Barkley, with Coca-Cola's high weight, tries to remain unbeaten
If Sunday’s $50,000 Coca-Cola Stakes for 3-year-olds at Emerald Downs were a handicap, Barkley and Mach One Rules would be equally weighted, or, at the most, Barkley would carry one pound more. After all, they went into the $50,000 Auburn Stakes undefeated, and, in a thriller, Barkley edged Mach One Rules in the six-furlong sprint by a head.
However, under the allowance conditions of the one-mile Coca-Cola, Barkley will try to remain undefeated while packing high weight of 124 pounds. Mach One Rules gets in with 120 pounds.
Both horses will go around two turns for the first time, and if they falter, Access This, the only one of the six horses entered with a win at the distance, could pick up the pieces.
Trainer Howard Belvoir likes the way Barkley is coming into the race but was a bit concerned about the weight difference between Barkley and Mach One Rules. The most any horse carried to victory in the previous 20 runnings of the Coca-Cola was 121 pounds.
“He couldn’t be doing any better,” Belvoir said. “This will be his first time going long, though, and four pounds seems like a lot to give Mach One Rules.”
Barkley drew the outside post, with Javier Matias retaining the mount.
Trainer Frank Lucarelli hopes taking the blinkers off Mach One Rules for the first time will help him harness his considerable speed.
Mach One Rules was very game in defeat in the Auburn, and he came back with a strong seven-furlong move in 1:23.80 on May 29. He could be tough to get past if he breaks alertly with Leslie Mawing aboard.
KEY CONTENDERS
Barkley, by Munnings
Last 3 Beyers: 84-74-64
◗ He’s perfect so far, and his running style suggests he’ll be able to handle a middle distance.
Mach One Rules, by Harbor the Gold
Last 3 Beyers: 84-70-83
◗ He should be the controlling speed, and he gets a big break in the weights.
◗ Blinkers off a speed horse can be a good thing, and if Barkley doesn’t go with him early, he could be gone.
Access This, by City Zip
Last 3 Beyers: 82-80-55
◗ Leading trainer Blaine Wright didn’t offer any excuses for Access This’s third-place finish in the Auburn.
“We got beat by two pretty darn good horses,” he said. “We’re hoping with our route experience maybe we’ll have an upper edge on them this time around.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: The past five years at Emerald, Wright has a 23 percent strike rate with horses going from a sprint to a route.