Diodoro has strong trio for Claiming Crown Jewel

The trainer Robertino Diodoro might better be named Triodoro when it comes to the Claiming Crown Jewel.

Diodoro has not one, not two, but three of the nine entrants in the $200,000 Jewel, the last and most valuable of eight Claiming Crown races on an 11-race Saturday card at Fair Grounds.

The series of the richest starter-allowance races in North America (carded as races 3-10), inaugurated in 1999 and run under the auspices of the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, moves to Fair Grounds for the first time, offering $1.1 million purses.

Five stakes are carded for dirt, three for turf – the $150,000 Emerald, $150,000 Canterbury Tom Metzen Memorial, and $150,000 Tiara – but a rainy late week forecast in New Orleans threatens to force grass races onto the main track.

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All the Claiming Crown races drew at least nine entrants and several feature overflow fields, horses converging from outposts as far removed as Woodbine and Santa Anita. The 90 Claiming Crown entrants most recently raced at 20 different venues, and there are no easy spots in the sequence for participants or handicappers.

Diodoro has strength in numbers for the 1 1/8-mile Jewel, and none among his trio of Saqeel, King’s Ovation, and Frosted Grace is an easy toss.

Frosted Grace became eligible for this $35,000 starter-allowance condition during 2022 and was claimed by Diodoro and the Flying P Stable for $32,000 in October last year. The 7-year-old has not raced for a claiming tag of any sort since and won the Grade 3 Steve Sexton Mile on May 29 at Lone Star. That race appeared to put Frosted Grace over the top and he has not started since Aug. 24. A scattered work pattern, Frosted Grace’s possible preference for a shorter distance, and hints that he might ultimately be intended for the upcoming Oaklawn Park meet produce some degree of skepticism.

Diodoro and owner Ken Ramsey claimed King’s Ovation out of a winning run for $62,500 on Oct. 27 at Keeneland. King’s Ovation has done his best work between one mile and 1 1/16 miles but will at least be a pace factor.

Saqeel is preferred among the Diodoro entrants and the pick to win the Jewel. Haltered by Flying P and Diodoro for $30,000 about a year ago, Saqeel returned from a freshening in June and ran in four first-level allowance races, turning in three competitive losses before clearing the condition by three lengths Sept. 24 at Churchill Downs.

Five-year-old Saqeel debuted late in 2020 and the best showing during the early phase of his career came in his lone start as far as 1 1/8 miles. He last tried the distance this past summer at Saratoga and was third in a race won by Film Star, who returned to finish second in the Grade 1 Woodward. Saqeel, unlike Frosted Grace, has no holes in his work pattern and turned in a snappy half-mile drill Nov. 25 at Louisiana Downs.

Working backwards through the card, Therapist is the favorite in the Emerald if the race stays on turf, but even on grass the gelding looks vulnerable. He peaked in July at Monmouth Park, probably wants to run farther than this 1 1/16-mile trip at this stage of his career, and has a poor draw in post 11. The pick for turf is Leave It to Kitten, who exits a 6 1/2-length Churchill first-level turf allowance win and should get a favorable pace setup. Sonny Smack has dirt form, albeit stale, to make him a contender on the main track.

Like a Saltshaker will be among the shorter Claiming Crown prices in the $100,000 Rapid Transit at six furlongs, but has been making hay against lesser competition than he faces Saturday and is a one-way speed horse who could face pace pressure. All West, cross-entered in the Jewel, can pick up the pieces of a speed duel.

With any racing luck Mischievous Rogue will win the Canterbury Tom Metzen Memorial, a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint. If the race is rained off, Tilted Towers is the selection.

Time for Trouble won the 2022 Iron Horse Kent Stirling Memorial by more than three lengths in 2022 and is a solid choice to win it again Saturday at a price much lower than his 7-2 morning-line odds, while Yankee Dollar stands a strong chance in the $150,000 Tiara regardless of whether the race for fillies and mares stays on turf or is moved to dirt.

The $100,000 Glass Slipper, a female-restricted dirt route, looks like a toss-up, but High Cruise can get the proceedings started with a fair-priced locally based winner in the $75,000 Ready’s Rocket Express.

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