To Much Coffee, Frances Slocum each draws a crowd

Like zombies under the moonlight, the Indiana-breds are emerging from the fields of Shelbyville surrounding Indiana Grand Racecourse.

Did someone say something about an era of short fields? The $150,000 Frances Slocum for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 mile on dirt attracted an overflow group of 13, while its brother race, the $150,000 To Much Coffee, same distance and same surface, drew a dozen. They’re carded as races 7 and 8 on the Wednesday program at Indiana Grand.

Operation Stevie is the To Much Coffee’s 2-1 morning-line favorite but should be viewed skeptically. This will be his third start in the To Much Coffee, and after finishing third in 2017 he was only sixth last year. In 2018, as is the case this year, Operation Stevie comes into this start after winning the Gus Grissom Stakes, which offers a six-figure purse but is open only to horses by Indiana sires, an added layer of restriction that makes the To Much Coffee a tougher spot.

Devil’s Due West and Little Kansas finished one-two in an Oct. 16 Indiana-bred allowance race, and both might have a shot at a mild upset. Devil’s Due West, like Operation Stevie, is a 7-year-old, and a year ago he finished fifth in the To Much Coffee. Devil’s Due West fell too far off the pace in that start and was making his ninth start of the season, where Wednesday he races for the seventh time in 2019. A fresher, happier Devil’s Due West could reproduce his last-start glory, where he ran off to a four-length win over Little Kansas.

Little Kansas has emerged this meet as a capable Indiana-bred allowance and stakes horse, and while he’s more proven in sprints than routes, a strong, contested pace – which on paper seems possible – could help his cause.

Cipriano Contreras trains Operation Stevie and sends out 7-5 morning-line favorite Expect Indy in the Frances Slocum. This chalk looks less vulnerable. Expect Indy romped last out in the Richmond Stakes, one of those races like the Gus Grissom restricted to Indiana-sired horses, but she’s proven equally effective in Indiana-bred stakes. Last November, she finished second in the Frances Slocum, beaten only by Piedi Bianchi, an East Coast-based filly with some actual graded stakes credentials behind her.

Marina’s Legacy exits the Grade 1 First Lady Stakes at Keeneland, a race won by Uni, who returned last Saturday to capture the Breeders’ Cup Mile. This is a staggering class drop, but Marina’s Legacy goes better on turf than dirt and her front-running style could run smack into some other pace players.