Arawak seeking missing consistency

Keeneland opens the final four days of its fall meet Wednesday with a solid eight-race card that includes three competitive allowance races, as well as an intriguing maiden special weight for juveniles.

Slotted as the nominal feature, the seventh race is a $67,000 allowance for 2-year-olds going a mile on the turf. An overflow field includes several youngsters with some stakes experience, including the well-traveled Arawak for Wesley Ward and the Coolmore team. The Uncle Mo colt romped by seven lengths in his off-the-turf debut at Belmont, but then struggled when given tall tasks on the road, finishing 12th in the Group 2 Coventry Stakes at the renowned Royal Ascot meeting and fifth in the Grade 2 Best Pal on the Del Mar dirt.

He rebounded when switched back to turf, running a good third in the Fasig-Tipton Turf Showcase Juvenile at Kentucky Downs behind Breeders’ Cup-bound Snapper Sinclair, beaten just a nose for second by John Tippmann. That effort earned him a Beyer Speed Figure of 68, the best in this field. However, he finished sixth last out in the Grade 3 Bourbon Stakes when that race was rained off the turf.

Ward also will saddle Gunny Roo, a debut winner in July on the Delaware Park turf. Runner-up Archaggelos came back to win his next two outings, including the Grade 3 Grey Stakes at Woodbine.

Reride is making his first start since rolling by 6 1/2 lengths in his June debut on the Churchill Downs dirt for trainer Steve Asmussen. The Candy Ride colt, a homebred for Winchell Thoroughbreds, is out of a full sister to multiple graded stakes winner and millionaire Tapiture.

Machtree, by leading turf sire Kitten’s Joy, was a $450,000 yearling purchase by the prominent Stonestreet Farm from the renowned Clearsky Farm breeding program. The colt looked prepared to live up to that potential when he won his debut at Saratoga for Mark Casse, earning a 67 Beyer, but he then finished 10th in the Grade 3 With Anticipation Stakes. He was scratched from the Bourbon.

Casse and Asmussen come into these final four days of racing tied for second in the trainer standings with six wins each, behind Mike Maker’s 11.

Mr. Recio, drawn outside in post 12 in the main body of this field under Florent Geroux, is well bred for turf, being by Scat Daddy and out of turf stakes winner Kiss Mine, from the immediate female family of turf graded winners Kiss the Devil and Kiss Moon. The colt won his debut going a mile on the Churchill turf, posting a 66 Beyer for trainer Phil Bauer.

Geroux and Ricardo Santana Jr., who picks up the mount on Reride, each have piloted 12 winners this meet, trailing only Julien Leparoux with 13. Leparoux has the mount here on Bantu, fifth in the Turf Showcase Juvenile last out.

◗ Aktabantay, already a productive claim for the team of Brad Grady and trainer Joe Sharp, is favored in the fourth race, a $69,000 turf sprint that is one of two allowance races on the card for older horses, along with the sixth, a $67,000 dirt sprint.

Aktabantay was a $40,000 claim by Grady out of a runner-up effort at Saratoga. Sharp found a spot for him at the rich Kentucky Downs meet, where he won a $145,000 optional-claiming event. Overall, the gelding has won 4 of 8 starts this year.

◗ Ken McPeek saddles two fillies in the second race, a maiden special weight for 2-year-olds. Absolute Love, from the first crop of Graydar, finished sixth in her debut after being bumped on the backstretch. The winner was eventual Grade 1-placed Princess Warrior, and runner-up Mia Mischief came back to romp in her next outing at Keeneland. Stretched out to this 1 1/16-mile trip Oct. 6 at Keeneland, Absolute Love finished second. McPeek also has debut starter Eskimo Kisses, a Gainesway homebred.