SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Javier Castellano got reacquainted with his Belmont Stakes winner Arcangelo on Monday morning at Saratoga, guiding him through a five-furlong workout in 1:00.52 in preparation for what is expected to be his next start in the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes on Aug. 26. The Saratoga main track was remarkably in good condition following heavy rains that hit Sunday and left the track a sea of slop during and after the races. Working by himself about 9 a.m., Arcangelo went in fractions of 12.27 seconds, 24.27, 35.91, and got his last quarter in 24.61, according to DRF clocker Mike Welsch. Arcangelo continued out six furlongs in 1:14.03, seven furlongs in 1:26.74, and pulled up a mile in 1:41.27. “I liked everything. The way he breezed at the beginning was very nice, comfortable rhythm he started picking it up himself in a good way,” Castellano said. “The challenge with him is you got to be careful because he does it so easy, very comfortable, but he clocks a [fast] number and you feel like you go slow but he reaches out with that beautiful stride, long stride, and I don’t want to go too fast.” The work was the second for Arcangelo since the Belmont. On July 5, he went five furlongs in 58.61 seconds with a huge gallop-out of 1:12.28 and 1:26.00. :: Get Saratoga Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day.  Following Monday’s breeze, Arcangelo went into the round pen outside his barn and rolled in the dirt for a few minutes, looking anything but a horse who had basically worked a mile. “He’s a happy, thriving horse, and again my job is stay out of his way,” trainer Jena Antonucci said. “For a horse that just went out there that breezed five with a three-furlong gallop-out he couldn’t wait to get into that round pen and roll and stretch his back and get dirty and be a horse. That’s perfect.” Antonucci reiterated that the “primary focus” is the Travers and that the horse will continue to have his works well-spaced until then. “This horse, with how he works and what he does, he needs that space,” Antonucci said. “It’s just the right thing to do for the horse.” While Castellano worked Arcangelo and has ridden him to victories in the Belmont and the Peter Pan before that, it’s still not definite he will ride the horse in the Travers. Castellano won the Kentucky Derby on Mage, who also is pointing to the Travers with a possible start in Saturday’s $1 million Haskell this weekend beforehand. If Mage runs in the Haskell, Castellano is expected to ride him in that race. Antonucci said she is not fretting about the jockey situation for Arcangelo. :: DRF's 2023 Saratoga headquarters: Previews, past performances, picks, recaps, news, and more. “If for some reason Javier can’t or won’t [ride], someone will hang onto him for his next race,” Antonucci said. ◗ Secret Oath, the 2022 Kentucky Oaks winner who most recently finished fifth in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps, worked five furlongs in 1:01 on Monday morning over the Oklahoma training track. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas said Secret Oath is training toward a start in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign on Aug. 25. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.