Heitai set to defend Sprint title on Louisiana Legends Night

OPELOUSAS, La. – With Louisiana Legends Night at Evangeline Downs a little more than a week away, the connections of some of the major players are making final preparations for one of the state’s biggest racing days. Eight stakes restricted to statebreds and worth a combined $775,000 should provide some real fireworks the evening of July 4.

Defending Legends Sprint champion Heitai will make his second trip into Cajun Country this year. The 5-year-old Fusaichi Pegasus gelding was set to defend his title in the $300,000 Evangeline Turf Sprint on May 30 before heavy rains scrapped most of the 12-race program. While he has won four of his five turf starts, Heitai is equally effective over the main track, having won 10 times over the surface.

“We’ll work him one more time toward the end of the week,” trainer Tom Amoss said Tuesday. “He’ll ship down the middle of next week. He should be good to go.”

The unseasonably wet spring continued into June and has taken a toll on the Evangeline turf. There has not been any grass racing for more than a month, but warm and dry conditions over the last week have seen things dramatically improve for the infield.

“We are set to resume racing on the turf beginning next Wednesday,” said Chris Warren, director of racing at Evangeline. “There will be one turf race scheduled each night leading up to the three grass races on Legends Night.”

Uncertainty surrounding the turf course is affecting the plans of two key contenders in the older division for Legends Night. Stormdriver and String King, first and second in the John Henry Stakes, which was rained off the turf here in late April, have been nominated to both the Legends Turf and the Legends Classic over the main track. If things go according to plan, they will not be facing each other again next Saturday.

“Right now, we are leaning toward the main track,” said Pat Devereux Jr., who trains Stormdriver. “We’ll likely cross-enter and take a look, but we are thinking dirt.”

In his one start since the John Henry, Stormdriver finished second to the front-running Mystery Train while facing open company June 6 in the Evangeline Mile.

While he also is a winner on dirt, there is little doubt that String King’s best surface is grass. The 7-year-old son of Crowned King added a win in the Grade 3 Col. E.R. Bradley Handicap over the Fair Grounds lawn to his impressive list of accomplishments back in January and has earned more than $830,000 for owner, trainer, and breeder Charlie Smith.

Unlike Stormdriver, String King has not had a start since the John Henry.

“I entered him in two races up here, and neither race filled,” Smith said from his Louisiana Downs base. “Things are a bit up in the air right now regarding the turf situation, but hopefully we can get on it. He worked really nice on Sunday. He should be ready.”