Captain Von Trapp gets class relief in Prairie Mile

Yes, by now we all know that Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen never has won the Derby, the one on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs. But no one has managed more 3-year-olds through the bountiful riches offered in the heaps of lesser derbies than Asmussen.

Year after year, Asmussen has taken second- and third-tier 3-year-olds and maximized their earning potential, and Captain Von Trapp looks like just such a horse in the $65,000 Prairie Mile on Friday night at Prairie Meadows.

The Prairie Mile is a prep for the Iowa Derby in late June, a race Asmussen has won three times, most recently in 2017 with Hence. Maybe Captain Von Trapp won’t prove quite good enough to give Asmussen a fourth win in that race, but he might, and he surely fits Friday night’s spot.

Captain Von Trapp, a Trappe Shot colt owned by Phoenix Thoroughbred III Ltd., won a maiden sprint and a first-level one-mile allowance race in February and March at Oaklawn, then ran into the likes of Omaha Beach and Game Winner in a division of the Rebel Stakes.

That proved too much for Captain Von Trapp, who got a break before returning in the one-turn Pat Day Mile on May 4 at Churchill Downs, where he finished a respectable fourth in a race dominated by Mr. Money.

Captain Von Trapp already showed he can get a two-turn mile and rate off the pace, and that’s enough to win the Prairie Mile. There are capable opponents, but none appears to tick as many boxes as Captain Von Trapp.

Strong Will probably is Captain Von Trapp’s equal on raw talent. Trainer Larry Rivelli regarded him last year as his top 2-year-old, but after a strong debut win in June, Strong Will didn’t race again as a juvenile. In fact, his second start didn’t come until May 24 at Indiana Grand, where Strong Will battled gamely to beat older horses in a first-level allowance sprint.

The performance was encouraging, but Strong Will is back on short rest and drawn inside other likely front-runners – Tut’s Revenge, Incorrigible, Dazzling Truths – while trying two turns for the first time.

If the Prairie Mile proves to be overloaded with pace types, Captain Von Trapp isn’t the only entrant who might benefit. Caladan ships all the way from Delaware Park for this race and, like Strong Will, beat older horses last out in a first-level allowance race. Unlike Strong Will, he won going two turns and from off the pace.

The rail-drawn Thetrashmanscoming has but one win in 15 starts, but has run fast enough and has the right closing style to at least get into the trifecta at a price.