From Group 1 stardom in Argentina to a Grade 1 victory at Keeneland . . . to a listed $100,000 stakes race at Horseshoe Indianapolis. It’s a fair guess that no turf horse with credentials like Ivar’s ever has raced in Indiana. Yet Ivar looks nothing like a cinch in the $100,000 Jonathan B. Schuster Memorial Stakes on Saturday. Ivar last saw racing action Nov. 6 at Del Mar, where he finished a fine third in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Trainer Paulo Lobo entered the horse in the Maker’s Mark Mile in April at Keeneland but scratched, feeling Ivar wasn’t quite ready, instead choosing the Grade 1 Turf Classic on Derby Day at Churchill Downs for Ivar’s seasonal bow. A minor but untimely injury to a left front hoof forced Ivar to be scratched from Turf Classic, too, and now, faced with the prospect of a long trip to meet top-level competition in New York, Lobo chose to stick closer to home and get Ivar started in the 1 1/16-mile Schuster. “I would hate to ship him first start off the bench and this is the only option,” Lobo said. “We have big plans for this year.” Despite easily being the most accomplished and talented horse in the Schuster, Ivar carries only 118 pounds under the race’s allowance condition, getting as much as six pounds from his rivals. His handicap, however, is post position: Regular rider Joe Talamo must work out a trip from post 12. :: Get ready for Saratoga and Del Mar with a Quarterly subscription to DRF Past Performances “He has been training weekly, very strong workouts, and had a very good blowout last Monday,” said Lobo. “The turf course has gotten very dry and fast, and it can be speed favoring; maybe we’ll have some rain before Saturday.” Confirmed front-runner Somelikeithotbrown drew the rail and will be a serious threat to race wire to wire if he can shake loose from Gray’s Fable. The speed horse Runnin’ Ray will be scratched unless the Schuster is rained onto dirt. Somelikeithotbrown ran somewhat below form making his 6-year-old debut in the May 30 Kingston Stakes for New York-breds at Belmont Park, but that was the gelding’s first start since November and his pattern has been to improve the second start after a layoff. Cavalry Charge and Duke of Hazzard also have legitimate win credentials. Duke of Hazzard made his first 27 starts in Europe before finishing sixth in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile last fall, subsequently moving into the barn of trainer Wesley Ward. In his lone 2022 start, Duke of Hazzard finished second, beaten five lengths, in the Seek Again on May 22 at Belmont, but he had little chance in that three-horse field while chasing Masen, one of North America’s leading turf milers. Duke of Hazzard’s third-place finish behind high-level performers Real World and Lord Glitters last summer at York – a flat, left-handed course more similar to American racing than most European venues – stamps him as a serious player. Cavalry Charge’s Fair Grounds form over the winter and spring says he has a serious chance at a price, and two lesser recent performances over the tricky new Churchill course can be forgiven. Indiana General Assembly Distaff Navratilova finally gets away from Chad Brown-trained turf stars and can go wire to wire in the $100,000 Indiana General Assembly Distaff, a 1 1/16-mile grass race for older fillies and mares. Navratilova led all the way winning the Valley View over this distance last fall at Keeneland in her final 3-year-old start. In her 2022 debut, on March 5 at Gulfstream Park, she was a solid third in the Honey Fox, a race won by the Brown-trained In Italian, a Grade 1-class horse. Navratilova’s only other 2022 race came April 22 at Keeneland, where she led early but faded and finish fifth in the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley, where Brown ran one-two with Regal Glory and Shantisara. Hendy Woods looks like Navratilova’s primary rival. Hendy Woods ran well, though not at her peak level, in a pair of Grade 3 turf stakes this spring at Churchill, and she won her lone start over the Horseshoe Indianapolis grass course, the $150,000 Indiana Grand two summers ago. Two others to consider for the top slot are Flippant, set to improve in her second race after a winter break, and Waliyak, a European import who races with blinkers and Lasix for the first time while making her fourth American start. :: Bet the races on DRF Bets! Sign up with code WINNING to get a $250 Deposit Match, $10 Free Bet, and FREE DRF Formulator. Michael G. Schaefer A sign of the times in American racing: The grass stakes on this card came up strong, the dirt stakes less so. Mr. Wireless, the 2021 Indiana Derby winner, is one of eight entrants in the $100,000 Michael G. Schaefer for 3-year-olds and up over 1 1/16 miles. He likely needed his race on June 5, the colt’s first start in more than eight months, but Mr. Wireless was beaten nearly 10 lengths in a somewhat disappointing comeback. His form lines through Warrant in the Indiana Derby and Fulsome in Mr. Wireless’s win in the West Virginia Derby say he’s capable in the Schaefer, where the main competition will come from South Bend and Thomas Shelby. ◗ Trainer Tom Amoss said Misty Veil would be scratched from a race at Prairie Meadows to start in the $100,000 Marie Hulman George, a 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares, and Misty Veil stands a strong chance of leading from start to finish in the George. Lovely Ride is better on turf than dirt, Semble Juste runs back on short rest, and Microcap will be scratched to start at Delaware Park. ◗ The Snack and the Ellen’s Lucky Star, two-turn turf races for Indiana-bred 3-year-olds, round out the Saturday stakes action.