Delta Downs: Uncaptured needs fast track in Delta Mile

Fast track, please.

That’s what trainer Mark Casse is hoping for Uncaptured, the winner of the middle leg of Canada’s Triple Crown who meets a deep group of older horses in the $150,000 Delta Mile on Saturday. The race serves as the second leg of a $200,000-guaranteed pick four that includes the Grade 3, $500,000 Delta Downs Princess and the Grade 3, $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot. The 50-cent-minimum wager runs on races 4-7.

The Delta Mile drew nine, including 2011 winner Decisive Moment, Grade 2 winner Nates Mineshaft, and multiple stakes winners Alsvid, Donoharm, and Agent Di Nozzo.

Uncaptured, who has earned more than $1 million, became a classic winner in Canada in July when he won the $500,000 Prince of Wales at Fort Erie. In subsequent starts, he finished third in the Grade 3 Smarty Jones at Parx in September and fifth in the Grade 2 Indiana Derby in October.

“The last two times he ran, he caught a sloppy track that he doesn’t seem to care much for,” Casse said. “For him, I’m hoping to get a nice track.”

Casse won the Delta Mile last year with a 3-year-old, Prospective. Uncaptured, whose six stakes wins include last year’s Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs, races for John Oxley. He will break from post 3 under jockey Miguel Mena.

“He lays right off the pace,” Casse said.

The pacesetter could be Alsvid, a sprint-to-route prospect who popped a 109 Beyer Speed Figure for an allowance win in July. Grand Contender, a winner of his last two starts, which came at Churchill and Indiana Downs, brings tactical speed to the table for trainer Tom Amoss.

“I like his style for this race,” Amoss said. “By that I mean he’s quick. He can make tight turns easily. I think he’s a very forwardly placed horse in this spot.”

Gerard Melancon has the mount for Maggi Moss.

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Donoharm, a three-time stakes winner at Oaklawn Park and Delta Downs, could assume his typical stalking position while making his first start since April. He was freshened after a campaign that included five straight wins, a streak that folded in March.

“He put so much into those efforts; he was a little tired,” trainer Bret Calhoun said. “He’s come back a bigger, stronger version and has trained very well into this race. I know it’s a tough spot to come back off a layoff, but he’s doing really well.”

Rosie Napravnik has the mount from post 8.

The guaranteed pick four opens with the $75,000 Sam’s Town, a seven-furlong race for 3-year-olds that will be run around two turns. It goes as the fourth race. He’s Had Enough, who was second in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, is in from Santa Anita off an eighth-place finish in a turf sprint Nov. 1. He closed from 12th to finish 4 3/4 lengths behind the winner.

“He was coming off a layoff,” trainer Doug O’Neill said. “He kind of missed the break and had a lot to do. He really came running on late at the end.”

He’s Had Enough will be ridden by Mario Gutierrez.

Black Bear, a sprint winner last out at Remington Park, is the one to catch. The field also includes Heitai, who popped a 106 Beyer last out for an 18 3/4-length allowance win in a two-turn race at Delta.

◗ Class Included faced some of the better fillies and mares in the country when fourth in the Grade 2 La Troienne at Churchill, and she will be making her first start since that May race in the $150,000 Treasure Chest. The one-mile stakes is for fillies and mares. Napravnik has the mount on Class Included, an eight-time stakes winner owned by Brittlyn Stable and trained by Ron Faucheux.

◗ Churchill invader Brilliant Rescue, a half-sister to 2011 Jackpot winner Sabercat, will attempt to remain undefeated in three starts when she makes her stakes debut in the $75,000 Orleans for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs. Shaun Bridgmohan has the mount for owner Clark Brewster and trainer Steve Asmussen.

◗ Diva Dash will attempt to keep white-hot trainer Patrick Devereux on a roll when she starts in the $150,000 Louisiana Jewel, a one-mile race for 2-year-old fillies bred in Louisiana. Devereux was 6 for 8 heading into the race week for a 75 percent strike rate at Delta. Diego Saenz, the meet’s leading rider, has the mount.

◗ Ide Be Cool seeks to build off a six-length allowance win at Delta in the $150,000 Louisiana Legacy, a one-mile race for 2-year-olds bred in Louisiana. Last out, he earned an 85 Beyer, the best career number in Saturday’s field. The Legacy, the day’s third race, is the first stakes on the card.