Lost in the Fog matches synthetic-track speedsters Quick and Silver, Wellabled

This is the time of year when Quick and Silver seems to run his best. Quick and Silver will have to be at his best Monday at Golden Gate Fields against synthetic star Wellabled when he tries to win the Lost in the Fog Stakes for the second year in a row.

The $50,000 Lost in the Fog drew a field of eight older horses who will run six furlongs on the Tapeta main track.

Winter and early spring seem to agree with Quick and Silver. He is gunning for his third straight victory on Monday. Last year, he won the Lost in the Fog as the second race of a three-race win streak. In 2016, he had a win and a third in two starts in January and February.

“I don’t know if it’s the time of the year,” said Quick and Silver’s trainer, Bill Delia. “It’s just the way it comes up sometimes.”

Quick and Silver’s win streak began with victories in an optional claimer in December and an allowance race on Jan. 9, both at six furlongs at Golden Gate. Delia says the five-plus weeks between races is good for the 7-year-old Quick and Silver.

“He’s acting good, and we’ve given him some time between races,” said Delia. “He runs well fresh. He’s sharp and ready to go.”

He’d better be, because Wellabled looks as if he’s ready to go, too, and both do their best running on the front.

All five of Wellabled’s wins, including three stakes, have come on synthetic surfaces. He has won twice on the Arlington Polytrack, including the Grade 3 Arlington-Washington Futurity in 2016; once on the Presque Isle Downs Tapeta; and twice on the Turfway Park Polytrack.

Wellabled, 4, went to the sidelines for 51 weeks in November 2016 and missed most of his 3-year-old campaign last year. After running fourth in his comeback, he’s won two straight, both at Turfway Park, including a seven-length victory while earning a 107 Beyer in the 6 1/2-furlong Forego on Jan. 19.

After the race, trainer Larry Rivelli told Daily Racing Form’s Byron King: “He’s the most athletic, agile horse I’ve trained. He loves the synthetic tracks.”

If Quick and Silver and Wellabled compromise each other on the front, Tribal Storm and Anyportinastorm would be the most likely late-running beneficiaries. Completing the field are Sunset Dragunn, Pure Comedy, Percy’s Bluff, and Mongolian Saturday, an earner of $1.2 million and the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner.

Key Contenders

Quick and Silver, by Dunkirk

Last 3 Beyers: 88-86-71

◗ He drew the outside post, which is perfect for a speedster who has shown the ability to rate a bit.

◗ He has won 14 races – 13 of them at Golden Gate.

Wellabled, by Shackleford

Last 3 Beyers: 107-93-83

◗ He has earned the highest Beyer Speed Figures of his career in his last two starts – his first two with Lasix.