Farish, Asmussen hold strong hand in trio of Tuesday stakes

The team of Will Farish, trainer Steve Asmussen, and jockey Stewart Elliott could have the favorites in three of the four restricted stakes on the Tuesday card at Lone Star Park near Dallas.

Direct Dial, a homebred for Farish, is the horse to beat in the $75,000 Wayne Hanks Memorial. The barn also has representatives in both $75,000 divisions of the Texas Stallion Stakes for 2-year-olds. The other stakes on the card is the $75,000 Lane’s End Danny Shifflett Scholarship Stakes.

If the races look familiar, it’s because they were originally carded for July 5. But the stakes were canceled when Lone Star temporarily suspended racing after the first race due to a track employee testing positive for the coronavirus. Lone Star brought the stakes back as extras for Tuesday, and the second draw seems to have been favorable to Direct Dial.

He was to have started from the rail for the first Wayne Hanks, which drew eight horses. But for the redrawn version, Direct Dial starts from post 4 in a field of six. The group includes Wonders of Hislove, who is the horse to catch in the 6 1/2-furlong race for 3-year-olds and up bred in Texas.

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“He’s fast away from the gate,” said J.R. Caldwell, who owns and trains Wonders of Hislove. “The funny thing is, he didn’t win going 4 1/2 furlongs [earlier in his career]. I’d love to run him 4 1/2 furlongs right now. He’s just kind of come into his own. He’s learned how to bounce away from there and play catch me if you can. He’s more mature and getting faster.”

Caldwell purchased Wonders of Hislove for $1,500 at the Texas Thoroughbred Association’s yearling and mixed sale in 2018. The horse became a stakes winner in his last start, when he captured the $75,000 Groovy on June 14 at Lone Star.

“I was doing cartwheels,” Caldwell joked. “He’s a story that’s good for the sport. Here’s a horse bought for $1,500 and he’s run out about $115,000.”

Wonders of Hislove is a son of Early Flyer. His dam, Maymeister, was a seven-time winner and she is from the female family of Ide, whose wins included the Rebel and Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes. Wonders of Hislove was bred by Stephen Baker.

“I went to the sale and wasn’t going to buy anything,” Caldwell said. “I was going there to do some PR work. This horse walked by, a really good-looking horse. He was nominated to everything. He was stuck at $1,500 [in the bidding,] so I said, ‘Here we go!’ ”

Ivan Arellano has the mount from post 2.

Direct Dial, the 2018 Texas-bred of the year, is coming off a five-length win over some of these in the $75,000 Spirit of Texas on June 14 at Lone Star.

Farish’s second homebred stakes starter on the card is Great Affection, who goes in the Pan Zareta division of the Texas Stallion Stakes off her debut win June 8 at Lone Star. The final Farish stakes runner on the program, homebred Island Sun, leads the Staunch Avenger division of the Texas Stallion Stakes off a debut win June 23 at Lone Star.

The races will both be run at five furlongs.

The chief threat to Island Sun could be G Don’t Know, whose trainer, Austin Gustafson, is winning races at a 39 percent rate this meet. Great Affection squares off with Missheartbreaker, a half-sister to Mr Money Bags, the reigning Texas-bred of the year.

Missheartbreaker was to have been scratched from the original Pan Zareta after spiking a fever, her trainer, Mike Neatherlin, said last week. She was entered back for the later running and starts from post 8 under Richard Eramia.

“We like her,” said Neatherlin, who also trains Mr Money Bags. “She’s like him. She’s got a long stride.”

Mr Money Bags is nearing a return to the work tab after some time away from the races, according to Neatherlin, who trains both horses for Roy Cobb.

“He looks phenomenal,” Neatherlin said of Mr Money Bags. “He’s grown a bunch, is really heavy and thick. We’re going to point him toward the Texas-accredited stakes. You might see him before Houston. We might run him once at Zia. We’ll just see.”

The Lane’s End Danny Shifflett Scholarship Stakes for Texas-bred fillies and mares over 7 1/2 furlongs on turf drew defending winner Corluna. Other stakes winners in the nine-horse field include Shes Our Fastest and Herb’s Love.