Going gets tougher for King Kreesa

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – King Kreesa did not receive the respect he obviously deserved in his last two starts, and he rewarded his backers with generous odds of 17-1 and 6-1 for his victories in the Grade 3 Poker and the Forbidden Apple stakes at Belmont Park.

On Saturday, King Kreesa figures to garner a lot more support despite moving up against even stiffer competition in the one-mile Fourstardave, which attracted a field of nine plus the main-track-only entrant Weekend Hideaway.

King Kreesa’s trainer, David Donk, said he believes the Forbidden Apple was the best performance of the horse’s career. The win pushed King Kreesa over $1 million in earnings.

“I didn’t have him at the time, but looking at his form, his best previous race might have been his second-place finish behind Wise Dan in the 2013 Fourstardave,” said Donk, who assumed the training duties for King Kreesa beginning with his 2014 campaign. “In the Forbidden Apple, he looked like he was the speed of the race. It turned out he wasn’t, but he rated well and really responded when [Reload] came to him.”

Although Donk acknowledged that the competition in the Grade 2 Fourstardave will be formidable, he said he’s not afraid of running King Kreesa against anybody.

“He’s got a lot of class,” Donk said. “He’s on the same schedule and doing just as well as he has been for the last several months, and he’s run very well over this course, which gives you a lot of confidence. Obviously, he’ll get a lot more respect than he had in his last few starts. And there is only one Wise Dan. Horses like him don’t come around too often, and he’s not in this race.”

Among those facing King Kreesa in the Fourstardave are Seek Again, Grand Arch, and Grade 1 winner Jack Milton, the first three finishers in the 2014 Fourstardave, and Grade 1 winner Mshawish. Also in the race are Grand Tito, Ironicus, Skyring and Vyjack.

◗ A field of seven 3-year-old fillies was drawn for Saturday’s Grade 2 Adirondack Stakes, topped by the Todd Pletcher-trained pair of Tonasah (Javier Castellano to ride) and Delicate Lady (John Velazquez). Their competition will include Decked Out (Junior Alvarado), Heartbreaker Girl (Miguel Vasquez), Just Wicked (Jose Ortiz), Kandoo (Cornelio Velasquez), and Lookout Sister (Trevor McCarthy).