It was a year ago that Mercante had his coming-out party. Away from the races from July 2023 to November 2024 with an injury and transferred to trainer Brian Knippenberg, who had handled his rehabilitation, the gelding won his stakes debut in the Grade 3 Kentucky Cup Classic. Mercante finished second, beaten less than a length, in the Grade 1 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs in his following start. He went on to win the Grade 3 Arlington and finish third in the Grade 3 River City, both at Churchill, while earning more than $750,000 on the year. “It’s incredible, his kind of comeback story that sort of made traction with the public,” Knippenberg said. “The fact that he’s sound enough to come back for another season is just a blessing.” Now 6, Mercante gets that season started in Saturday’s $300,000, 1 1/8-mile Kentucky Cup Classic at Turfway Park. While he has been working steadily at the Skylight Training Center, he comes in without a prep race. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Knippenberg considered, but then passed on, the Dust Commander Stakes on Feb. 14 at Turfway after winter weather disrupted training in Kentucky in the lead-up. He then entered his star in an allowance on Feb. 27 but ultimately scratched. “We sort of targeted the Dust Commander to prep for this race, and then with the Kentucky weather, we missed two weeks, and it was an insanely tight schedule to make the Dust Commander,” Knippenberg said. “The weather didn’t cooperate. Then we entered this allowance race, but it was a few weeks to the Kentucky Cup, and I just thought, ‘I don’t want to do that with him.’ ” While Mercante is not the sort to sparkle in his breezes, he has been “a beast” in his day-to-day gallops, said Knippenberg, and full of energy around the barn – a positive sign, despite the antics. “He’s unbearable around the barn right now, which is how he always is when he runs big,” Knippenberg said. “Rearing up and striking and kicking and playing, really sort of hard to handle around the barn, and that’s always a good sign. So I really think he’s on track to run a huge one. He’s feeling great.” Mercante may need to run another huge one to top a tough field, including those who prepped in the spots he passed on. Grade 2 winner Honor Marie won the Dust Commander by 4 1/2 lengths in one of his better career efforts. Two weeks later, stakes-placed Tapit Shoes prevailed by a nose over multiple stakes winner Wadsworth in the Feb. 27 allowance. This field also includes Endlessly, who won the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby in 2024; multiple graded stakes winner Utah Beach; and stakes winner Willy D’s. One of the targets for the late runners could be Wadsworth, who prompted the pace before narrowly missing on Feb. 27, his first start since December 2024. He won multiple races at Turfway early in his career. “He’s probably going to be forward based on what he showed last time,” trainer Brad Cox said. “He was sharp off the layoff. I think he got something out of it. He was ready to run, but there’s nothing like a race to tighten them down.” :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  Endlessly won four stakes on turf and synthetic at ages 2 and 3, culminating in his four-length win in the Ruby. He finished ninth in the 2024 Kentucky Derby and is winless in seven starts since. “We’ve had a hard time getting on the same page with Endlessly ever since the Kentucky Derby,” trainer Michael McCarthy said. “He trains well. He could not look any better. We’re hoping that a return to the scene of his biggest day kindles some memories for him and he takes to the synthetic as he did two years ago.” Latonia Stakes The 1 1/16-mile sister race to the Kentucky Cup Classic, the $250,000 Latonia Stakes, is a rematch for Literate and Devassa. Literate has had a powerhouse winter at Turfway, winning the Likely Exchange Stakes on Jan. 10 and then romping by 10 3/4 lengths in the Wintergreen Stakes on Feb. 28. “She loves the track,” Cox said. “She got a good setup last time, but I also thought she was devastating. She just dominated.” Devassa, owned and trained by Paulo Lobo, was second by a half-length in the Likely Exchange but a well-beaten third in the Wintergreen. Lobo attributed it to a disrupted training schedule this winter. “Probably for her, it did affect her,” Lobo said. “She lost almost two weeks of training. Everybody lost it, but it’s very individual. Some horses like it, some don’t.” Lobo feels Devassa will be tighter for Saturday’s showdown despite not breezing since the Wintergreen. “I prefer to not breeze her because she’s very aggressive in the morning,” he said. “She puts herself in a very strong gallop every day.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.