General George distance a question mark for Cordmaker
Cordmaker hasn’t sprinted since the summer of 2020, but that won’t dissuade bettors from making him the favorite Saturday in Laurel Park’s Grade 3, $250,000 General George Stakes at seven furlongs.
The General George and the Grade 3 Barbara Fritchie anchor a 10-race Winter Sprintfest program that also features four other stakes.
Cordmaker captured the Polynesian Stakes over this course and distance back in 2019 and enters the General George on a three-race win streak, all in stakes at distances from one mile to 1 1/8 miles.
“This horse, he goes along with what we want,” said trainer Rodney Jenkins about the distance change. “He’s always close enough that if he’s got any kick at all, he should be right there.”
Jenkins says Cordmaker has stayed happy for so long because “he keeps himself pretty fit.”
“We don’t really work him a lot for his races,” he said.
Jenkins breezed Cordmaker three-eighths in 35.40 seconds at Laurel on Feb. 11, the best of four works at the distance.
“We wanted to sharpen his speed,” Jenkins said. “I get a little nervous always going long, then shortening up against a good field of horses.”
Air Token, the winner of the Maryland Million Sprint on Oct. 23, prepped for the General George with a five-length victory in a third-level allowance with a $50,000 claiming option on Jan. 21. The second-place finisher, Borracho, returned to win with a 95 Beyer.
Trainer Gary Capuano counters with the uncoupled entry of Shackqueenking and Threes Over Deuces, the third- and fourth-place finishers three weeks ago in the six-furlong Fire Plug behind the region’s leading sprinter, Wondrwherecraigis.
Shackqueenking was beaten by Cordmaker in both the Richard W. Small on Nov. 27 and the Robert T. Manfuso on Dec. 26. Both of those races were around two turns at Laurel.
“I think seven-eighths is a good distance,” Capuano said of Shackqueenking. “Obviously Cordmaker beat us the last couple of times, but I got a better shot running seven-eighths.”
Shackqueenking and Threes Over Deuces breezed five furlongs in company in a bullet 1:00 on Feb. 12 at Laurel. Threes Over Deuces finished second in the 2020 General George.
Trainer Lynn Cash won a nine-way shake for Sir Alfred James when he claimed him for $62,500 at Churchill Downs on Sept. 24. Cash said he subsequently turned down six-figure offers for the Munnings gelding, and was rewarded with a third-place finish in the Bet On Sunshine at Churchill in November and a stakes tally at Turfway on New Year’s Day.
Sir Alfred James finished last in his two most recent races, one on Tapeta at Turfway, and one on turf at Fair Grounds. His best races have come on the lead, and he failed to make the front in both races.
“He likes a fast track,” Cash said. “He’s a different horse when he makes the lead and the rail, and I don’t see a lot of speed in the race.”
Timeless Bounty pulled off a 50-1 upset in the Steel Valley Sprint at Mahoning Valley on Nov. 22, then was overmatched against the impressive Flightline in the Grade 1 Malibu at Santa Anita on Dec. 26.
War Tocsin completes the field.