King Kreesa battles familiar foes in Ashley T. Cole Stakes
ELMONT, N.Y. – There are four traditional turf stakes run each year on this circuit for New York-breds. The winners of seven of the last 10 combined runnings of those races will square off in Sunday’s $125,000 Ashley T. Cole Stakes at Belmont Park.
King Kreesa, the winner of three statebred stakes over the last 16 months, will meet the 2012 Cole winner, Lubash, and the 2013 Cole winner, Kharafa, as well as the graded stakes winner Notacatbutallama and the wild card Front in the 1 1/8-mile Cole, which goes as race 4 on Sunday’s 10-race program.
King Kreesa will be going for a New York-bred grand slam of sorts as he seeks to add the Cole to victories last year in the Kingston and Mohawk and last month in the West Point, in which he beat Lubash by a head.
The West Point represented King Kreesa’s first start in more than eight months, and he proved extremely game, fending off the challenge from the in-form Lubash. The West Point marked King Kreesa’s first start for David Donk, who had to deal with multiple foot issues in getting the gelding back to the races.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 7 King Kreesa. Trainer David Donk is 3 for 47 with a $0.37 ROI over the past five years in turf routes with last-out winners. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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“When he got headed, I was surprised he was fit enough to gut it out,” Donk said. “It showed how nice a horse he is.”
Donk said the race should only serve to move King Kreesa forward.
Lubash has dropped his last eight stakes tries, though he has finished second or third in his last five stakes attempts. He should appreciate the return to Belmont Park, where he has recorded 11 of his 18 career top-two finishes from 36 starts.
Kharafa is another who loves Belmont Park, running first or second in 9 of 11 starts, including a victory in last year’s Cole and this year’s Kingston.
Notacatbutallama has recorded his two highest career Beyer Speed Figures since trainer Todd Pletcher added blinkers two starts back. He was beaten a length when third in last month’s West Point.
Key contenders
King Kreesa (Last 3 Beyers: 99-100-32)
* Has won his last three New York-bred stakes, beating some combination of Lubash, Kharafa, and Notacatbutallama in all three.
* The 1 1/8 miles could be pushing the outer limits of his distance capabilities.
Kharafa (Last 3 Beyers: 92-98-99)
* As much as he loves Belmont Park, that is how much he despises Saratoga, where he finished third behind Notacatbutallama in an allowance race last out.
* Trainer Tim Hills said the highly charged atmosphere at Saratoga “really gets to him,” as opposed to Belmont, where things are more “laid-back.”
* Loses regular rider Javier Castellano, who is in Canada to ride Jack Milton in the Woodbine Mile. Picks up Luis Saez, who rode him to a second-place finish at Aqueduct in April.
Lubash (Last 3 Beyers: 99-98-97)
* Returns to Belmont, where he ran arguably the best race of his life July 13 in a stakes-caliber allowance race.
* His last stakes win came in the Grade 3 Fort Marcy here in May 2013.