Dancing Lounge goes for sweep in Let's Go Racing starter handicap series

Dancing Lounge, who came from near the back of the pack to prevail by the narrowest of margins in the first two legs of the Let’s Go Racing starter handicap series on turf, will try for a clean sweep in the $50,000 final that serves as Monday’s feature at Parx Racing. Despite his current three-racing winning streak, however, Dancing Lounge may not even go favored.

Dancing Lounge was nearly 8-1 when he rallied from seventh to get up by a nose in leg 2 of the series for horses who have started for a claiming tag of $16,000 or less the past two seasons. He was a length clear of the third-place finisher Sayler’s Creek, the 3-5 favorite on the basis of back-to-back wins at Belmont Park and Parx.

There are several reasons Sayler’s Creek could go off at a lower price than Dancing Lounge, a nose winner in a split division of leg 1 of the series May 26. First, Dancing Lounge must concede eight pounds to his rival, a three-pound shift since they faced each other June 16. Sayler’s Creek also has far more tactical speed and is less likely to get stuck in traffic than deep closer Dancing Lounge.

More significant, however, is trainer Mike Maker’s record shipping into Parx. Over the past three years, Maker is 10 for 14 (71 percent) with the horses he has started on Parx’s turf course, according to DRF’s Formulator. Eight of those wins have come in starter allowance events. The median payoff on Maker’s winners is $3.90. The two highest odds of the winners were 2-1 and 5-2.

Viable alternatives to the two logical favorites are Hobo Ridge and Turbin.

The 7-year-old Hobo Ridge, a seven-time winner on turf, was beaten less than two lengths by Sayler’s Creek two starts ago but regressed next time out when he was sent to the lead instead of laying back and making one big run. Hobo Ridge may benefit from a rider switch to Angel Castillo, who has gone 4 for 13 (38 percent) for trainer Marcos Zulueta the past two seasons.

Turbin is 0 for 5 lifetime on grass, but he was just a head behind Dancing Lounge when they met going a mile and 70 yards in late May. He gets in with eight pounds less than he carried last time when he prompted the early pace and faded against second-level optional $25,000 claimers.