Mountaineer: Two veterans face off going a mile

Harlan Street and Tend, a pair of 7-year-old geldings with a fondness for sprinting, will try to turn back the clock and remember how to handle two turns in Monday night’s featured ninth race at Mountaineer Racetrack.

The no-conditions, $33,700 allowance race, which goes as race 9 on a 10-race card, drew a field of six older males and one mare going a flat mile.

Harlan Street, based in Kentucky with trainer Albert Skinner, has not been worse than second in nine previous starts at Mountaineer, including seven wins. He returned from 6 1/2 months on the sidelines on March 16 to score by two lengths in a six-furlong allowance, earning an 88 Beyer Speed Figure.

Although Harlan Street is 2 for 6 at a mile, he hasn’t won at the distance since December 2009 at Delta Downs.

The distance drought is even more pronounced for the Joe Woodard-trained Tend. He is 2 for 3 at a mile, but his last win at that distance came way back in November 2008 at Fair Grounds. Tend, who has 2 wins and a second in 3 previous races locally, stretches out following an off-the-pace three-quarter-length score in a five-furlong allowance on March 2. That race was worth a 74 Beyer Figure.

The Beulah Park-based Dance Floor Maniac and Polytrack specialist Max Silverhammer show the best recent two-turn form.

Dance Floor Maniac shipped in from Ohio to wire a group of $10,000 claimers two weeks ago as the 6-5 favorite. Max Silverhammer, who has recorded 5 of his 6 lifetime wins on synthetic surfaces, is just 1 for 6 on dirt. He was a stakes winner on Polytrack at Turfway Park in 2011 and has a win and a second-place in routes at Turfway in two of his last three starts.

The field also includes Jemaru, who owns a 10-for-25 record at Mountaineer. He rallied to finish second, two lengths behind Harlan Street, last time out and is a six-time winner going around two turns, including a win over a sloppy track locally in November.

Promised Mandate, a 5-year-old mare, owns some back class. Last fall at Presque Isle Downs, she was fourth, beaten only a length by champion female sprinter Musical Romance in the Grade 2 Presque Isle Masters. She will need to improve upon her recent races at Tampa Bay Downs in which she failed to surpass a 70 Beyer in four starts.