Moquett eyes another De Francis Dash win with improving Hymn

When trainer Ron Moquett won the 2015 edition of the Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash at Laurel Park with Gentleman’s Bet, the race was still clinging to some of its former glory as one of the preeminent dirt sprints on the East Coast. Now a $175,000 stakes, it may not be what it once was, but Moquett is still one of several trainers intent on honoring the race and has shipped in the 4-year-old gelding Hymn in search of his first stakes victory.

“We hold this race in high regard,” Moquett said. “It’s a traditional race, and to me, those kinds of races with that history mean a little bit more. I always seek those out with a horse that we’re trying to prove.”

The six-furlong Dash will be the feature on an 11-race card at Laurel that will also include three $125,000 stakes. All four stakes purses on the card have been increased by $25,000.

Hymn might not be Kelly Kip or Thor’s Echo, legendary sprinters who won the Dash when it was a graded stakes, but he is an honest contender who has made great strides since being gelded in April. After back-to-back allowance wins at Oaklawn Park and Churchill Downs, he could be ready to step back up in a field of 10 older sprinters.

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“He just wasn’t super consistent, and we hoped that [gelding him] would do the trick and help him as a racehorse,” Moquett said. “We’re happy with the progression we’ve seen so far.”

When Faust won back-to-back allowances at Oaklawn earlier this year, trainer Steve Asmussen reached the same conclusion as Moquett and entered his 4-year-old in the Grade 3 Maryland Sprint on May 16. He finished second by a neck behind Bring the Smoke.

Asmussen pushed his colt again at Saratoga earlier this month, but the Grade 3 True North proved to be a step too far. He finished well behind Book’em Danno and Bentornato.

“I think the True North was too fast a race for him, and he did come out of it in good shape,” Asmussen said. “With him running very positively at Laurel in the Maryland Sprint, we thought this was a solid chance for him. It came up a competitive field, but he’s a very big horse that’ll be able to hold his own.”

Pentathlon, the winner of the $150,000 Army Mule at Gulfstream Park in March, could not cut it behind Antiquarian in the Grade 3 Westchester at Aqueduct last month. The Shug McGaughey trainee will ship for his third career start at six furlongs.

Celtic Contender seemed ready to contend in the Maryland Sprint after earning a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure in an allowance in March, but he was forced back to sixth in the early going and failed to fire. Trainer Hamilton Smith said a sharp work on May 9 took more out of him than he intended, but he has since recovered.

“In that allowance, he really impressed me, the way he ran within himself,” Smith said. “He’s met some tough competition all the way and he’s got a tough race here Saturday as well.”

Trainer Robert Bailes said he was not sure if three-time stakes winner Slam Notion will run. Gary Capuano said he will scratch Haileysfirstnotion.

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