gain a threatening position in the far turn, but was bumped again in early stretch and settled for eighth. Ian Wilkes gave McCraken a break through the next two legs of the Triple Crown, and the colt returned to post a 2 ¼-length win in the Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes on June 17 at Churchill.

McCraken made his next start in the Grade 1 betfair.com Haskell Invitational Stakes on July 30. With a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on the line, he took command in midstretch but was not able to hold off Girvin’s late challenge, losing by a nose. He followed that gritty effort with a seventh-place finish in the Travers Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets on Aug. 26 at Saratoga.

A Whitham Thoroughbreds homebred, McCraken is out of Grade 3-placed winner Ivory Empress, by Seeking the Gold. Ivory Empress is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Mea Domina.