Dynamite Stick among contenders in turf sprint

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Jack Danehy has skin in the game. Not only does Danehy breed and own horses in partnerships, but he’s an avid horseplayer who last year convinced Churchill Downs executives to implement the Single Six concept, which has become a major storyline here this spring.

All those interests will coalesce when Dynamite Stick, bred and owned by Danehy in a partnership, goes postward in the lone allowance on the Thursday card at Churchill. Dynamite Stick, with Francisco Torres to ride, is one of a handful of contenders in a field of eight 3-year-olds and up in a $55,500, first-level turf sprint that goes as the seventh of eight races.

Danehy, a 57-year-old senior manager for IBM, befriended Churchill executives Bill Carstanjen and Bill Mudd at a local gym and introduced his ideas for the Single Six, which essentially is a tweaked version of the Rainbow 6 wager that has been very well received in recent years at Gulfstream Park. The men agreed to go forward, and now the tangible evidence of its popularity is the $622,389 jackpot carryover that awaits fans Thursday. First post is 5 p.m. Eastern, with the Single Six sequence running from races 3 through 8 and the feature set for 7:54.

Dynamite Stick is trained by Mike Lauer, who co-owns and co-bred the 4-year-old gelding with Danehy and Terry and Barry Ward. Bred in Indiana, Dynamite Stick “is a game horse who likes it firm and is doing well and should be competitive,” said Danehy, who also was a partner in the gelding’s dam, Mocha Queen, a turf-sprint specialist who earned nearly $400,000 with Lauer as trainer.

Other contenders in a well-matched feature include First Splash, Tapit Wicked, Blue Wings, and Mayor Mac.

KEY CONTENDERS

Dynamite Stick, by Candy Ride

Last 3 Beyers: 63-76-67

◗ He was beaten a nose for this same condition two starts back at Indiana Grand and tends to do his best from several lengths off the pace, just like his dam.

First Splash, by Speightstown

Last 3 Beyers: 80-68-81

◗ Ontario-bred colt stands to improve on his only turf attempt, an eighth-place finish in a similar race earlier in the meet. He showed speed before settling for second in an off-the-turf race for this same condition earlier this month.

Tapit Wicked, by Tapit

Last 3 Beyers: 81-80-81

◗ Winchell homebred has been second or third in nine of his 14 starts, all on dirt, so trainer Steve Asmussen turns to turf to try to get him a second career triumph.

Blue Wings, by Giant’s Causeway

Last 3 Beyers: 74-80-79

◗ Another making his grass debut, he has really come to hand this meet, earning the top three Beyer Speed Figures of his career.