Grand Arch dealt winning hand in Poker
ELMONT, N.Y. – With a race under his belt, a cutback to his preferred distance, and a target to follow, Grand Arch looks poised to return to his winning ways in Saturday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Poker Stakes on turf at Belmont Park.
Grand Arch is one of three Grade 1 winners in a solid field of six that includes Southern California shipper Obviously and 2015 Belmont Derby winner Force the Pass. Trainer Chad Brown has the uncoupled entry of Takeover Target and Offering Plan. King Kreesa, who won this race last year at odds of 17-1, completes the field.
Grand Arch is a four-time winner at the one-mile distance of the Poker, including a victory in last year’s Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland. He also won the Grade 2 Fourstardave at a mile at Saratoga. He ended his 6-year-old season last year with a third behind Tepin in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
Grand Arch kicked off his 7-year-old campaign with a third in the Grade 2 Dixie at Pimlico, a race run over “good” ground following rain that morning. He may have inherited the lead too early in the Dixie and was run down by Takeover Target.
“He would have needed that start at Pimlico,” said Erin Cotterill, who will saddle Grand Arch for her boss, Brian Lynch, who surrendered his trainer’s license after testing positive for marijuana. “He should be good and ready for this race Saturday.”
Obviously is winless in six starts since winning the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita in 2014. He lost two Grade 2 stakes by a neck last winter at Santa Anita.
Phil D’Amato, the trainer of Obviously, said he hopes Belmont’s turf course remains firm and continues to play fast, as it has all meet.
“I want him on a firm turf course,” D’Amato said from California. “I’ve been watching the Belmont races. It looks like that turf course is fast and firm. I also thought that one-turn mile will help him, too.”
Force the Pass won the Grade 1 Belmont Derby over this course last year. He’s run only once this year owing to a number of factors, including soft turf and minor illnesses.
KEY CONTENDERS
Grand Arch, by Arch
Last 3 Beyers: 95-102-104
◗ Big horse should appreciate the large Belmont turf course, short field, and that the race should spread out a little bit with Obviously likely setting the pace from post 3.
“Hopefully, he can sit in behind and let the speed go and come with a run like the way he wants and the way he did at Keeneland last year,” Cotterill said.
Obviously, Choisir
Last 3 Beyers: 106-104-83
◗ Despite being a Grade 1 winner with the second-highest earnings in the field, he gets in with a feathery 116 pounds, an eight-pound concession from highweights Grand Arch, Force the Pass, and Takeover Target.
◗ Looks eligible to get loose on the lead under Jose Lezcano.
◗ Has not run since getting beat a neck by Bolo in the Grade 2 Arcadia at Santa Anita on Feb. 13.
“He’s 8 years old, but he still trains like he’s 4,” D’Amato said. “He’s lightly raced, and I think between running five or six times at the most a year and his super genetics, I think he should run his race.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 3 Obviously. Trainer Phil D’Amato is 26-0-4-4 over the past five years in races outside of California. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Takeover Target, by Harlan’s Holiday
Last 3 Beyers: 100-96-98
◗ Prefers ground with give in it, as was the case in the Dixie Stakes, where he rallied from last to beat Ring Weekend and Grand Arch.
◗ The Dixie was his first race with blinkers, and his trainer, Brown, felt the equipment change did make a difference.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 King Kreesa. Trainer David Donk is 25-6-5-1 with a $4.24 ROI over the past two years in turf routes in the third start following a layoff of 45 days or more. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan