Lady Fog Horn, Bucchero looking for repeats

Lady Fog Horn won the $150,000 Frances Slocum Stakes for Indiana-bred female dirt-route horses one year ago, and Bucchero won the To Much Coffee, the corresponding race for males, on the same card. Both return Saturday on closing day at Indiana Grand for repeat bids in those races.

Lady Fog Horn has been solid enough this season, although not quite the same horse that tore through Indiana-bred competition in 2015. Bucchero is a sprinter at heart, and though his talent can carry him around two turns in the right spot, the To Much Coffee might not be such a race.

The Frances Slocum, race 7, drew a full field of 12, and the race, starting with Carmalley Chrome on the fence, is packed with pace. That’s fine for Lady Fog Horn, the 8-5 morning-line favorite, who presses in slower-paced routes but can stalk when the tempo turns quicker. Lady Fog Horn won the 2015 Slocum by more than seven lengths, but the competition this year runs deeper, and Lady Fog Horn, odds-on and with no apparent excuse, finished second Oct. 5 in the Richmond Stakes.

That race, like Saturday’s, was contested on dirt, and while Lady Fog Horn remains competent on that surface, her preference for grass might be stronger this season than a year ago. Four starts into her 2016 campaign, Lady Fog Horn doesn’t figure to improve much, and bettors must decide whether her current performance level justifies a short price.

She Mabee Wild beat Lady Fog Horn a head in the Richmond, but it’s fair to wonder if She Mabee Wild can pair up career-best performances less than one month apart. Heart’s Song, who never has finished worse than third in five Indiana Grand main-track starts, holds some appeal at playable odds, though it’s curious that she ran in a Keeneland allowance race less than two weeks ago with this rich spot on the horizon.

Bucchero breaks from the rail in the To Much Coffee, race 8, and will head straight to the front under leading rider Fernando De La Cruz. But while he stayed two turns to win this race a year ago, his most recent route try, albeit on turf, produced a fourth-place finish at a short price. The gate also will be full for the To Much Coffee, and there are pace factors to soften up Bucchero, who most recently ran 11th at Keeneland on Oct. 8 after getting into a speed duel in the Woodford Stakes, a turf sprint.

Trainer Mike Lauer has two solid chances in Badabing Badaboom and Mister Pollard. Mister Pollard has run below form in his last two starts but was second in the 2015 To Much Coffee and could break through at a price Saturday with one of his better showings. Badabing Badaboom, a 3-year-old, has four wins and a nose loss in his five tries around two turns on dirt. He has a handy stalking style, should get a favorable trip, and can win the To Much Coffee at close to double-digit odds.

◗ Gifted Justice has won his last two starts, including the Hillsdale Stakes, at sprint distances, but is bred for a route and has a good chance to stay two turns in the $100,000 Indiana Futurity for 2-year-olds Saturday.

A son of Haynsefield, a Grade 1 winner over 1 1/4 miles, and a mare by Include, a Grade 1 winner over 1 3/16 miles, Gifted Justice has been the first-call leader in all three of his races, but the sense remains that he’ll have stamina to accompany his strong early speed. He’s 7-2 on the morning line but seems certain to be bet lower since in the Hillsdale he beat Ron, who’s listed as the 7-5 morning-line choice Saturday.

◗ The $100,000 Miss Indiana, for Indiana-bred 2-year-old fillies at one mile and 70 yards on dirt, looks destined for a pace implosion. The two fillies who look most capable of picking up the pieces, Marina’s Legacy and Chevy to the Levy, both wound up as also-eligibles, and barring their participation, perhaps Fran’s Ransom is the one to rate off the pace and rally to victory.