Card likes Polytrack in featured optional claimer

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – In the three starts he’s made on the Arlington Polytrack – all wins – Card has run his rivals right off their feet. Card is the rare horse who can set a faster-than-par pace on the local synthetic surface and keep going. No one has caught him yet, and he will be favored to run his synthetic-surface record to 4 for 4 in the featured third race Friday.

In fact, Card won a race at this class level in his most recent start Aug. 2, and he can run right back at it thanks to a $125,000 claiming option accompanying high-end allowance provisions. Owner Bill Stiritz has a strong foundation for risking Card for the six-figure tag. He claimed Card for $75,000 out of his second career start early in the summer of 2013 and has seen Card bank almost $100,000 during a seven-start 2014 campaign.

Card is well drawn outside six rivals Friday (post time for the feature is 1:58 p.m. Central), has regular rider Chris Emigh named, and worked a bullet half-mile for the Scott Becker barn here Sept. 12. The looming question, however, is distance. Friday’s race is at seven furlongs, one-eighth of a mile farther than Card ever has raced.

In his Aug. 2 win over six furlongs, a four-length stretch-call lead had diminished to 1 3/4 lengths at the finish. Maybe Card, his real work done, merely loped across the wire, but maybe six furlongs is about as far as he really wants to run.

The horse closing in on Card last time, Tulira Castle, is back in the Friday feature, but the major threat to another Card win probably is Sweet Luca. Sweet Luca, a 5-year-old Illinois-bred gelding trained by Chris Block, also has a fondness for the Arlington Polytrack, with two straight wins in the Addison Cammack Handicap to prove it.

Sweet Luca, getting a massive break in the weights, won the Cammack on July 26 by 1 1/4 lengths over the heavily favored Work All Week and validated that form with a solid, rallying second to stablemate Sir Applesolutely in a high-level turf-mile allowance Aug. 16. If someone – Tazz, for instance – can keep Card slightly occupied on the lead, Sweet Luca might run him down at this longer sprint trip.

Infinite Magic is an interesting entrant. The winner of the American Derby at two turns on turf here last summer, Infinite Magic – who makes his second start for Wayne Catalano here – most recently raced in the American St. Leger, a turf marathon contested over 1 11/16 miles.