King: If turf’s not firm, Robillard can upset Mrs. Revere

If Saturday’s Grade 2 Mrs. Revere at Churchill Downs was being run on sun-baked, firm turf, it would be difficult to fault the stakes winners Partisan Politics and Onus, both of whom are skilled on such ground. But we are in the midst of a damp spell in Kentucky, and though the weather leading up to the Mrs. Revere was expected to be dry and windy after rain late Wednesday and early Thursday, I anticipate that Saturday’s turf races at Churchill will be run on something resembling a drying-out “good” course.

Final times at this Churchill meet on grass, at least with the portable rail out, have been extremely slow, suggesting wet conditions – an opinion further supported by the large number of divots being kicked up during many turf races. Churchill also was off the grass Wednesday and Thursday.

So, taking the going into account, I’m intrigued by 8-1 shot Robillard in the Mrs. Revere. This filly won at Keeneland on “good” turf in April in a maiden race in which she outran fellow Mrs. Revere starters Return to Grace and Onus. Robillard followed up with another score at Belmont and looked headed for a bright summer at Saratoga. But there, she did nothing, recording a pair of rear-half finishes on hard, summer turf.

Returned to Keeneland on Oct. 7, Robillard won a second-level allowance by more than five lengths, earning a career-best 91 Beyer Speed Figure. And though that race came on the lead, as did her Belmont victory, this is a filly who showed that she could rate in winning at Keeneland in the spring.

Admittedly, others are more accomplished than Robillard in the Mrs. Revere. But if she gets the ground she likes and others regress on something slower than firm turf, she has a chance of upsetting. Robillard also drew favorably inside, and in a large, congested field, that should allow her to save ground and establish a good early position under jockey Junior Alvarado.

Awesome Speed, Page McKenney playable at Laurel

Laurel’s Saturday card, headlined by the Frank J. De Francis Dash, is a fine one, and though I don’t hold a strong opinion in the big race there, I do like a couple of horses in undercard stakes.

One of those is Awesome Speed, who showed vast improvement second out to defeat a Laurel maiden field going away after stalking early, earning a solid 72 Beyer. And though that figure doesn’t compare with the last two figures earned by the favored King Kranz, it is competitive with the top Beyers of others in the James F. Lewis III Stakes.

:: Laurel Park: Buy PPs, watch Saturday’s card live

I see Awesome Speed as having upside as an Awesome Again colt who sold for $335,000 in March as a 2-year-old in training. He is not the most likely winner – King Kranz is – but he will be a far better price and has a shot if the favorite regresses over a Laurel surface over which he is unraced.

Three races before the Lewis Stakes, Page McKenney looms as a likely winner in the Richard W. Small Stakes, which goes as the fifth race.

His strengths are more apparent than the other horses I like in stakes action Saturday, but perhaps with Catholic Cowboy and Strong Stipulation attracting attention off past efforts at Belmont Park, Page McKenney could be an acceptable price in this spot. If nothing else, he looks like a good horse to focus on in multirace gimmicks.

Beyond being consistent and fast, Page McKenney is well suited to the conditions – going 1 1/8 miles on Laurel’s main track. In three prior tries at 1 1/8 miles at Laurel, he has two wins and a second, all in stakes. Although unraced for more than two months since finishing second in the Roanoke Stakes at Parx on Sept. 5, he should fire fresh. Page McKenney won following a layoff of similar length in February at Laurel, and knowing the affinity he has shown for this distance and surface, look for trainer Mary Eppler to have him cranked for his comeback.