Jac's Fact, Needmore Flattery loom large on Best of Ohio card
Saturday’s Best of Ohio series at ThistleDown could turn out to be more of a coronation than a competition, at least among the three races for 3-year-olds and up.
Jac’s Fact in the Endurance, Needmore Flattery in the Distaff, and Rivers Run Deep in the Sprint all appear to tower over their rivals in the three $150,000 stakes that aren’t restricted to 2-year-olds.
The 4-year-old Jac’s Fact, second in last year’s 1 1/4-mile Endurance, has dominated Ohio-bred males all season, winning 7 of 11 starts, including five stakes. The only troubling point is that Jac’s Fact shows declining Beyer Speed Figures since recording an 80 against open company at Belterra Park in August. He got a 70 Beyer for winning the Governor’s Buckeye Cup at the same 1 1/4-mile distance as the Endurance and dropped to a 63 for his victory in the 1 1/16-mile Catlaunch two weeks ago.
Plain Ol’ Willard defeated Jac’s Fact by 3 1/2 lengths in last fall’s Endurance but is winless in eight subsequent starts and has been beaten five times by Jac’s Fact this season, including four times by double-digit margins.
The best upset candidate might be Silver Tongued, who has been freshened since finishing second, 1 3/4 lengths behind Jac’s Fact, in the Governor’s Buckeye Cup on Sept. 5. He was a distant sixth in last year’s Endurance.
Needmore Flattery, the two-time Horse of the Year in Ohio, had her task in the 1 1/8-mile Distaff become easier when the 3-year-old filly Justalittlesmoke, who finished a head behind her in the six-furlong Scarlet and Gray on Sept. 19, did not enter either of the two races to which she was nominated, the Distaff and the Sprint.
Needmore Flattery, third in last year’s Distaff as a 3-year-old, will be seeking her fifth straight win this season.
Rivers Run Deep dominated last year’s Sprint by 5 1/4 lengths and won both of his sprint stakes against Ohio-breds this year by a combined 15 3/4 lengths.
Things aren’t as clear-cut in the two $150,000, 1 1/16-mile races for 2-year-olds, the Juvenile and the John Galbreath. Both races feature juveniles largely unproven going two turns.
The best last-race Beyer in the Juvenile, a 67, belongs to Sawyers Mickey, who is still a maiden after two sprint tries at Saratoga. He most recently was fourth, beaten seven lengths by Greenpointcrusader, who came back to win last weekend’s Grade 1 Champagne at Belmont Park.
The John Galbreath pits School Board Prez, stretching out after winning back-to-back sprint stakes to begin her career, against Proper Discretion, who romped by 8 1/4 lengths in her career debut going 5 1/2 furlongs five weeks ago.