Banree's lack of Polytrack experience may not matter in Cincinnati Trophy
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
When Wesley Ward debuts a juvenile at Keeneland, bettors have learned to pay close attention. So, too, have British punters become wise to Ward’s success at Royal Ascot. And though the scale is smaller and the prestige far less, Turfway Park also has proven to be Ward’s playground, where he has won with 38 percent of his starters over the past five years.
That Turfway record, along with the filly’s own accomplishments, should go a long way toward making the Ward-trained Banree the favorite in Saturday’s $50,000 Cincinnati Trophy Stakes.
Banree is the richest of the 12 3-year-old fillies in the Cincinnati Trophy, having made $131,800 in six starts while winning two races and twice placing in graded stakes. In two of her most noteworthy performances from 2015, she ran second in the Grade 3 Schuylerville at Saratoga and third in the Grade 3 Tempted in her last race at Aqueduct on Nov. 4.
Although Banree is unraced on Polytrack, Ward said he was “very impressed” by a Feb. 6 workout at Turfway in which she went five furlongs in 1:00. Working in company with No Hiding Place, an older horse who is unbeaten in two starts, Banree broke off a few lengths ahead of him and refused to let him pass in the stretch, according to Ward.
Hall of Fame jockey Edgar Prado is named to ride, but with Prado also riding stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday afternoon, Ward likely will have to look for a replacement for the mount on Banree in the Cincinnati Trophy, which goes at 7:42 p.m. Eastern.
The opposition is headed by a trio of horses trained by Ben Colebrook: Heartbreak Hill, Princess Princess, and American Doll; a duo from the barn of trainer Mike Maker: Egyptian Honey and Little Cherie; and Social Butterfly, a restricted stakes winner over a synthetic track in Ocala, Fla.
Cincinnati Trophy, Race 4
Key contenders
Princess Princess, by Discreet Cat
Last 3 Beyers: 78-84-59
◗ Owns easily the highest Beyer Speed Figures, though those figures were run on the grass in routes – a different scenario than sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs on Turfway’s Polytrack.
Banree, by Macho Uno
Last 3 Beyers: 74-76-43
◗ A naturally speedy filly, she won a 4 1/2-furlong race at Keeneland in April and a six-furlong allowance there in October and now races for the first time without blinkers.
Egyptian Honey, by Pioneerof the Nile
Last 3 Beyers: 64-57-21
◗ She is sharp, having won two straight, albeit in routes. She retains leading Turfway rider Albin Jimenez for the cutback to a sprint.