Litfin: Some may benefit from wet

Friday, May 9, preview

Turf conditions

Races 2, 6, and 9 have been taken off the turf and will be run on the main track, which was sloppy during morning training hours. Races 3 and 7 remain on turf, but race 7 has been moved to the inner turf. The rails are set at 18 feet on both courses, which are labeled “good.”

Four allowance races

Nowadays, four allowance/optional-claiming races on a weekday program is something of a rarity, but that is the case Friday.

In race 2, a preliminary allowance now on the main track, conditions favor Dighton, a dirt-only entrant who won twice at Belmont’s 2013 spring meet in slop and mud. He will likely have to run down Monster Mash, a lightly raced 5-year-old by Ghostzapper who comes off two vastly improved performances for new trainer Jeremiah Englehart.

Race 3 has advanced non-winners-of-four conditions and admits non-winners of a turf stake in 2014, which is to say it’s open to just about all comers other than the very top of the division. Bio Pro and Slim Shadey make their first starts since the Grade 2 San Marcos, a race the latter had won twice previously. Both 6-year-olds were purchased after that race and turn back from 10 to seven furlongs. The course conditions could aid The Brothers War, whose three wins in France were all recorded on soft or “good-to- soft” ground.

The going might also suit Balashkova in race 7, as the Montjeu filly makes her U.S. debut for Chad Brown, who has won with four of his first five grass starters at the meet. Her maiden win as a first-time starter was on heavy ground, and judging from the comment lines, she has some positional speed.

Race 8 offers a pot of $85,000 to five older runners going a mile out of the chute, and all except Don Dulce have won over off going.

Piquant ships in for Parx-based trainer Guadalupe Preciado, who took last Sunday’s Gold Fever Stakes with Favorite Tale. Assuming an alert break from the inside post, he might be the controlling speed in his third start of the year.

Irsaal and Cease are in for the $80,000 tag.