As Afleet Alex walked the shedrow for the second of three times Tuesday morning (Aug. 9), his ears were up and he was looking for peppermints from trainer Tim Ritchey. It was obvious the colt was happy being out of his stall and walking again.

It has been only 14 days since Afleet Alex underwent surgery to repair a small hairline fracture, but the talk around Barn 24 at Saratoga has been about getting the son of Northern Afleet back to the track.

Although owner Cash Is King Stable and Ritchey hope the Preakness (gr. I) and Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winner can make it back for the Breeders’ Cup Classic–Powered by Dodge (gr. I), the most important consideration right now is the welfare of the horse.

Patricia Hogan, VMD, Dipl. ACVS, who performed the surgery at the New Jersey Equine Clinic, said the best thing for the horse’s leg is to keep it active