Kharafa tries to defy age again in Ashley T. Cole Stakes

ELMONT, N.Y. – Kharafa will be the sentimental favorite, but the Chad Brown uncoupled duo of Call Provision and Offering Plan are the horses to beat in Sunday’s $125,000 Ashley T. Cole Stakes at Belmont Park.

Kharafa, a 9-year-old gelding, has won the Cole three times and will be running in this New York-bred turf stakes for the sixth consecutive year. He is coming off a 17-1 upset in the West Point at Saratoga, breaking an 11-race losing streak that began after he won the 2016 Cole.

“I thought he had something left, and I cranked him up in his training because if you’re going to run against those kind of horses, you have to train them,” trainer Tim Hills said when asked if he was surprised about Kharafa’s victory in the West Point. “I had breezed him in company, and that seemed to get his game face on. He’s been very sound, and getting a better trip and getting the rider to ride him with some confidence made a difference. It was really gratifying to see him come back and run the way he did.”

Kharafa has done his best running at Belmont, where he has earned eight of his 13 victories. He likes a course with a little give in the ground, and the Belmont courses have been slow in drying out.

Kharafa will break from the inside post after the scratch of main-track-only entrant Control Group, which Hills believes is a good thing.

“He used to be a little aggressive, wanted to press the pace,” Hills said. “Now, you can switch him off, especially if you can get to the hedge, and he still has that kick. Maybe it’s not a 110 Beyer Speed Figure kick, but he can still kick.”

Call Provision has reeled off four consecutive triple-digit Beyers, though he has won just one of those starts. Most recently, he was beaten a nose by stablemate Focus Group in the John’s Call Stakes but was disqualified to fourth. In last year’s Cole, Call Provision was beaten a nose by Get Jets while finishing three-quarters of a length in front of Kharafa.

Call Provision will break from post 10 in what will be an 11-horse field.

Offering Plan was beaten a half-length by Kharafa in the West Point, coming with a strong late run that fell just short. He finished second to Kharafa in the 2016 Cole.

Among the new players, Gucci Factor warrants a look coming off two strong victories over this course in the summer. After running him three times in eight weeks at Belmont’s spring-summer meet, trainer Christophe Clement gave him the Saratoga meet off, pointing to this race.

Red Knight, a winner of five of seven lifetime starts, makes his stakes debut in the Cole for trainer Bill Mott.

Hettinger: Lady Joan may have company

Trainer Phil Serpe got pretty aggressive with the speedy Lady Joan at Saratoga, running her three times in five weeks, with a win and a hard-luck neck loss to La Moneda in the Yaddo Stakes to show for it.

Lady Joan comes back for more in Sunday’s $125,000 John Hettinger Stakes, where she won’t have to face Lady Moneda but will have to contend with other speed types in the 1 1/8-mile race.

Lady Joan, who has the rail and Luis Saez aboard, will either have to outfoot or sit off the likes of Conquest Hardcandy and Out of Trouble, both drawn to the outside.

“She’s sat off it before,” Serpe said. “She doesn’t have to be on the lead. It’s a good tool to have when you need it. I’ll leave that up to Luis. He’s done nothing but good on her.”

A contested pace would aid Fifty Five, who comes with a consistent late run but does not always get there. She was beaten a neck by Feeling Bossy in the Mount Vernon and was third, beaten a neck, in the Yaddo this year.

Tizzelle was second to the overwhelming favorite Fourstar Crook in this race last year. She appears to run better over firm ground, which she may not get Sunday.

Feeling Bossy was claimed for $62,000 by Mike Dubb last October to replace Fourstar Crook – now running in graded stakes – in the New York-bred ranks. She paid quick dividends with a victory in the Mount Vernon and is 5 for 10 at Belmont Park.

The late-running War Canoe and the stakes-debuting Munchkin Money are others to consider in what should be a nine-horse field after the main-track-only entrants are scratched.