Glenard seeks first U.S. stakes win in Warrior Veterans

His on-again, off-again race pattern says no, but everything else about Glenard says go – as in go to the windows when he starts Saturday in the $100,000 Warrior Veterans on the Indiana Derby undercard at Indiana Grand.

Glenard, one of several horses sent on an Indiana invasion by the Fair Hill, Md.-based trainer Graham Motion, is listed at 7-2 on the track’s morning line. At anything close to that price, he would offer tremendous value in the Warrior Veterans, a 1 1/16-mile turf race formerly known as the J.K. Self, which was won last year by Quiet Force, who won the Grade 3 Arlington Handicap last weekend.

As of Thursday, there had been no turf racing at Indiana Grand since June 24, owing to an historically rainy period, but track officials were hopeful of getting back on the turf Friday. There is a slight chance of storms late this week, and it would not take much rain to threaten a surface switch in the Saturday grass races.

Glenard finished with a huge run to get second in the Fair Grounds Handicap in February, his first start since being imported from England. Five weeks later, in the Pan American at Gulfstream, Glenard never ran a step, beaten 36 lengths, but at Delaware Park on June 17, he once again displayed his sparkling turn off foot, going from sixth at the stretch call to win a high-end turf allowance by one length.

At Fair Grounds, Glenard ran his final three furlongs in 34 seconds and change, and even working with the short stretch on Saturday at Indiana Grand, he can roll home to his first stakes victory in the U.S.

Among his rivals, and one of the speed horses, is Regally Ready, who at age 8 remains a front-end force and becomes the horse to beat if the race gets moved to the main track. But going two turns, Regally Ready will always want to be close to the front, and he will find company there from Super Soldier. Taken by the Storm will not be a pace player because he starts instead in the Hanshin Cup at Arlington.

Kiss Moon in General Assembly

During Kentucky Derby week at Churchill, trainer Dave Vance was talking about the slow early-season progress being made by his 4-year-old turf filly Kiss Moon, who was then readying for her seasonal debut in the May 2 Distaff Turf Mile. Vance, though, wasn’t all that concerned: Kiss Moon is a grass filly, and the heart of the grass season was just getting started.

Now, turf season is in full swing, and Kiss Moon, timely enough, has found herself. She was badly beaten in the Distaff Turf Mile but bounced back to win the Grade 3 Mint Julep on June 6, beating the good mare I’m Already Sexy, and looks all set to capture the $100,000 Indiana General Assembly on Saturday’s card.

Kiss Moon has had success over the Indiana Grand grass course, having held on for victory last season in the Ta Wee Stakes after setting a fast, contested pace from an inside post. Kiss Moon – whose mother, Kiss the Devil, also was a good grass filly trained by Vance – has a better outside draw Saturday and should get a comfortable pressing trip under Corey Lanerie. If her luck holds, she should be tough to beat as the favorite.

Maria Maria has held good form for months, but it’s hard to imagine that her stretch-running style will be ideally suited by the short homestretch at Indiana Grand. Still, a quick, contested pace, which on paper is possible, could bump her into the exotics.

Trainer Motion has two entrants, Rusty Slipper and Joy, and while Rusty Slipper has kept the better company of the two, she has not quite found the 2014 form that encouraged a run in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf and might be overbet on her trainer’s ever-growing name recognition alone.