Keeneland: High Roll may show improved speed with blinkers

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Jimmy DiVito is turning to an old trick he learned growing up under his late father, Pete, who trained for a pretty impressive list of clients “back in the day,” as they say.

DiVito will slap a pair of standard French-cup blinkers on one of his more promising 2-year-olds, High Roll, when the gelding runs Sunday in the first of two allowance races that wind down a nine-race program at Keeneland. The intent is to have High Roll show more speed than he did when a distant fifth under Francisco Torres in the Arlington-Washington Futurity last month.

“We’re turning him back from a mile and want him to be closer to the pace, like he was when he ran so well first out,” said DiVito, alluding to a gate-to-wire score in his career debut in early August. “In the Futurity, I left things up to the jock and in hindsight I kind of wish he would’ve just sent him on his way. He’s a pretty nice horse who came around a little late.”

High Roll, bred and owned by Curtis Green, will break from post 4 and be ridden by Robby Albarado as one of eight 2-year-olds in the eighth race, a $58,000, first-level allowance at 6 1/2 furlongs on Polytrack. The second allowance race, a $58,000, first-level turf event for fillies and mares, concludes the Sunday card.

Probably the chief threats to High Roll are fellow Chicago shipper Cool Cowboy (post 1, Eddie Castro), who got a field-high 90 Beyer Speed Figure in a maiden romp last month at Arlington; Pablo Del Monte (post 6, Kent Desormeaux), a maiden romper here in the spring in his first and only start; and He’s Got Talent (post 8, Rosie Napravnik), a Ken and Sarah Ramsey homebred.

Pete DiVito was something of a legend in Chicago racing circles after returning to the area in the mid-1960s after training in Southern California for the likes of L.C. Howard, the son of Seabiscuit owner Charles Howard; famed actress Betty Grable; and big-band leader Harry James, for whom Frank Sinatra was the lead singer at the time.

Jimmy DiVito, now 63, followed his dad into training and has won 939 races since 1976 (the furthest year back for which statistics are readily available). His last three years (2011-13) have been his most productive, with stable earnings totaling more than $4 million during that span.

First post Sunday is 1:05 p.m. Eastern, with the last two going at 4:49 and 5:21, respectively.

After Sunday, Keeneland goes dark for two days before another five-day week commences Wednesday. Four stakes are on tap for next week, capped by the Grade 2 Raven Run on Saturday.