Backyard Heaven, coming off layoff, faces strong field in State Dinner

ELMONT, N.Y. – In theory, Sunday’s $100,000 State Dinner Stakes appeared to be a good spot for Chad Brown to bring Backyard Heaven back to the races off an 11-month layoff. But the race came up significantly tougher than Brown probably had hoped, with the likes of multiple graded stakes winner Prince Lucky, millionaire earner Sunny Ridge, and the in-form Candygram in the field.

“He’s coming along well. The horse is training well. It’s a pretty tough spot off a layoff,” Brown said Friday. “I just hope he gives a good account of himself and he moves forward out of the race.”

The State Dinner is the feature on Belmont’s closing-day card. First post has been moved up an hour to 12:30 p.m. Eastern. Racing moves to Saratoga beginning Thursday.

In the spring of 2018, Backyard Heaven won a first-level allowance race at Aqueduct and the Grade 2 Alysheba at Churchill Downs impressively. He went off the 4-5 favorite in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster and finished sixth, presumably having been adversely affected by the heat that night in Louisville.

Backyard Heaven tried to make amends in the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga, but he finished seventh of eight in the slop. He emerged from the race with a chip in an ankle that forced Brown to stop on him.

Backyard Heaven will break from the rail under Irad Ortiz Jr.

Prince Lucky is the horse to beat. Prince Lucky won the Grade 3 Hal’s Hope in February and the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile in March. He hated the slop and finished last as the even-money favorite in the Grade 3 Westchester here in May. He finished last again in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap on Belmont Stakes Day.

“That was obviously the toughest race of the year,” said Todd Pletcher, the trainer of Prince Lucky. “Just trying to provide him with some class relief; not sure we succeeded totally. He’s doing well.”

As a 3-year-old, Prince Lucky won the Easy Goer Stakes here at the same 1 1/16-mile distance as the State Dinner.

Sunny Ridge won the State Dinner last year by 3 1/4 lengths after finishing third in the Grade 3 Salvator Mile at Monmouth Park. Sunny Ridge enters Sunday’s race off a win in the Salvator Mile.

Sunny Ridge, trained by Jason Servis, breaks from the outside post under Jose Lezcano, who entered the final three days of the meet with a one-win lead over Luis Saez in the riders’ standings.

Candygram enters off a pair of allowance wins, both by 5 1/2 lengths. In his victory on May 17, Candygram drifted out a bit. But when he worked a half-mile here on Tuesday in 48 seconds, he maintained a straight course.

Multiplier gets back to dirt for the first time in 17 months. As a 3-year-old, he won the Illinois Derby on dirt.

Just Whistle was cross-entered in Saturday’s $50,000 Carl Hanford Memorial Stakes at Delaware Park and was expected to run there, according to trainer Michael Matz.

– additional reporting by Mike Welsch