Comeback specialist Lieutenant Dan starts over in Green Flash
Layoffs do not bother the crack sprinter Lieutenant Dan, who will have his first start in 10 months in Sunday’s Grade 3 Green Flash Handicap at Del Mar.
Lieutenant Dan was an excellent second in the California Cup Sprint at Santa Anita in January 2020 in his first start in five months. In July 2021, Lieutenant Dan returned from a break of more than 13 months to win an allowance race on turf at Del Mar.
The $150,000 Green Flash Handicap at five furlongs on turf will be Lieutenant Dan’s first start since he finished a game second in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint over the same course and distance last November.
The BC Turf Sprint was Lieutenant Dan’s fourth start of 2021, which included wins in the Green Flash and Grade 2 Eddie D Stakes at Santa Anita.
This year, Lieutenant Dan will have a shorter campaign, with the Green Flash even more important. The winner receives a fees-paid berth to the BC Turf Sprint on Nov. 5 at Keeneland, a bonus that was not available in 2021.
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Trained by Steve Miyadi for owner and breeder Nick Alexander, 6-year-old Lieutenant Dan will start from post 9 in an excellent field of 11 that includes Barristan the Bold, who was third in the Grand Prairie Turf Sprint at Lone Star Park on July 16; and Coulthard, Dubai Key, Maven, and Whatmakesammyrun, who all won or finished second in allowance races or optional claimers at five furlongs on turf since late July.
Dubai Key and Maven are quick enough to lead, while Lieutenant Dan is fast enough to set the pace, but also effective as a stalker.
Alexander said Lieutenant Dan is ready for his comeback.
“All I ask Steve is ‘How did he come out of the work,’ ” Alexander said. “Each time, he says ‘Feeling great.’ He feels like king of the barn again.”
From an outside draw, jockey Juan Hernandez is likely to have Lieutenant Dan near the front. This is the first time that Hernandez, the leading rider at the current meeting, will ride Lieutenant Dan, a winner of 8 of 17 starts.
Lieutenant Dan resumed workouts in late June. He had a three-week gap between workouts in late July, but had five workouts in August.
Steve “is expecting a big race,” Alexander said. “I think he would have been happier to get a prep race.”
Dubai Key is one of two runners trained by Amador Sanchez, along with Super Ocho, who was supplemented to the field on Thursday for $1,500.
Dubai Key, a five-time stakes winner in Chile in 2020 and 2021, is unbeaten in three starts in the United States, all allowance races at five furlongs. Dubai Key won his California debut on turf on Aug. 5 at Del Mar.
A winner of 8 of 13 starts, Dubai Key disputed the pace throughout the race on Aug. 5 and won by three-quarters of a length over Whatmakessammyrun, who is part of the Green Flash field.