General a Rod returns in optional claimer
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – General a Rod, one of only three horses to run in all three legs of the 2014 Triple Crown, returns to allowance competition when launching his 4-year-old campaign against six rivals that includes the highly regarded Three Alarm Fire in Wednesday’s $50,000 optional claiming/allowance feature at Gulfstream Park.
General a Rod, one of the stars of last year’s championship meeting at Gulfstream, finished 11th in the Kentucky Derby, fourth in the Preakness, and seventh in the Belmont Stakes before going to the sidelines for the remainder of his 3-year-old season. Last winter in three local starts, General a Rod won the Gulfstream Park Derby, finished second, beaten a head by Wildcat Red, in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth, and third in the Grade 1 Florida Derby.
General a Rod will turn back to seven furlongs on Wednesday for only the second time. He won his career debut at that distance as a 2-year-old at Keeneland.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 General a Rod. Trainer Mike Maker is 14-0-1-2 over the past five years going route to sprint on dirt following a layoff of 180 days or more; 4-0-0-0 when those horses went off as the post-time favorite. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
:: Learn more about Formulator | Buy Formulator PPs
:: Follow the @DRFFormulator Twitter feed and get free Formulator facts
“We had to get started somewhere, so we figured we’d try to capitalize on his allowance condition,” trainer Mike Maker said. “It should be a good stepping-stone for him.”
Maker said the Triple Crown trail took its toll on the son of Roman Ruler.
"It did take a lot out of him," Maker said. "He looked like he needed a freshening after the Belmont, so we just gave him all the time he needed."
Three Alarm Fire is strictly the one to beat if he can rebound off a disappointing seventh-place finish over a sloppy track in the Grade 3 Discovery Handicap. Three Alarm Fire had captured his two previous starts impressively, defeating Liam’s Map at Saratoga to win his maiden before posting a 103 Beyer capturing his entry-level allowance condition going two turns for the first time at Belmont six weeks later.
KEY CONTENDERS
General a Rod (Last 3 Beyers: 94-92-85)
◗ He has posted six works since joining Maker’s south Florida contingent in mid-November, all just average at best, although he never has been known to be a brilliant work horse.
◗ Maker owns a 21 per cent success rate from a sample of 122 starters over the last five years with horses returning from layoffs of six months or longer according to DRF Formulator.
Three Alarm Fire (Last 3 Beyers: 56-103-95)
◗ He’s already a proven commodity at this distance after readily defeating Liam’s Map, who’ll make his next start in the Grade 1 Donn Handicap, in a good maiden special weight race at the distance at Saratoga on Travers Day.
◗ Trainer Tom Albertrani has won with 17 per cent of his starters, with an ROI of $1.80, with horses going routes to sprints over the last five years according to Formulator.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 4 Three Alarm Fire. Trainer Tom Albertrani is 30-6-9-5 with a $2.61 ROI over the past two years going route to sprint on dirt. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
Cozzetti (Last 3 Beyers: 81-80-73)
◗ He has lost 18 consecutive starts since defeating All Stormy by a neck at odds of 4-1 to win the 2012 American Derby at Arlington Park.
◗ He was defeated a half-length after a long pace duel under similar optional claiming conditions here last winter.