Marbre Rose tough on turf

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: The richest race Thursday is scheduled for turf, but could be forced to the main track by inclement weather.

With the forecast calling for a 90 percent chance of rain, multi-race exotic bettors will be keenly interested to learn the fate of race 5, a $69,000 optional claimer with second-level allowance conditions that anchors the pick five and early pick four.

If it is run as scheduled as a two-turn mile on turf, Marbre Rose would be fine with some cut in the ground. Her maiden win in France last year was on soft turf, and her winning U.S. debut for Christophe Clement took place on a yielding course at Belmont.

Party Now, who led for six furlongs when fourth in the $200,000 Wonder Again Stakes in her last start, won a Keeneland allowance from a tough outside post on good turf in the spring, suggesting she would be unfazed by turf other than firm.

Trained by Shug McGaughey, Party Now would be a major pace factor along with Daddy’s Boo, who ships from Monmouth Park after two wire-to-wire wins for Greg Sacco.

If the race comes off the turf and is run as a one-turn mile out of the main-track chute, House Rules becomes the one to beat against fellow dirt-only entrants Lotsa Noodles and Holiday’s Jewel.

Since a maiden win at Gulfstream Park, House Rules has run almost exclusively in Grade 1 or Grade 2 stakes. The exception was a big allowance win at Saratoga, for which she earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 87 – five points higher than the winning figure for the Alabama a day earlier, a race Jimmy Jerkens had considered for House Rules.

“It would have been nice to take a crack at it, it just didn’t work out,” Jerkens said.

KEY CONTENDERS

MARBRE ROSE (Last Beyer: 88)

◗ The Irish-bred import shares top Beyer honors in the field with Party Now for her U.S. debut at seven furlongs.

◗ She was third in a pair of Group 3 stakes at one mile as a 2-year-old in France.

PARTY NOW (Last 3 Beyers: 82-88-84)

◗ After weakening late as second choice in the 1 1/8-mile Wonder Again, she cuts back to the distance of her last win and fastest performance.

HOUSE RULES (Last 3 Beyers: 74-87-73)

◗ She has won both of her starts this year versus non-stakes fillies by more than 12 combined lengths.

◗ Jerkens has a $3.86 return on investment with allowance horses in 2013-14.