The Man puts streak on line after lengthy layoff

Parx Racing will hold its first stakes races of the year Saturday, the Lyman and the Foxy J. G. They are $100,000 races for Pennsylvania-breds that will be run at seven furlongs.

The Lyman has come up particularly strong and features the return of The Man, who will put a seven-race win streak on the line while making his first start since September.

The Man is owned by Bob Baffert’s wife, Jill. He was sent to trainer John Servis last year following an almost two-year layoff and went on to go 6 for 6 in his home state.

He won the Banjo Picker over Favorite Tale in September, and came out of the race with a minor foot injury, and since there weren’t any statebred races on the horizon, was given a winter vacation. Servis has worked The Man eight times for his comeback, and he looks ready to fire.

But the Lyman is deeper than just The Man. Cowboy Mz has come into his own at age 4 for trainer Marcos Zulueta, and Todd Pletcher will be represented by Driven to Compete, who has won three straight and will be turning back in distance off a two-turn race.

Cowboy Mz is particularly interesting, as his form has improved following a three-month layoff. He has since gone wire to wire to win an open first-level allowance and a second-level Pa.-bred allowance.

In his last start, the Grade 3 General George at Laurel Park, Cowboy Mz led until deep stretch over a sloppy track in the snow before ending up on the wrong end of a tight five-horse finish, which was won by Something Awesome, the hero of last Saturday’s Grade 2 Charles Town Classic.

“He ran good, but I don’t think he likes a sloppy or wet track,” Zulueta said. “I think he will run better over a fast track.”

Cowboy Mz’s late 2017 layoff was the result of breathing difficulties. He had an entrapped epiglottis and underwent a tie-back medical procedure.

“I gave him a break because he was entrapped,” Zulueta said. “They did the surgery and he came back good.”

Zulueta, 49, has won 334 races – the vast majority at Parx – since he began training in 2011. Cowboy Mz is one of the best horses he has had, and success on Saturday will give Zulueta his fifth stakes win.

“Seven furlongs might be a little too long for him, but we are going to try it and see what happens,” he said.

Zulueta came to the United States by raft from his native Cuba when he was 21. He took a job as a hotwalker for Juan Serey and moved on to gallop horses for Alan Goldberg.

“In Cuba, I was working for Fidel Castro as a member of the Cuban equestrian team, riding jumpers,” Zulueta said. “I have worked around horses my whole life. I get to my barn at 3 or 4 in the morning, seven days a week, no matter what.”

The Foxy J. G. is a tricky race to handicap. Three of its most-accomplished entrants, Power of Snunner, Disco Rose, and Trace of Grace will be making their first start of the year.

Trace of Grace won her 2017 debut off an almost six-month layoff for trainer Bernie Houghton, and may hold a slim edge even though her last four victories have all come around two turns.

Power of Snunner has had a terrific career for trainer Timothy Kreiser, but she is 8 now and has 16 seconds to go along with her nine wins. She defeated Trace of Grace by a head last October in the 1 1/16-mile Plum Pretty Stakes at Parx.