Carve primed and ready for Lone Star Park Handicap

Carve is thriving coming into Monday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Lone Star Park Handicap, trainer Brad Cox said. The horse invading from Churchill Downs will enter the meet’s most prestigious event off a runner-up finish to Race Day in last month’s Grade 2, $600,000 Oaklawn Handicap.

“He’s on top of his game, for sure,” said Cox, who trains Carve for Mike Langford of Arkansas. “He’s as good as he’s ever been, so I’m excited about running him.”

Carve will start as the 122-pound highweight in the 1 1/16-mile Lone Star Park Handicap. Bayern, who was assigned the high weight at 125, will not run, trainer Bob Baffert said Wednesday. Tapiture, next on the Lone Star list at 121 pounds, is expected to start, as is Texas Air, winner of the Grade 3, $200,000 Texas Mile on May 1 at Lone Star. A possible entrant is Majestic City, according to Mike Shamburg, racing secretary at Lone Star. Entries for the race will be taken Friday.

Carve popped a Beyer Speed Figure of 104 last out in the Oaklawn Handicap, a race in which he dueled and finished 3 3/4 lengths behind the well-regarded Race Day. Earlier in the season, Carve won the $100,000 Fifth Season at Oaklawn, with a Beyer of 106.

Cox said Carve is scheduled to arrive at Lone Star on Saturday morning. He said Jesus Castanon has the mount. Carve’s campaign going forward will depend on his effort in the Lone Star Handicap. Last summer, the horse won the Grade 3 Cornhusker at Prairie Meadows.

“We’ll just kind of see how things go Monday in Dallas,” Cox said. “We would look at either the Stephen Foster on June 13 [at Churchill] or wait for the Cornhusker two weeks later at Prairie.”

Carve is a 5-year-old by First Samurai who with a win Monday would pass $1 million in career earnings. He is sitting at earnings of $904,915.

Lone Star is running an extended race week due to the Memorial Day holiday Monday. There will be a special afternoon post for the Lone Star Handicap card. It will begin at 1:35 p.m. Central.

◗ A golf tournament benefiting the chaplaincy program at Lone Star will be held Tuesday at Mansfield National Golf Club.