The 3-year-old gelding, by Grade 1 winner Shakin It Up, was given a break after the Murphy – his 12th start in 10 months – and returned to Sanchez-Salomon’s Laurel string in early October.

“I took an X-ray of his ankles and we found a little small chip in his ankles, so we took them out,” said Sanchez-Salomon, who won Friday’s Laurel opener with Mi Patria Racing’s 4-year-old filly Startwithabang ($7.40). “We wanted to give him plenty of time to come back. He came back really well and he’s doing great.

“He started training really lightly,” he added. “I let him work [a half-mile] the other day and he was very impressive. He’s been impressing me, so I hope he is coming back to himself again.”

Sanchez-Salomon claimed Shake Em Loose for $16,000 out of a maiden win last November at Laurel and he paid immediate dividends with a 59-1 upset in the Heft racing first time for his new connections.

After running seventh in the Spectacular Bid in January to open his sophomore season, Shake Em Loose won an optional claiming allowance and the Private Terms in succession and finished third in the Federico Tesio. Sanchez made him a late nominee to the Triple Crown with the 147th Preakness (G1) in mind, but opted instead for the Murphy on the undercard.

“I’m just going to go day by day with him. The best thing is, he’s starting to show me that he wants to do something again. He’s getting stronger and stronger every day. He’s impressing me a lot. Knock on wood I hope he stays sound and everything goes well,” Sanchez-Salomon said. “It’s great to have him back in the barn. Everybody pays attention to him on the racetrack, so that’s nice.”