Delaware Oaks undercard tricky to analyze

A pair of Grade 3’s, the Kent and Robert G. Dick Memorial, are sandwiched around the featured Delaware Oaks as races 6 and 8 on Saturday at Delaware Park. The card also includes the $75,000 Cape Henlopen and the $50,000 Carl Hanford Memorial.

The Kent and Dick Memorial are not easy races to analyze. Shipping restrictions placed on Delaware Park by other tracks due to health concerns related to two sick horses could result in scratches to the original fields. Four horses in the Dick also are cross-entered in the River Memories Stakes at Aqueduct on Friday. There also is a chance of thunderstorms in Delaware from Thursday through Saturday.

The $200,000 Kent is a 1 1/8-mile turf race for 3-year-olds. It has drawn a field of 10, including an entry and a main-track-only runner. He’s No Lemon is cross-entered in the Belmont Derby on Saturday.

The $200,000 Dick Memorial, a 1 3/8-mile grass race for fillies and mares, has a field of 11. In addition to the cross-entries, there is an entry and a main-track-only entrant.

Empire of War could be favored in the Kent for trainer Todd Pletcher. Winner of the Awad Stakes at Aqueduct last November, he comes into this off a runner-up effort in the Tale of the Cat Stakes at Monmouth Park.

Although beaten two lengths in that race, Empire of War had to await racing room nearing the stretch of that 1 1/16-mile turf race while the winner made a wide move and got the jump on him. Kendrick Carmouche is named to ride Saturday.

Eons has won three consecutive races, all for trainer Arnaud Delacour, including the Stanton over the Delaware turf last time out.

Solidify finished third in the Tale of the Cat, beaten a half-length by Empire of War, while making his seasonal debut. Trained by Graham Motion, he has every right to improve off that race. At 2, he won the Grade 3 Grey at Woodbine.

Surf and Turf, trained by John Servis, will be making his grass debut after winning a Parx maiden race nicely following a seven-month layoff.

Trainer Michael Dickinson has entered both Theodora B. and Pamina in the Dick Memorial with jockey Alex Cintron named on both. Dickinson is expected to start Theodora B. if the turf is firm and Pamina if the ground is softer.

Gentle Ruler and Gaining, the first- and second-place finishers in the Keertana Stakes at Churchill Downs in May, both figure prominently if they ship in. Gentle Ruler is trained by Ian Wilkes. Gaining, trained by Brad Cox, is cross-entered at Belmont on Friday.

Lemon Zip, also cross-entered in the River Memories, has won three races in a row since trainer Niall Saville stretched her out to a marathon distance.

Cape Henlopen: O Dionysus will attempt to the win the Cape Henlopen for the second year in a row. The Cape Henlopen, a 1 1/2-mile turf race, has 12 horses entered for turf, plus one main-track-only runner.

O Dionysis, who is trained by Gary Capuano, won the race a year ago by a head.

Pizmo Time has won three consecutive allowance or optional-claiming races by a neck, a neck, and a nose. He is trained by Eddie Graham, who won the Cape Henlopen in 2014 with eventual Arlington Million winner Hardest Core and in 2017 with Postulation, who in his next start won the Grade 3 American St. Leger at Arlington.

Sonneteer, who has been based in Kentucky, is well-spotted in the Cape Henlopen if trainer Keith Desormeaux ships him in. He finished sixth, beaten a length, in the 1 1/2-mile Brooklyn over the main track at Belmont in his most recent start. Prior to that, he won the Champions Day Marathon overnight stakes on dirt at Churchill by 7 1/4 lengths.

Hanford Memorial: The Hanford Memorial, a 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds and up, has an eclectic and wide-open field of eight that includes 9-year-old Imperative, and Dr Blarney, the king of the Massachusetts-breds.

Imperative broke a nine-race losing streak that stretched back to his win in the 2017 Charles Town Classic last time out in a Thistledown allowance race for trainer Anthony Quartarolo. The win was his seventh from 48 starts.

Dr Blarney, who is stabled at Finger Lakes with Karl Grusmark, comes into the Hanford off easy wins in a pair of Massachusetts-bred stakes at Suffolk Downs in May and June. Dr Blarney is 4 for 6 in his career at Delaware.

– additional reporting by David Grening