Dac making rare sprint appearance in Forego Stakes
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
The last time Dac sprinted one turn was 22 months ago, when he finished third in his debut at Turfway Park. Now, two years older and much more experienced following 23 two-turn starts, he gets his second chance at sprinting when he faces the favored The Great War and an overflow field in the 6 1/2-furlong, $50,000 Forego Stakes on Saturday at Turfway.
Trainer William “Scott” Brumley would prefer to run him longer, but options are limited for an older stakes horse at Turfway in the winter. That leaves a trainer having to try something different, such as a change in distance, or to venture out of Kentucky.
In Dac’s case, staying in Kentucky makes the most sense. A 6-year-old gelded son of Distorted Humor owned by Sarinana Racing, he has won his three starts over Turfway’s Polytrack since his third-place debut, including back-to-back runnings of the Prairie Bayou Stakes.
The Great War, favored at 5-2 on the morning line over Dac at 7-2, was a blowout winner in his only sprint over Turfway’s Polytrack, winning the 96Rock Stakes as a 3-year-old in 2015, before bleeding in the John Battaglia Memorial that year when stretched out in distance.
A 5-year-old War Front horse, he was scratched from last Monday’s Grade 3 Toboggan at Aqueduct to go in the Forego, with trainer Wesley Ward feeling that the horse would be better suited to racing against easier company and on a track where he regularly works.
“I want to try to get him on a roll as a sprinter, and hopefully he can become a graded stakes winner and, with the breeding he has, a stallion,” Ward said.
KEY CONTENDERS
The Great War, by War Front
Last 3 Beyers: 93-92-92
◗ Has won just a single race in 10 starts since winning the 96Rock, taking an allowance at Keeneland on Oct. 28, though seven of those defeats were in graded races. Most recently, he set the pace in the Nov. 24 Fall Highweight at Aqueduct before fading to fifth.
Blue Wings, by Giant’s Causeway
Last 3 Beyers: 88-74-86
◗ Led throughout in an allowance at Turfway on Dec. 28 but is one of at least four regular front-runners in the speed-laden body of the Forego field.
Dac, by Distorted Humor
Last 3 Beyers: 92-96-79
◗ Brumley said he and jockey Rodney Prescott discussed sprinting Dac after he rallied from eighth to win the Prairie Bayou by a head, and the jockey was on board, believing the horse had more speed than he showed in that race.
