Executive Chef jumps into the fire in comeback race

Executive Chef appears to be the horse to beat when making his 2024 debut in Friday’s $25,000 claiming feature over 5 1/2 furlongs at Emerald Downs.

The Blaine Wright trainee is scheduled to make his first start since last September when he finished second for the same claiming price over six furlongs at Emerald. The son of Cairo Prince was a stakes winner at Emerald in 2022 when he took the Auburn Stakes as a 3-year-old.

Trading stakes decisions with Executive Chef that season was Itsallabouttheride, who was second in the Auburn before turning the tables on Executive Chef four weeks later in the Irish Day Stakes. Coincidentally, the pair drew side by side Friday.

Trained by Bonnie Jenne, Itsallabouttheride returned to action May 12 after a nine-month layoff. In that race he set a pressured pace from the inside before retreating to finish fifth, beaten 3 1/2 lengths.

“He should be a lot fitter for this race,” said Jenne, who mentioned that her charge “has been training very good.”

:: DRF Belmont Stakes Packages: Save up to 52% on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more

The Friday evening headliner could be quite a spectacle given the return of 2020 Gottstein Futurity winner Dutton. Since his 2-year-old season, the Howard Belvoir trainee has turned into a rather short-fused sprinter who, to minimal collective surprise, made a bit of a name for himself racing 1,000 yards at Los Alamitos.

Dutton managed to win three of his five opportunities in the officially unrecognized sprints. On Friday, the 6-year-old will be racing for the first time in nearly a year after a mixed series of morning workouts.

Adding still more intrigue to the Friday race will be the presence of speedy Capital Expense. The Robert Baze trainee also has made a name for himself in officially unrecognized mixed-breed races, most recently at Turf Paradise. Historically, Capital Expense is among the most eye-catching workout horses to have ever graced the local barn area.

Another pace possibility is Boss of Themoss, trained by Luciano Gabriel. The 5-year-old has raced on or very near the early lead in all but the first of his five career wins.

Expected to drop back and wait for the race to come back to him is Ko Samui, who also is trained by Gabriel. Ko Samui is stepping up considerably in class but may have landed in a great spot.

The other entrant is Smiling Goodbye, a Debbie Peery trainee who has routinely attended the pace in some of the more hotly contested races at Emerald in recent years but who might do best to take a back seat early Friday. The son of Smiling Tiger will make his first start in eight months and may be difficult to keep from joining the early festivities.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.