Hidden Path the challenger to Zarak the Brave in Lonesome Glory

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Zarak the Brave looms the likely favorite in Thursday’s Grade 1, $150,000 Lonesome Glory Handicap at Aqueduct, but given the fact favorites went 0 for 5 in steeplechase races at Saratoga during the summer, perhaps looking elsewhere might be the way to go in this 2 1/2-mile jump race.

Trainer Ricky Hendriks teamed with jockey Conor Tierney to win two of the five jump races conducted at Saratoga, including an allowance victory with Hidden Path who won as the 3-1 fourth choice. Hidden Path, third in this race last year, looks to be among Zarak the Brave’s main rivals Thursday in the Lonesome Glory, which drew a field of nine.

Following his allowance win July 30, Hidden Path came back to finish third in the Grade 1 Jonathan Sheppard Steeplechase on Aug. 27 at Saratoga. Hidden Path was last for most of that trip before making a belated bid. He finished 4 3/4 lengths behind Jimmy P, who beat Zarak the Brave by three-quarters of a length.

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“When they broke off, the first half they went really fast and all of a sudden they slowed the pace down,” Hendriks said of the Sheppard. “We were in the back, and it was really difficult to make up the ground. I think the pace will be much more honest this time with more horses in the race.”

Hendriks also believes the added distance of the Lonesome Glory will be in favor of Hidden Path.

Hendriks, a two-time winner of the Lonesome Glory, said he didn’t race Hidden Path during the spring in order to have him ready for a late-summer and fall campaign of which this will be his fourth run.

Hidden Path carries 148 pounds, 10 less than Zarak the Brave, the 158-pound highweight under Evan Dwan.

Zarak the Brave, trained by Thomas Garner, attended the early pace in the Sheppard and fought to the wire but yielded grudgingly to Jimmy P, who won the Sheppard for the second consecutive year.

Four weeks earlier, Zarak the Brave finished third behind 10-1 shot Historic Heart in the Grade 1 A.P. Smithwick, also at Saratoga.

With mostly dry weather in recent weeks, the Aqueduct turf course should be plenty firm, and Garner believes that will help Zarak the Brave navigate the distance of the Lonesome Glory.

“Two and a half miles on good, quick ground won’t be a problem for him,” Garner told the New York Racing Association press department.

Trainer Keri Brion won three of the four steeplechase stakes held at Saratoga this summer. However, none of those winners – Blue Creek, Historic Heart, or Jimmy P – show up in the Lonesome Glory. Brion will be represented by Swore, who just won his maiden steeplechase race last month at Colonial Downs.

Evie’s Prince, trained by Neil Morris, finished fourth of five in last year’s Lonesome Glory and was second in the Grade 1 Beverly Steinman at Saratoga in June.

Sweet Will, Bee Well, Carmelised, Welshman, and Travesuras complete the field.

The Lonesome Glory goes as the first race on an eight-race Thursday card that begins at 1:10 p.m.

◗ In Thursday’s flat feature, a first-level allowance turf sprint at six furlongs, the New York-bred Bosun seeks his third consecutive victory for trainer Joe Sharp. Bosun did beat open company at Fair Grounds to begin his 4-year-old season before finishing second to the razor-sharp Friend Ofthe Devil in a statebred allowance at Aqueduct.

Kendrick Carmouche, who won eight races during the first week of this meet, was on Bosun for his most recent victory and is back Thursday.

Inmate, trained by Phil Antonacci and beaten a nose in this condition by Waralo on Aug. 10 at Saratoga, and Feltrinelli, who returns from 16-month layoff for trainer George Weaver, are others to consider in this spot.

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