Frac Daddy a good fit for Ben Ali
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Triple Crown trail is a distant memory for Frac Daddy and his connections. After running 16th in the Kentucky Derby and 14th in the Belmont Stakes last spring, the gray colt has been transformed into a useful older horse.
Now comes his second start as a 4-year-old, and trainer Ken McPeek is optimistic that Frac Daddy will fit well Saturday in a tough field for the Grade 3, $150,000 Ben Ali Stakes at Keeneland. The 1 1/8-mile Polytrack race drew a field of 10.
“I loved his race over the Poly last year,” said McPeek, referring to a second-level allowance romp at the fall meet. “He’s doing really well, which is good to know because he’ll have to run that race or better to beat this group.”
Frac Daddy, with Alan Garcia to ride, is one of a handful of legitimate contenders in this 84th Ben Ali, along with Norumbega, Nikki’s Sandcastle, Joha, Winning Cause, Red Rifle, and Newsdad.[bc_video_id:321642:]
Norumbega, trained by Shug McGaughey, appears well drawn on the rail when coming off a runner-up finish in the Grade 3 Skip Away at Gulfstream Park.
Nikki’s Sandcastle will be seeking his first win since he powered to victory here last October in the Fayette Stakes, the fall counterpart to the Ben Ali.
Joha is a Grade 1 winner, having won the 2012 Breeders’ Futurity over this surface for prior connections. Now trained by Tom Albertrani, the 4-year-old colt seems especially adept on the synthetic.
Winning Cause, running back on five days’ rest, and Red Rifle, who defeated Frac Daddy in the March 1 Maxxam Gold Cup at Sam Houston, both hail from the powerhouse Todd Pletcher barn.
Newsdad, the track record holder on the Keeneland Polytrack at the rarely run distance of 1 1/4 miles, comes off a gritty triumph in the Grade 2 Pan American at Gulfstream and is listed as a lukewarm 3-1 program favorite based partly on that effort.
[DRF Live: Get live reports and handicapping insights from Keeneland this Saturday]
Rounding out the lineup are Stealcase, Hattaash, and Farhaan.
The Ben Ali, first run in 1917 at the old Kentucky Association track, was won last year by Successful Dan, trained by Charlie LoPresti. It directly precedes the Coolmore Lexington Stakes as the eighth race.
◗ The first of three Saturday stakes is the $100,000 Giant’s Causeway (race 7), a turf sprint that drew a typically well matched field of 11 fillies and mares.
Believe in Charlie and Allwewantforxmas, the one-two finishers in a Feb. 23 stakes on the Gulfstream Park turf, are among those arriving in fine form, while Point to the Wild, To My Valentine, Free as a Bird, and Ageless also figure as contenders.
Sweet Cassiopeia, another starter here, will be trying to snap a seven-race losing streak that began after she captured the 2013 Giant’s Causeway for a fifth straight victory.
Also in the mix is Queen’s Award, who won the fall counterpart to the Giant’s Causeway by upsetting the Franklin County at 30-1 last October.