All I Can Get heads Pelican prep

All I Can Get, second to Any Given Saturday in the Sam Davis Stakes and fifth to Street Sense in the Tampa Bay Derby here last spring, will close out his 3-year-old campaign when he tops a field of sprinters in the six-furlong allowance prep for the Pelican Stakes.

Jose Velez Jr. will be aboard All I Can Get for trainer Gerald Bennett as the colt goes for his fifth win from 11 outings this year. This will be the first start against older horses for All I Can Get, a son of Slew City Slew.

Last winter and spring, All I Can Get emerged as one of the top 3-year-olds on the grounds as he won an allowance sprint, finished a troubled fourth in the seven-furlong Pasco, then led to midstretch in the 1 1/16-mile Sam Davis before settling for second at 33-1.

Brought back in the Tampa Bay Derby, All I Can Get showed the way through the opening six furlongs of that 1 1/16-mile race before giving way in the drive.

Taken north, All I Can Get won three straight Michigan-bred stakes at Great Lakes Downs before finishing 10th in the Grade 3 Hawthorne Derby in his first try on the turf.

Since moving back to Tampa, All I Can Get has been burning up the track in the morning, posting three black-letter works, with his first stakes goal of 2008 expected to be the $65,000 Pelican Stakes, which will be run over six furlongs on Jan. 12.

Put Back the Shu, a three-time winner here who finished fourth in last season's Pelican, will make his first start since finishing second in a restricted stakes at the Ocala Training Center in February.

Another upset threat is with Blind River Fox, a hard-knocking pro with 17 career wins.