Heitai vulnerable going six furlongs

Heitai has won 15 of his 32 career starts, and at five furlongs, there are few faster horses anywhere in the land. But his first start since July comes Saturday at Fair Grounds over three-quarters of a mile, and that sixth furlong on many occasions has been Heitai’s undoing.

In comparison to his incredible overall strike rate, Heitai has won only twice from 10 starts at six furlongs, and the long Fair Grounds homestretch does him no favors either. He’s the 6-5 morning-line favorite to win a high-end Louisiana-bred allowance race Saturday, and win he may, but Heitai is not invulnerable.

Heitai, who breaks from the rail under Leandro Goncalves, is one of seven entrants in the race. The field also includes Too Dim, who was Heitai’s kryptonite last season at Fair Grounds, running him down in an allowance race like this one almost exactly one year ago and then catching him again in the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Sprint.

Champions Day is once again the goal for Heitai, according to trainer Tom Amoss. And while Heitai is prepping for that richer race on Saturday and is making his first start since a turf sprint July 25 at Evangeline Downs, Amoss believes Heitai is sufficiently fit for this race.

“He hasn’t had a race since July, but he’s a horse that puts a lot into his daily exercise, and I’m very comfortable that he’s ready to go,” said Amoss.

Too Dim, on the other hand, just raced last weekend. Making his first start since Aug. 8, Too Dim finished a distant fifth in a one-mile stakes at Delta Downs, but neither that distance nor the venue hits Too Dim’s sweet spot. No, that’s six furlongs at Fair Grounds, where Too Dim, trained by Eddie Johnston, is a six-time winner from 10 starts. He can make that seven wins Saturday, and at a price probably much more enticing than Heitai’s.

Card appealing top to bottom

A slew of maiden races with full fields, a third-level turf-route allowance for fillies and mares, and a first-level sprint allowance for 2-year-old fillies – along with the feature that includes Heitai – makes this first Saturday card of the Fair Grounds meet an appealing one.

While most of the leading 2-year-olds who will winter in New Orleans are still in Kentucky, there was sufficient stock on the grounds to get race 9 onto the program. The 10-horse field includes a Gennadi Dorochenko-trained coupled entry and is likely to have Midnight On Oconee as a solid favorite.

A romping debut winner at Delaware, Midnight On Oconee broke slowly from the rail in a first-level sprint allowance at Keeneland, dueled for the lead, and still held second, finishing in front of eight rivals, with the third-place finisher left more than four lengths behind.

Trainer Larry Jones said this week that his crop of 2-year-olds this year “has started out a little slow,” but this filly seems to be among the more advanced of the group, and she should be prominent from start to finish under Jose Riquelme.