HOT SPRINGS — Najjaar’s back.

The two-time winner at the 2012 Oaklawn meeting had his first published workout since undergoing ankle surgery when he covered 3 furlongs in :37.60 Friday morning at Oaklawn Park.

The move, trainer Dan Peitz said, could be among Najjaar’s first small steps toward an appearance in the $500,000 Grade II Oaklawn Handicap on April 13.

“That would be a goal here before we leave,” Peitz said.

Najjaar has started only once since finishing seventh in the $1 million Grade I Arkansas Derby last April.

Najjaar was a closing third in the $125,000 Arlington Classic Stakes on May 26 at Arlington Park in suburban Chicago, but subsequently underwent surgery to remove a small flake of bone from an ankle.

Peitz said Najjaar resumed training around Oct. 1 in Camden, S.C., and arrived in Hot Springs in late November.

Peitz said the smallish son of 2006 Belmont winner Jazil has benefited physically from time away from the races.

“He’s carrying more weight,” said Peitz, a Little Rock native. “I wouldn’t say he’s much taller than he was, but he’s just filled out some. Mentally, he’s seems really good, too. He’s happy.”

Peitz said Najjaar also breezed 3 furlongs Dec. 7, but that was three days before clockers reported.

Najjaar has run well on dirt, grass and a synthetic surface, so Peitz figures to have plenty of options in 2013. The trainer also has a string at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, but is planning right now to keep the colt in Hot Springs.

“I don’t know how soon we’ll be ready,” Peitz said. “But obviously, I think, the Oaklawn Handicap would be something that we would be thinking about.”

Peitz trains Najjaar for one of his major clients, the Shadwell Stable of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the deputy ruler of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Najjaar has a 2-2-2 record from nine career starts and earnings of $91,879.

Sports, Pages 29 on 12/16/2012