Heitai will get a rest after Turf Sprint win

Heitai is being freshened following his win in Saturday’s inaugural Evangeline Downs Turf Sprint, a $300,000 race that Boyd Gaming plans to renew next season after the program, which included four other stakes, produced near-record handle figures for its Opelousas, La., track.

Heitai won his sixth stakes of the year in the Turf Sprint, a five-furlong race for 3-year-olds and up in which he led throughout. He finished 3 3/4 lengths clear of runner-up Whiskey Bravo and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 98.

“Obviously, I was very pleased when no one went with us early,” said Karl Broberg, who trains Heitai for Frank and Barbara Rowell. “I knew when he didn’t get hooked at all it was going to be our day.”

Broberg said Heitai emerged from the race in good order and would now get some turnout time at a farm in Lafayette, La.

“He’s going to get kicked out for at least 30 days, maybe 60,” he said. “He’s already had seven outs this year. Louisiana can get brutal this time of year. He’s going to get at least a month off at the farm. This break was planned – win, lose, or draw – a couple of months ago.”

Broberg said Heitai likely would resume training in mid-August. The win in the Turf Sprint was the richest career victory for Broberg, an owner who began training in 2009. Broberg currently ranks as North America’s second-leading trainer in wins.

Frank Rowell on Monday was still savoring Heitai’s win.

“I’m still enjoying the way he ran the other night,” he said.

Heitai, who owns two track records at Delta Downs in Vinton, La., has been a staple in the Louisiana-bred ranks but defeated open company in the Turf Sprint as well as in the Duncan F. Kenner Stakes at Fair Grounds in March. For his effort in the New Orleans race, he equaled his best career Beyer, a 106.

It would be a dream if we could go to the Breeders’ Cup,” Rowell said. “I’m not sure if we have the tactical ability to run with the kind of horse that you’d find out there. We’re chewing that around.”

Plans for Evangeline are to renew the Turf Sprint for 2015, said Steve Kuypers, who oversees racing operations for Boyd, the Las Vegas-based firm that in 2012 added Evangeline to its racing properties, which include Delta.

“We’re planning on doing this again next year and the years to come,” Kuypers said. “We started off with [a purse of] $300,000, and we feel at this particular time that’s a good starting number. As the years go by, of course, we will adjust accordingly. We would love to get to a point where we’re running a $500,000 Turf Sprint. Boyd Gaming is committed to the racing industry in Louisiana.”

Kuypers said next year’s Turf Sprint likely will have a similar date to this year’s June 21.

“We believe sometime in the beginning of summer is the right time,” he said.

Kuypers also said the format of supporting the Turf Sprint with four other stakes, which was the case Saturday, is likely a keeper. He noted that the track’s all-stakes pick four, which had a guaranteed pool of $100,000, had a final pool of $210,730.

The pick four pool was a record for Evangeline since its 2005 move to Opelousas from the Lafayette area. Handle on the 11-race card from all sources Saturday was $2,280,847, the track’s second-highest handle at the Opelousas location, according to Kuypers.

“The whole package was a tremendous success,” he said. “Things just went off without any hitches, and the feedback from owners and trainers was that it was a really fun and exciting day. We thank everybody who participated.”