Foufa's Warrior ripe for a win on favorite turf

While T.D. Vance and Tiganello will garner a good deal of public support by virtue of their one-two finish in the recent Eight Thirty Stakes at Delaware Park, Foufa's Warrior, a seasoned veteran who loves the Delaware turf course, could be poised to spring an upset there Saturday in the $100,000 Sussex Handicap, a 1 1/16-mile grass race.

Foufa's Warrior, a 6-year-old Jade Hunter gelding, finished third behind T.D. Vance and Tiganello in the Eight Thirty, but as a late runner he was compromised by a dawdling pace that included an opening half-mile in 50.26 seconds.

Trainer Lawrence Murray has been forced to space Foufa's Warrior's races out through much of his career, but Foufa's Warrior has saved some of his best efforts for Delaware Park. In the Grade 3 Kent Breeders' Cup in 2003, Foufa's Warrior rallied from well off the pace under Ramon Dominguez to sweep past the leaders en route to a 1 1/4-length victory, setting a course record of 1:47.44 for nine furlongs. He has a win, a second, and two thirds from four starts over the local turf course.

While it has been a while since Foufa's Warrior has won, he looks to be sitting on a top effort. He has a second in the Henry Clark Stakes on the turf at Pimlico to go with his third-place effort in the Eight Thirty in his two starts this season.

Rosie Napravnik will handle Foufa's Warrior at 117 pounds under the allowance conditions of the Sussex.

T.D. Vance was able to slow the pace under Jose Caraballo in the Eight Thirty and prevail by a half-length over Tiganello despite drifting wide in the stretch. The win was the sixth from 11 starts for T.D. Vance, who captured the Grade 2 Hall of Fame Stakes at Saratoga and the Toronto Cup at Woodbine last season. There looks to be more early speed in the Sussex, which could compromise T.D. Vance's chances unless he can sit just off the lead and work out a stalking trip.

Tiganello, a Group 3 winner in Germany last season, came up a bit short in the Eight Thirty while making his first start in six weeks and second of the season. He figures to improve with the prospects of a quick early pace. The Todd Pletcher trainee won 5 of 19 starts in Europe before moving to the U.S. this season.

Stewart Elliott will handle Tiganello at 117 pounds, while Caraballo returns on T.D. Vance at 119.

Upset possibilities include Pa Pa Da, second in the Grade 3 Fort Marcy earlier this season, and Exterior, who spent much of 2005 racing in such top events as the Grade 1 Clement Hirsch at Oak Tree and the Grade 1 United Nations at Monmouth.

Philadelphia: Streak on the line

Trickle of Gold will go after her fourth straight win as the strong favorite in a field of nine filly and mare sprinters in the $100,000 My Juliet Stakes at Philadelphia Park.

Jeremy Rose will handle Trickle of Gold for trainer Mike Gorham in the six-furlong My Juliet. A speedy daughter of Formal Gold, Trickle of Gold shoots for her 11th win from 19 career starts. She won 6 of 8 last year as a 3-year-old, including the Grade 3 Safely Kept Stakes at Laurel, and most recently romped to a 9 3/4-length tally at Pimlico in the Skipat Stakes.

Remarqable Tale moves up from Charles Town as she goes for her fifth win in a row, while Notimetoquit, who has finished fourth and third behind Trickle of Gold in her last two starts, looks like the prime late-running threat in a field that includes several front-runners.

Charles Town: Ah Day vs. King Kohl

Ah Day, winner of the Federico Tesio Stakes at Pimlico and fifth to High Cotton in the Sir Barton on Preakness Day, meets West Virginia Futurity winner King Kohl in the $50,000 Red Legend Stakes for 3-year-olds at Charles Town.

Ah Day, trained by King Leatherbury, has won 3 of 7 outings this season, taking the Horatius at six furlongs, an optional claimer at seven furlongs at Laurel, and the Tesio by an impressive 5 1/2 lengths. In the 1 1/16-mile Sir Barton, Ah Day held a striking position to the stretch but weakened behind wire-to-wire winner High Cotton.

King Kohl, who was unplaced in a tough allowance race on the turf at Churchill in his 2006 debut, was 4 for 5 as a juvenile, winning a division of the West Virginia Futurity and two statebred stakes at Charles Town in addition to a maiden race on the turf at Ellis Park.

Vikrant has won allowance races in his last two starts, one at Delaware and one at Charles Town.