Chipofftheoldblock has to overcome distant post in Brickyard
Chipofftheoldblock has been in roaring form since April, and Wednesday’s $75,000 Brickyard Stakes seemed like an ideal spot to jump back into Indiana-bred stakes competition – until they went and drew the race.
The six-furlong Brickyard got 11 entries and Chipofftheoldblock drew the far outside post. Wide draws in one-turn races can work just fine, but Chipofftheoldblock is a horse who wants to be forwardly placed and there are multiple pace factors drawn inside him. Even if jockey Deshawn Parker takes back a bit, a wide trip seems all but assured. Chipofftheoldblock, bred by Mike and Penny Lauer, owned by Penny Lauer, and trained by Mike Lauer, came close to winning a couple of allowance races earlier this year at Oaklawn and has torn through two Indiana-bred sprint allowance races since coming north. He holds a Beyer Speed Figure edge here, if he can maintain his form, but is hard to support given his likely price – 2-1 on the morning line – and trip.
There was an Indiana-sired dirt sprint on June 9, when Maters and Taters, who runs back Wednesday, surprisingly secured a clear early lead and never was headed. Up in class now and with serious speed drawn inside and outside him, a repeat victory seems unlikely, and the horses who ran behind him last out, Oscar P Q and Double Tuff, lack appeal.
The pick to capitalize on a pace meltdown and get up at square odds is Two Last Words, who hasn’t started since November but brings to bear a very encouraging work pattern for trainer Tim Glyshaw at the Trackside training center. Two Last Words can stalk and pounce under Fernando De La Cruz, and while his best races of 2020 came around two turns, he’s shown enough speed to race effectively at this sprint trip, as well.
The Brickyard (race 8, post time 6:02 Eastern) is immediately preceded by the $75,000 Checkered Flag, its sister race. This six-furlong dash drew 10 older fillies and mares, and Serena Beck is the pick to post a mild upset. Serena Beck appeared to abhor a sloppy racetrack in her most recent start, a two-turn open allowance race on May 17, and she won her 2021 debut in April like a 4-year-old filly who had progressed and developed during a winter break.
Shy Money on June 9 won the Shelby County Stakes, an Indiana-sired sprint, by a nose over Hungarian Princess and both fillies are back for the Checkered Flag. Shy Money so far looks like she needs the lead and faces a demanding pace scenario, while Hungarian Princess has proven stalking and pressing ability and rates a stronger win chance Wednesday.