Monday Morning Qb earned his lone stakes victory last December in the seven-furlong Heft at Laurel Park and was briefly on the Triple Crown trail, finishing fourth in the 1 1/8-mile Withers (G3) Feb. 1 at Aqueduct. The sizeable Maryland-bred son of Imagining was given time after that race to mature and develop, returning to trainer Robert E. ‘Butch’ Reid Jr. last month.

He was entered but unable to draw into the field for a one-mile turf allowance Aug. 28 at Laurel and wound up launching his comeback in the 1 1/8-mile Tesio, the traditional local prep for the Preakness. He set solid fractions of 24.76 seconds, 48.82 and 1:13.13 before being overtaken at the head of the stretch by Happy Saver but battled on despite failing to switch leads, finishing 1 ½ lengths behind the winner but nine lengths clear of Big City Bob in third.

“He ran very well considering the layoff. To come back going a mile and an eighth was not an easy task, so we were very pleased with his effort,” Reid said. “He came out of it well. He’s been back to the track and he looks happy and raring to go. He was definitely tired afterwards but after a couple days he bounced right back. We’re real happy with him.

“I think if he switched leads, I’m not saying we would have beat that horse but he’d have been a lot closer I believe,” he added. “He’s got a little bit of a concentration problem that we have to work on to get him to switch leads turning for home. He’s kind of always had that habit. It’s unfortunate because he does it perfectly in the morning.”

The Tesio was Monday Morning Qb’s second straight race at two turns. His sire was a multiple graded-stakes winner going long on the grass including the 2014 Man o’ War (G1) for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey, and earned nearly $1.2 million in purses.

“We felt all along he’d get two turns,” Reid said. “We really think he’s going to route on turf is what he’s going to end up being. We’ll think about getting him on the turf. I would like to try that before the end of the year, for sure.”

To that end, Reid said the connections are also considering the $100,000 James W. Murphy on the Preakness undercard. The Murphy, also for 3-year-olds, is contested at a mile on the grass.

“We’re looking at both races. We still haven’t ruled out the Preakness, to be honest with you,” Reid said. “The Murphy for straight 3-year-olds going a mile on the turf [is interesting]. We’ll definitely make him eligible for both of those races and pick our best spot from there.”