Glacial must dig deep over favorite strip

All that Glacial needed when he started his career 42 races ago was a few more Turfway Parks in the world.

Glacial, a gray gelding trained by Dan "Speedy" Smithwick Jr., has won the Prairie Bayou Stakes at Turfway. He has won the Tejano Run Stakes at the Florence, Ky., track. And he has won the Dust Commander Stakes there, too. From a lifetime bankroll of $399,675, more than half has come from his starts at Turfway.

Now a 7-year-old, Glacial may not have as much spring in his step as he once did. But when he starts from the outside post Saturday in the $50,000 Dust Commander, he just might be able to summon up one more big effort and win the race for a second time.

Glacial, owned by the Kingfish Stable, is winless in the last 11 months, but his last race, a runner-up finish in a Jan. 20 allowance prep for the Dust Commander, may have been the signal that he is primed for an overdue victory. He closed well to be beaten just 1 1/2 lengths behind Carson City Kid, one of the eight other older horses entered against him in the one-mile Dust Commander.

Glacial will be ridden by Brian Peck, who is experiencing a career resurgence of sorts. Peck, 30, won five races two Saturdays ago and currently leads the standings at the winter-spring meet.

Carson City Kid, as the winner of his last three starts for owner Tim Langley and trainer Bernie Flint, probably is the horse to beat. Carson City Kid will be coupled in the wagering with another major contender, Law Review, who has won five of his last six starts for his owners, L.T.B. Inc. and Miles Childers.

Trainer Joe Woodard also has a stable entry in the race, bringing the maximum number of betting interests to seven. Woodard and owner Billy Hays are represented by Winning Connection and Little Lee.

One of the expected favorites did not ship from New Orleans. Trainer Niall O'Callaghan had seriously considered Frazee's Folly, but "that would've meant bringing him back north a few weeks earlier than I really want to," O'Callaghan said Thursday from Payson Park. "Just as well to keep him in the warm weather for now."

The Dust Commander, named for the 1970 Kentucky Derby winner, is carded as the 10th of 12 Saturday races. The secondary feature is the ninth, a $50,000 claiming sprint.

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