Colonial: Crafty Schemer one to beat

The 7-year-old sprinter Crafty Schemer, coming off a career-best 107 Beyer Speed Figure winning the Claiming Crown Rapid Transit, will attempt to retain his sharp form in the $60,000 Chesapeake Stakes at Colonial Downs.

Four of the rivals Crafty Schemer faces in the six-furlong dirt stakes - Celtic Innis, Forest Park, Dale's Prospect, and City Weekend - finished behind him in different races since last December.

But Celtic Innis also finished 3 1/4 lengths in front of Crafty Schemer the last time they met in the Grade 3 Maryland BC Handicap at Pimlico in May. The 4-year-old Celtic Innis is dangerous if he can replicate either that race or his runner-up performance in the Grade 3 Jersey Shore BC at Monmouth in July 2005.

The field also includes Who's Bluffing, who has recorded Beyers of 99 and 103 winning two of his last three starts; City Weekend, who comes off a career-best 105 Beyer for a win over optional claimers at Delaware; and the 8-year-old Confucius Say, who returns to dirt, on which he is 13 for 23, after a failed experiment going long on turf last time out.