Bold Cait needs to reverse form to repeat in Petro Memorial Handicap
Bold Cait, who finished a distant fifth as the 3-5 favorite sprinting three weeks ago, will try to make amends when she stretches out to 1 1/16 miles for the first time since last June in Saturday’s $75,000 J. William Petro Memorial Handicap for Ohio-bred fillies and mares at Thistledown.
The Petro goes as race 7, one race prior to the $500,000 Ohio Derby.
As a 3-year-old last season, Bold Cait challenged her elders and romped to a 5 1/4-length win over a sloppy track in the 2015 running of the Petro. She did not race again until mid-May, when she easily defeated open company in a high-priced optional claimer. But she never mounted a rally when beaten nearly seven lengths by Justalittlesmoke in the six-furlong Angenora on June 4.
Justalittlesmoke will be racing beyond six furlongs for the first time since finishing a distant second to Bold Cait in the 1 1/16-mile Tomboy in May 2014. Her only win going two turns came in the John W. Galbraith as a 2-year-old in October 2014.
Needmoreflattery owns 17 lifetime victories, including 15 in stakes. She was second in last year’s Petro as the 4-5 favorite. The 5-year-old Needmoreflattery will be making her first start since defeating optional claimers going a mile and 70 yards on May 25. She won three stakes between 1 1/16 miles and 1 1/8 miles last season.