Leadem in Ken hits the road in search of another stakes win

ALTOONA, Iowa – Leadem in Ken, who dominated Fonner Park’s $75,000 Bosselman/Gus Fonner Stakes on April 26 by nine lengths, storms the Midwest again for Monday’s $75,000 Jim Rasmussen Memorial Stakes.

Shipping to Prairie Meadows from his Louisville, Ky., base, the Mike Maker-trained Leadem in Ken is steadily improving and seeks to solidify his role as traveling stakes performer against eight solid rivals. Jockey Jesus Castanon makes the trek from Kentucky to ride the Sky Mesa colt.

Fellow Kentucky-based runners Right to Vote and The Best Glacier head the evenly matched competition. Right to Vote, conditioned by Ron Moquett, scored a half-length win in Oaklawn’s Essex Handicap over the Rasmussen’s 1 1/16-mile distance Feb. 15. The gutsy pacesetter is set to rebound after fading to sixth behind Will Take Charge in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap.

The Best Glacier, trained by Tom Amoss for Prairie Meadows perennial leading owner Maggi Moss, rides a three-race win streak into the Rasmussen and looks ready for a return to stakes-level competition.

Big Looie, who was sharp when beating nine Illinois-bred foes by 2 1/2 lengths in Hawthorne’s Milwaukee Avenue Handicap on April 26, makes the trip down Interstate 80 from Arlington for trainer Christine Janks. The meet’s leading rider, David Mello, will seek to use the veteran gelding’s tactical speed to good effect.

The locally based contingent is made up of the consistent Chris Hartman-trained pair of No Spin and Kid Sidney, and Dreaming Blue, who represents the high-percentage tandem of owner Danny Caldwell and trainer Federico Villafranco. Caldwell, who leads the owners’ standings here following a 14-for-29 start, hopes Dreaming Blue can bounce back to his excellent 2013 form.

The capable pair of Hattaash, a Chicago-based closer from Cheryl Winebaugh’s stable, and Evan’s Calling, a winner of three route races in a row at Oaklawn Park this year, also will line up.

Wild Rose: McPeek ships in two

The Ken McPeek-trained duo of Flashy American, a 5 1/2-length winner of the 2013 Iowa Distaff, and Hitechnoweenie, victorious by three lengths in the 2013 Panthers Stakes here, lead the charge in the $50,000 Wild Rose, a 1 1/16-mile test for fillies and mares. According to McPeek’s Churchill Downs-based stable, both were to be sent up to Altoona on Sunday.

Trainer Donnie Von Hemel leads over two fillies, Hung the Moon and Custody, and the late-rallying mare Clarinda in the hope of adding valuable black type to their records. Custody, who shows of trio of strong five-furlong breezes over this surface recently, was sixth, beaten just a length, in the March 1 Jersey Lilly on Sam Houston’s turf course.

Phonybooksnrecords, Itsallinthefamily, and Lock N Lola all possess tactical speed and likely will vie for the lead.

Phonybooksnrecords, shipping in from the Lexington, Ky., Mercury Equine Center for trainer Eric Reed, set solid fractions when fifth in Santa Anita’s Santa Barbara Handicap, a Grade 3 turf race April 13. Itsallinthefamily, third in Oaklawn’s Carousel Stakes on April 6, tries to stretch her speed around two turns for the first time.

Both stakes are part of a special Memorial Day card during this track’s only five-day racing week of the season. First post is 1 p.m. Central.