Four stakes spice up Saturday card
For the first Saturday of its meet, Laurel has put together an interesting 10-race card that includes four stakes.
Carded in the feature slot is the $100,000 Japan Racing Association, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for 3-year-olds and up that has attracted a field of 13, three of whom are cross-entered here and at Belmont Park.
The supporting stakes are the $100,000 Dave’s Friend, a six-furlong sprint; the $100,000 Thirty Eight Go Go, a mile race for fillies and mares; and the $125,000 All Brandy, a 1 1/8-mile turf race for Maryland-bred fillies and mares.
Japan Racing Association (race 9)
Key contenders
Under Control (Last 3 Beyers: 93-86-85)
◗ Finished well when third in the Grade 3 Oceanport at Monmouth Park. The off-the-pace winner, Guys Reward, got the jump on him that day and the runner-up, pacesetting Fredericksburg, was able to hold him off by three-quarters of a length.
◗ Consistent runner always fires his best shot, and trainer Graham Motion has given him three works in the six weeks between races.
Qualify (Last 3 Beyers: 88-88-97)
◗ Also trained by Motion, he faced some tough rivals in his two Saratoga starts (Pick of the Litter, Cigar Street, Abraham) after winning three races in a row at Pimlico and Monmouth.
◗ Switches back to turf after five main-track races.
Eighttofasttocatch (Last 3 Beyers: 99-100-91)
◗ Trainer Tim Keefe has cross-entered Eighttofasttocatch in this race, which he won on the main track in 2011, and the Dave’s Friend. Keefe said he is leaning toward running in the Dave’s Friend unless this race comes off the turf.
◗ The 8-year-old will be making his first start since December.
Dave’s Friend (race 8)
Bern Identity (Last 3 Beyers: 91-94-79)
◗ He is 2 for 2 since returning from a long layoff. Both wins came over wet tracks, and thunderstorms are forecast for the region for Friday and Saturday.
Trickmeister (Last 3 Beyers: 92-98-89)
◗ Seven-year-old finished strongly when second to classy Rainbow Heir in the Teddy Drone at Monmouth while making first start in more than a year.
◗ Trainer Danny Lopez has given him three sharp works for this.
Lemon Drop Dream (Last 3 Beyers: 76-80-89)
◗ Won 4 of 5 starts this spring, including the Count Fleet at Oaklawn, but his form is a bit hidden as he has finished sixth in his two most recent starts, the Grade 1 Vanderbilt at Saratoga and the Evangeline Turf Sprint.
Thirty Eight Go Go (race 6)
South Andros (Last 3 Beyers: 72-78-83)
◗ Didn’t run well in the Summer Colony Stakes at Saratoga in last, but should find the company here more to her liking. The Summer Colony was the third win in a row for Endless Chatter.
◗ This will be her first one-turn start since her career debut in March 2013.
Speedy First
◗ She will be making her first North American start after going 6 for 10 in South Korea, where she earned $649,000.
◗ A Korean-bred, she is by Blue Grass and Haskell winner Menifee out of a mare sired by Belmont Stakes and Whitney winner Victory Gallop.
All Brandy (race 4)
Joy (Last 3 Beyers: 82-95-82)
◗ Runaway winner of the Perfect Sting Stakes at Belmont in July should rule a strong favorite in this statebred stakes.