Beulah Park: Silver Tongued out for second win

Silver Tongued will be looking for his second lifetime win when he faces a field of 12 other Ohio-bred 3-year-old colts and geldings in the $50,000 Green Carpet at Beulah Park on Sunday.

Trained by Jeff Greenhill, Silver Tongued won his maiden race in the $75,000 Best of Ohio J.W. Galbreath at Thistledown last October. He was named Ohio's 2-year-old colt of the year off that 1 1/16-mile performance.

Greenhill then took Silver Tongued, a son of Flatter, to Kentucky, where he finished 10th, beaten just more than eight lengths, in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes. After three even finishes in open-stakes company at Turfway Park, Silver Tongued was given some time off. His last race was March 2 in the Battaglia Memorial.

"This is what we were waiting for," said Greenhill,"to get back on the dirt."

Greenhill thinks that the Green Carpet is the perfect spot for his charge to return.

"We are anxious to face statebred company going two turns," he said. "I think it is a given that outside of Kentucky, facing statebred company is a big help to any horse."
There is an abundance of early speed in the 13-horse field, most of it to the outside of Silver Tongued in post 5.

"Post position is irrelevant for this horse," Greenhill said. "He is going to be in the back of the pack, no matter what. Hopefully, the sprinters will hook up and go fast early and he will be running late like he always does."

Greenhill is not concerned about the large field.

"He will be far back early," he said, which should allow rider Malcom Franklin "to go outside of them. I don't expect a problem with that."

Because the River Downs meet is being run at Beulah Park, the Green Carpet will be run at a mile and 70 yards on the dirt rather than 1 1/16 miles on the turf.

Pyrite Green is the most accomplished runner in the field, with 5 wins in 13 starts.

Trained by Miguel Feliciano, Pyrite Green won twice at Tampa Bay Downs this winter in optional claimers. His last win came May 22 at Thistledown in a statebred allowance event, his last out. All five wins have come in sprints, and the only attempt at two turns came in the J.W. Galbreath, where he finished third to Silver Tongued. Ricky Feliciano will ride.

Others in the field include Quasi Folle, Act Three, Sin and Redemption, Fuzzy Dee Jay, Smoke Em Charlie, Bold Ben, Owensville, Urban Renewal, Rick's Pick, Make Some Silver, and Plain Ol' Willard.