Grand Contender would benefit from surface switch in Diliberto Memorial

It has been roughly 20 days since measurable precipitation has fallen at Fair Grounds, a veritable eternity for this racetrack, but with the Friday forecast for a strong chance of significant rainfall, it may be about time to bring back out the old off-the-turf playbook.

And a good chance of the race coming off the turf is why Grand Contender is entered in the featured seventh race on Friday’s 10-race card. Grand Contender is one of nine entrants in the $50,000 Buddy Diliberto Memorial, a one-time fixture of the regular stakes schedule that has become an overnight stakes this year. The race is carded for 1 1/16 miles on turf, but the weatherman is saying to consider a surface switch.

“Grand Contender will only be running if the race comes off grass,” said Tom Amoss, who trains Grand Contender for owner Maggi Moss.

Grand Contender is priced at 4-1 on the morning line, but that is a turf line, and he’s almost certain to be favored – and formidable – on dirt.

The race requires a finer brush if it stays on turf. Going in post-position order, Gentleman’s Kitten, Bim Bam, Golden Soul, Adios Nardo, and Infinite Magic look like they could win if things fall right.

Key contenders

Grand Contender (Last 3 Beyers: 86-59-96)

* Grand Contender has won six of his last 12 starts and already has earned more than $372,000 during 2014. He most recently finished third in the $150,000 Delta Mile (a race he won in 2013), his first start in about four months.

“He’d done a lot of travelling, and it took a toll on him,” Amoss said of the layoff.

* Grand Contender pressed the pace at Delta, and Amoss thinks that’s not the gelding’s best style.

“I think he runs his best on the lead, and our game plan is to try and put him on the lead if this race comes off grass,” he said.

FORMULATOR FACT: Over the last five years, Amoss is 53-17-8-6 with a $2.10 return on investment at Fair Grounds with off-the-turf horses in two-turn races.

Gentleman’s Kitten (Last 3 Beyers: 84-90-95)

* He won a third-level allowance over this course last year by more than six lengths. He was a flat eighth last out at Churchill in a Grade 3, but is a bounce-back candidate on a class drop.

FORMULATOR FACT: Trainer Mike Maker is just 13-1-2-0 with a $0.58 ROI in ungraded turf route stakes over the last five years at Fair Grounds.

Adios Nardo (Last 3 Beyers: 86-84-94)

* Second in this race last year when it was a $75,000 stakes and second in the Grade 3 Colonel Bradley, the horse has thrived before in New Orleans.

Juvenile allowance starts card

* The card starts with an entry-level allowance race for 2-year-olds carded for about one mile on turf. Another Lemon Drop, who was third behind the highly regarded Dortmund at Churchill last out, looks like a major player on turf or if the race is rained onto dirt. Distant Kingdom, a sharp sprint maiden winner in his debut last month, was entered for the main track only.