Lewisfield enters Maryland Sprint in best form of career

BALTIMORE – Following an arduous 10-start campaign at 4, Lewisfield has come back refreshed and at the top of his game. On Saturday at Pimlico, he will be favored over six rivals in the Grade 3, $150,000 Maryland Sprint, a six-furlong race in which he finished third to Switzerland a year ago.

Based with trainer Jeff Runco at Charles Town, Lewisfield was ultra-impressive in wiring the Maryland-restricted Not For Love Stakes at Laurel Park in 1:08.68 in March. He earned a 105 Beyer Speed Figure. In his most recent effort, the six-furlong Frank Whiteley Jr. at Laurel on April 20, he opened a clear lead on the far turn but could not contain Laki, who freaked and won by 3 1/2 lengths in 1:08.47. Laki earned a 108 Beyer, and Lewisfield, who was second, was credited with a 100.

Lewisfield’s 2019 Beyers are his best ever, and he is clearly the horse to beat Saturday under Arnaldo Bocachica, the leading rider at Charles Town.

The only other horse in the field to have cracked the century mark on the Beyer scale is Always Sunshine, who will be racing as a gelding for the first time. Always Sunshine ran back-to-back triple-digit Beyers in 2016. He earned a 104 in a third-level optional-claiming victory at Parx and then came right back in his next start to win the Maryland Sprint in the mud with a 103.

Trainer Ned Allard, who is stabled at Delaware Park after spending the past 22 years at Parx, is looking forward to Saturday’s race for Always Sunshine.

“He’s trained exceptionally well at Delaware, and this horse has always run well fresh,” Allard said.

Indeed, Always Sunshine won his career debut in 2015. In 2017, he took a Monmouth Park optional claimer in his first start of the year. In 2016, he was second in the Tom Fool at Aqueduct following a three-month break. He started off last year by finishing third by 1 1/2 lengths to Westwood in the Runhappy Stakes at Aqueduct.

Allard said Always Sunshine was gelded because “he was not going to be bred, and he was still kind of ‘rammy,’ so we thought we’d see how he’d do as a gelding.”

According to Allard, the procedure seems to have produced the desired results.

“His attitude is much more concentrated now,” Allard said. “He was still a little bit on the not-paying-attention side before we gelded him. I’m looking for one of his better races.”

Carol Cedeno, who has been working Always Sunshine at Delaware, has the mount.

Wentz and Proforma enter the Maryland Sprint in good form.

Wentz won a third-level optional-claiming sprint at Keeneland last time out for his new handler, Tyler Servis, who is 2 for 2 as a trainer. Tyler is the son of John Servis.

Proforma has made five of his last seven starts on turf for trainer Mike Stidham but is equally capable on dirt. He finished fast to be third in the 5 1/2-furlong King Leatherbury Stakes at Laurel in his last start and should appreciate the slightly longer distance Saturday.