SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Abaan has defeated L’Imperator the previous two times they have met. Arch Kingsley, the trainer of L’Imperator, believes his horse could flip the script Wednesday at Saratoga when the two meet again in the Grade 1, $150,000 A.P. Smithwick Memorial Steeplechase going 2 3/8 miles over National fences. In last October’s Foxwood Champion Hurdle at Far Hills, L’Imperator finished third, 23 lengths behind Abaan. Kingsley felt the turf was too soft for L’Imperator that day. In March, at the Carolina Cup in Camden, L’Imperator was beaten 3 1/4 lengths by Abaan in a race where Kingsley felt L’Imperator made a premature move. “With a turn to go he got lit up and he grabbed his rider and basically joined the leaders and took him to the front and was doing too much,” Kingsley said. :: Gain a competitive edge at Saratoga with DRF's premier handicapping data — purchase our meet packages today and bet with confidence. L’Imperator comes into the Smithwick off a two-length victory in the Grade 1 Beverly Steinman Steeplechase at Aqueduct on June 20. The Steinman had been scheduled for June 9 at Saratoga but was postponed when rain forced the cancellation of turf racing. The extra time enabled L’Imperator to get over a foot abscess and he got a beautiful trip under Jordan Gainford. Kingsley noted that L’Imperator has a somewhat unusual way of running, keeping his head very low to the ground, and Gainford heeded his trainer’s instructions on how best to ride the gelding. “If you try to get in his mouth a little bit he’s going to take off,” Kingsley said. “I told Jordan, ‘He’s going to try to put his head on the floor – let him – it’ll be a little bit unnerving, just don’t grab him’ and he followed instructions beautifully.” Gainford, who rides in Ireland, is coming back to ride L’Imperator in the Smithwick. On Sunday, L’Imperator worked a half-mile in 52.97 seconds over the Oklahoma turf course, in company with Cibolian. L’Imperator did get his final quarter in 23.52 after loping along the first part. Abaan, like L’Imperator, has morphed from a graded stakes winner over the flat to a successful jumper. Abaan won the Grade 3 William L. McKnight at Gulfstream in 2022 and was a 7 1/2-length maiden winner at Saratoga in 2021. He has won four consecutive jump races, though he’s run in two four-horse fields and one three-horse field. Abaan had been entered in the Steinman for June 9 but didn’t enter back because trainer Kate Dalton had shipped the horse up from her base in South Carolina and didn’t want to ship home and back again before Saratoga. Dalton isn’t sure the extra time between races necessarily benefits Abaan, as his last race was May 11. “It might have been a slightly bad thing,” she said. “We’ve ended up really training him a lot with nowhere to go. He’s a little bit over training at this point though he’s doing all his training very well. He’s getting bored now. It’s about to get interesting, I hope.” Abaan, who will be ridden by Kate’s husband, Bernie, is the 158-pound highweight, spotting four pounds to L’Imperator and six to 18 pounds to the five other runners in the field. The Irish-bred Pickanumber, trained by Leslie Young, makes his U.S. debut after winning four of his last five starts in Great Britain. Ziggle Pops (third), Freddy Flintshire (sixth), and West Newton (eighth) all finished behind L’Imperator in the Steinman. Freddy Flintshire was third in last year’s Smithwick for trainer Keri Brion, who also sends out Going Country, the runner-up to Snap Decision in the Grade 1 Jonathan Sheppard here in 2022. The Smithwick goes as the first race on a nine-race program that begins at 1:10 p.m. and includes the $150,000 Statue of Liberty division of the New York Stallion Stakes. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.