He’s in Charge, Shackleford Strong, Blameworthy highlight Thursday allowance

Three of the sharper dirt-sprint maiden winners of the Fair Grounds season will square off in the featured sixth race Thursday. He’s in Charge, Shackleford Strong, and Blameworthy are among seven 3-year-olds entered in a six-furlong, non-winners-of-two allowance race.

Blameworthy ran into Swiftsure, a talented Steve Asmussen-trained colt, and Prate, a potential sprint star from the Brad Cox barn, in his first two races, finishing second both times, before beating a pair of next-out winners, Run Classic and Warrant, in a Jan. 16 maiden race. Trainer Chris Davis tried Blameworthy around two turns in a Feb. 13 allowance race, where Blameworthy set the pace and faded to finish a distant ninth. He’ll benefit from cutting back to a sprint, but is drawn inside other speed Thursday.

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Shackleford Strong got an 87 Beyer Speed Figure for a front-running Feb. 18 maiden win, his second career start and first since a race last summer at Saratoga. Trained by Steve Flint, Shackleford Strong did get an easy lead last month while facing only six foes in a race originally scheduled for turf.

He’s in Charge seems the most formidable among this trio. After showing little in debuting over the synthetic surface at Turfway Park on Dec. 11, he was shipped into the Fair Grounds barn of trainer Al Stall, for whom he won a Jan. 30 maiden sprint by 3 1/4 lengths, breaking from the rail and racing behind horses under Miguel Mena. He’s in Charge ran fast on the clock and got a 90 Beyer, and his proven ability to settle and finish should serve him well here.

Inspector Frost, trained by Cox, ran poorly in a pair of route races at Oaklawn and Churchill but here cuts back to a sprint while racing in blinkers for the first time and making his first start since being gelded.