Midas Eyes part of a Sprint reunion

Trainer Bobby Frankel believes Midas Eyes lost the Breeders' Cup Sprint before the horses ever hit the track at Lone Star Park.

"He bit his tongue real hard in the paddock, and he had blood pouring out of his mouth," said Frankel, whose horse finished 10th behind Speightstown in the Sprint. "I'm hoping that's what stopped him. That and being so wide."

Midas Eyes shouldn't be wide Saturday, when he breaks from the rail in the Grade 1, $300,000 at Pimlico. Midas Eyes was one of 11 horses entered in the six-furlong race, which has been moved from Laurel Park while its racing surface undergoes reconstruction.

The De Francis will be the nightcap on a 10-race card that includes five other stakes. First post is 12:15 p.m.

Midas Eyes was made the slight favorite in the Sprint off back-to-back wins in an allowance race and the Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga. He is winless at six furlongs and may be compromised Saturday breaking from the rail. Edgar Prado, the former kingpin of Maryland, rides Midas Eyes, installed as the 2-1 morning-line favorite by track oddsmaker Frank Carulli.

Midas Eyes is one of four horses coming out of the Sprint to return in the De Francis. Clock Stopper (6th), Champali (7th), and Abbondanza (11th) are the others. The De Francis field also includes the top three finishers from last year's race: A Huevo, Shake You Down, and Gators N Bears.

Shake You Down was made the 4-5 favorite in last year's De Francis after finishing third in the Sprint. This year, Shake You Down enters the De Francis having not run since finishing last in the Bold Ruler Handicap at Belmont in May. Shake You Down, trained by Scott Lake, was listed at 8-1 on the morning line.

"I'd always rather be the hunted," Lake said. "Obviously, with him being off we haven't gotten the recognition that we did last year. When horses have the time off you are always curious to see if they come back the same. It looks like he has, but running is a different story."

Shake You Down, 4 for 4 at Pimlico, will break from post 5 and is reunited with Mike Luzzi.

When A Huevo won last year's De Francis, it marked just his second start in four years. This will be A Huevo's third start this year, having finished seventh in the Forego before coming back to win the West Virginia Breeders' Classic by 19 1/4 lengths at Charles Town on Oct. 9.

Trainer Todd Pletcher entered True Direction and Lion Tamer in the De Francis, but said only one would run. True Direction drew the 10 post, Lion Tamer the 11.

Saturday's card also features the Grade 3, $100,000 Laurel Futurity for juvenile colts. Defer, second to the unbeaten Rockport Harbor in the Nashua at Aqueduct, will stretch out around two turns for the first time. Defer, who drew the rail, will get Lasix and Jerry Bailey for the first time. Pletcher will go with either Funk, an allowance winner last out, or Killenaule, who has won his last three starts around two turns.

Bowman's Band, the 2003 Meadowlands Cup winner who finished 11th in the Breeders' Cup Classic, makes his final career start in the $100,000 Charles Hadry Stakes. Gygistar, a Grade 1 winner, is also in the 10-horse field.

He Loves Me, 4 for 4 at Pimlico, heads a 12-horse field in the Grade 3, $100,000 Anne Arundel Stakes for fillies and mares. The unbeaten Hear Us Roar faces seven juvenile fillies $100,000 Selima Stakes. Tight Spin will try to transfer her fabulous turf form to the dirt in a wide-open renewal of the $50,000 Stefanita Stakes at six furlongs.