Biker Boy will try to get a mile

ELMONT, N.Y. - Though forecasted rains prompted New York Racing Association officials to postpone Saturday's scheduled feature, the Grade 3 Athenia Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on turf, until Wednesday, the show must go on. There will be 10 races, with the feature a classified allowance race at one mile on dirt.

Biker Boy, the sometimes brilliant, sometimes brittle sprinter, heads the field of six in the $56,000 race, which is carded as the fourth race.

Biker Boy has won 4 of 7 career starts for trainer Nick Zito and owners Rick Porter and Richard Brand. He finished fourth in the Grade 1 Carter at Aqueduct in April and was training toward a start in the Churchill Downs Sprint Handicap in May before a freak accident forced him to the sidelines.

Coming off the track one day at Churchill, Biker Boy was jumped on by a stable pony, which resulted in an ankle injury, Zito said. Dr. Larry Bramlage cleaned out the ankle, and Biker Boy only missed a couple of months of training.

He returned to the races at Philadelphia Park on Sept. 7 and was upset by Cherokee Country, a Philly Park-based horse who ran a track record 1:14.39 for 6 1/2 furlongs. Biker Boy was second, beaten 2 1/4 lengths, while finishing nearly six lengths clear of the field.

"If you look at the winner's form, he's run some credible races," Zito said. "I was happy with our race. I'll be even happier after he gets this mile race in."

Biker Boy won his only start at a mile, a second-level allowance race in the mud at Churchill Downs on May 3, 2008. Biker Boy is 2 for 2 on wet tracks.

Biker Boy, who breaks from post 3 under John Velazquez, looks to be the controlling speed in the field. Timber Reserve, the 2007 Pennsylvania Derby winner, has a little bit of speed and has two front-running victories in one-turn mile races. He breaks from post 6 under Joe Bravo.

Gold Trippi figures to be a late threat under Cornelio Velasquez. He comes out of a second-place finish to Ravalo in a six-furlong overnight stakes Sept. 25.

"His best distance is seven-eighths to a mile," trainer Stanley Hough said. "Three-quarters is usually a little short for him. This certainly suits him better."

Honour Devil, a multiple group stakes winner in Dubai, finished second to Rising Moon in the Mr. Right Stakes here Sept. 30, his first start in six months. Hunting and Unbridled Danger complete the field.