Heitai, String King tune up for Louisiana Champions Day
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
NEW ORLEANS – Two of the top older Louisiana-breds in training – the exceptionally fast sprinter Heitai and the graded-stakes-placed turf runner String King – are scheduled to run Sunday at Fair Grounds in statebred allowance races serving as preps for Louisiana Champions Day.
Though trainer Karl Broberg had said he would enter Heitai for the Nov. 27 Thanksgiving Handicap, Broberg said he is leaning “very strongly” toward running him in the six-furlong third race Sunday instead. That way, Heitai will have extra time to get ready for his main late-season goal – the Champions Day Sprint on Dec. 13.
“When I saw that extra come out on the overnight, it looked just like Christmas came early,” Broberg said.
String King, coming off a rare out-of-the-money performance, will be running in the eighth race, at about a mile on turf. Trainer-owner Charles Smith said String King is preparing for either the Champions Day Turf or Champions Day Classic.
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Race 3
KEY CONTENDERS
Heitai (Last three Beyers: 94, 100, 98)
◗ He hasn’t lost a race restricted to Louisiana-breds since May 2013. He simply appears too classy and fast for his seven rivals in this third-level optional $25,000 claiming race.
◗ He’s a multiple stakes winner in open company and Louisiana-bred company.
◗ He was undefeated in three starts at Fair Grounds last season, winning the Champions Day Sprint and Costa Rising against Louisiana-breds before romping in open company in the Duncan F. Kenner.
◗ He led at the first call in 10 of his last 12 starts.
Too Dim (Last three Beyers: 82, 91, 84)
◗ Heitai might be vulnerable if speed types Win Lion Win and M Dication force him into a suicidal pace. Then, Too Dim, cutting back from a mile race against the classy Sunbean at Delta Downs and returning to a track where he has thrived, would be a threat from off the pace.
Race 8
KEY CONTENDERS
String King (Last three Beyers: 86, 91, 93)
◗ A blood test showed String King was mildly anemic after he finished fourth in open company in the Unbridled on Sept. 6 at Louisiana Downs, Smith said.
◗ Solid workouts at River Point Training Center near Louisiana Downs and quick half-mile Monday at Fair Grounds indicate to Smith that String King is ready to rebound.
“I’ve kept a close check on that blood, too,’’ Smith said.
◗ In String King’s last five Louisiana-bred races, his only loss came by a nose to Sunbean on dirt in last year’s Champions Day Classic.
Benwill (Last three Beyers: 96, 66, 86)
◗ Winner of the Unbridled on a disqualification, Benwill has shown he can rally from a few lengths off the pace. There seems to be enough early speed in this field to help make his style effective.