Accredit looks good off his last

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Accredit comes off a hard-fought second to the speedy Go Go Shoot in the recent Capossela Stakes, and appears the one to beat in Thursday's $65,000 Spicy Award, an overnight stakes for 3-year-olds at six furlongs.

Accredit heads a field of five that includes his Darley Stable barnmate, Dump It and Run, a wire-to-wire winner of a first-level allowance at Philadelphia Park last out. Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin plans to run both colts. "We're going to run them both and see how it goes," he said.

After being bumped at the start and failing to seriously menace Go Go Shoot in the Jimmy Winkfield, Accredit broke alertly in the Capossela and tested that rival early and late. He received a Beyer Speed Figure of 98.

"He ran very well, and he looks good in this spot," said McLaughlin. "After this he could go to Keeneland for the Lafayette or stay in New York for the Bay Shore."

Dump It and Run was a debut winner in the slop last fall and ran fourth in two optional claimers on the inner track in January. Sent to Philly Park on Feb. 26, he grabbed the early lead on a track that was favoring speed - nine of the day's 10 winners were first or second in the early going - and widened through the lane to earn a 90 Beyer, a figure 25 points above his previous best.

"I think he liked the competition," McLaughlin said. "It was a little bit easier."

Also entered are Double Down Vinman, a two-time winner at Philly Park last fall; Be Bullish, a New York-bred who has won both of his starts this year; and Magical Forest, who cuts back from a maiden victory at a mile and 70 yards.

With Beyers in the mid-70s recently, Be Bullish is technically "slowest" of the group, but the 74 he received for winning the Appealing Guy Stakes doesn't take into account his eventful trip. He was bumped and steadied at the start, snatched up on the backstretch, and ran extremely wide rallying into the teeth of a speed bias.

"He might have run a 95 to get the 74," said trainer Scott Schwartz. "You never expect horses to overcome that kind of adversity, but he did. I'm just taking the next logical step, a little overnight stake, and he's coming up to it in good shape."