Eyeforglory gives Pincins stakes shot

Bob Pincins grew up around Narragansett Park and Lincoln Downs in his native Rhode Island. He won with the first horse he saddled, a mare named Trinidoll, at Hawthorne in 1977. He moved his stable to Louisville nearly 30 years ago, and his accent is now a peculiar mix of New England and the South.

Few people have the racetrack in their blood to the degree that Pincins, 54, has it. The prototype of a conscientious, hard-working trainer of six to 12 horses at any given time, Pincins rarely has an opportunity to run horses in stakes races.

Once in a while, however, he sends one over for the feature race. In fact, when the $50,000 Forego Stakes is run Saturday at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky., Pincins will be in the mix with Eyeforglory, a winner in 6 of 14 career starts.

Pincins, who has won 247 races, claimed Eyeforglory for the CDM Racing Stable for $30,000 last summer, and the gelding has won 2 of 5 subsequent starts. His last race, a Jan. 12 allowance at Turfway, was one of his best, as he sped off to win by 5 1/4 lengths.

"He's doing better than he ever has," said Pincins. "I know stepping up into a stakes is tough, but he's earned a shot."

Turfway was the scene of the last stakes win for Pincins: Leading Lioness won the Gowell on Dec. 20, 2003.

Eyeforglory - who has only one eye, his left, thus the name - will face nine other older horses in the 6 1/2-furlong Forego. Among the main contenders are Private Horde, an earner of more than $725,000, and Saintly Look, a rallying winner of the most recent sprint stakes at Turfway, the Dec. 31 Holiday Cheer.

The Forego goes as the 10th of 12 races on a Saturday card that starts at 1:10 p.m. Eastern.

* Racing fans in the Louisville area can follow the progress of the $500,000 Daily Racing Form/National Thoroughbred Racing Association handicapping championship from Bally's in Las Vegas by tuning in a special two-hour edition of the "Kentucky Winner's Circle" radio show on WKJK (790-AM). E.J. Clark and Lane Gold will host the show, which will run live from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern.

Among the local contestants in Las Vegas are Ron Kirby and Tim Gardner, the one-two finishers in the finals of the Churchill Downs fall contest.