Inside Straight brings Grade 2 class to Cotton Fitzsimmons Mile

PHOENIX – An eclectic mix of 11 horses, including a Grade 2 winner, will contest one of the marquee events of the Turf Paradise meet Saturday in the $75,000 Cotton Fitzsimmons Mile Handicap. The one-mile grass event for older horses is carded as race 7.

Meanwhile, a familiar group of distaffers goes at it in the $30,000 Glendale Handicap. That 1 1/16-mile turf event (race 4) drew nine, including the top five finishers of the most recent turf distaff stakes of the meet, the Nov. 25 Queen of the Green.

The most intriguing new face in the Fitzsimmons is Inside Straight. Owned by Randy Howg and trained by Robertino Diodoro, the 6-year-old gelded son of Super Saver won the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap last April 15. That earned him a shot at the Grade 1 Met Mile on June 10 at Belmont, though he found those waters too deep and ran 12th. He was then entered in the Saginaw on July 2 at Belmont, but refused to break and hasn’t run since.

Inside Straight has a win and a second in his two turf starts. He has not run on grass since winning an allowance at Remington in October 2016.

Power Corrupt romped in two turf starts here in November, including taking the Walter R. Cluer Memorial by 6 3/4 lengths. Those are his only two turf starts. He faded to sixth in the Cave Creek on dirt here Dec. 26 in his last start.

Way Striking dueled for the lead and ran second as the 4-5 favorite in the Cave Creek. He won his last start on grass, which came here in an optional claimer Oct. 16.

Other entrants in the Cotton Fitzsimmons Mile include Arizona Moon, 32-1 winner of the Cave Creek and a two-time turf winner here; Dressed in Hermes, third in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby in 2016; and Aqua Frio, who won his only turf start, a maiden race at Golden Gate in September 2016, and the Seattle Slew on dirt at Emerald Downs last July.

Glendale: Five-way rematch

Brookys Star, Hip Ninety Three, Comet Sixty Two, Cleverly Beverly, and Tequila Mary – the first five finishers of the Queen of the Green – knock heads again in the Glendale.

Brookys Star won that race as the 5-2 favorite and may be favored again here. She moves back to turf after running sixth in the Kachina on dirt here Dec. 23.

Those five must deal with Peppy Miller, winner of the Kachina and last year’s Glendale.