Can Group back on turf for Transylvania

Can Group won his first two grass races at age 2, including the Bourbon at Keeneland, and capped his campaign with a fine two-length defeat in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, where his 22.74-second final quarter-mile, easily best in the 11-runner field, propelled him from 11th at the stretch call to fourth. Flavien Prat rode Can Group that day.

“Flavien came back and said, ‘This is a good horse,’ ” trainer Mark Casse recalled.

Prat, Casse said, has had a call on Can Group for a couple months and is named to ride the colt Friday at Keeneland in the Grade 3, $400,000 Transylvania Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for 3-year-olds. The body of work points to a horse that could be favored.

“I was shocked he was 12-1 on the morning line,” Casse said.

If that price comes close to holding, take it. Can Group really might be a good horse.

Certainly, the Lecomte Stakes, his most recent outing, offers no evidence against the possibility. Can Group trains forwardly enough on dirt that connections gave him a dirt chance in the Lecomte, but Can Group is no dirt horse. A distant sixth in the Lecomte, he was scratched March 2 when the Black Gold Stakes at Fair Grounds was rained off grass. He wouldn’t run on dirt Friday, either, but Casse thinks Can Group can handle a wet grass course Friday.

“The Bourbon had some give in the ground,” Casse said.

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Can Group won the Bourbon by a nose; fourth by 1 1/2 lengths was First World War, who subsequently raced competitively in a pair of dirt starts before returning to grass and winning the Kitten’s Joy on Feb. 3 at Gulfstream Park. In the Bourbon, First World War’s draw in post 12 compromised him.

“We had to make too much use of him from there,” trainer Brendan Walsh said. “It hurt his finish.”

Tyler Gaffalione, the only jockey First World War has known, figures to go forward from post 6, and First World War did work well over the Keeneland course March 30. The colt is by War Front, whose offspring excel on firm courses, but Walsh believes softer turf won’t derail First World War. Should the race be rained onto dirt, he’d be the horse to beat.

Neat, trained by Rob Atras, won the Texas Turf Mile at Sam Houston in January by more than five lengths over yielding ground, but did fall into an ideal front-end trip after the early leader blew the first turn.

Musical Act will be the first of several Keeneland stakes starters that shipped from Dubai for Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby. Musical Act floundered on a soft course in his career debut last summer, and while he rebounded from a poor race Feb. 2 at Meydan with a better second-place showing March 2 behind capable stablemate Legend of Time, Musical Act may need to improve to contend.

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Guy Named Joe was second by a head March 16 in the Pasadena at Santa Anita, battling gamely along the rail to narrowly miss victorious Stay Hot, who, it should be noted, finished 10th in the BC Juvenile Turf. Lord Bullingdon, third of just four in the Pasadena, also runs Friday, and the Californians will encounter unfamiliar course conditions.

Columbia Stakes winner Full Nelson and Colonel Liam Stakes runner-up Cugino drew poorly in posts 11 and 12. Cugino, who rallied into a slow pace last out, holds greater appeal.

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