Pair of $5,000 claims look tough in Dowd Mile

If you claim a horse for $5,000 late in his 8-year-old season, you probably just hope the horse is worth $5,000. Owner Roy Reinke and trainer Aceo Salvador already have gotten considerably more out of that from Ted W.

Taken for $5,000 out of a Turfway Park claimer Dec. 19, Ted W has begun his 9-year-old campaign with three wins in three starts. His new connections brought him to Fonner Park, where Ted W never had raced before, and the aging gelding, from all the evidence, has enjoyed the experience. Feb. 23, he won a $7,500 claimer, followed by a $10,000 claiming win March 1 and a three-quarter-length score March 21 in the $15,000 Tondi Stakes. All those races were sprints, and now comes a start Wednesday in the $15,000 Dowd Mile, a prep for the $50,000 Bosselman Gus Fonner on April 29.

Razor-sharp Ted W has gotten a mile adequately in the past, although never one of the three-turn variety, as the distance is configured at Fonner. His greater challenge figures to be holding peak form for another start while probably facing stronger competition than he defeated in the Tondi.

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Nine others are entered, including the first four finishers in an open April 1 one-mile Fonner allowance race, all of whom could contend.

Trainer Marisa Black saddled the one-two finishers in that allowance race, Mr. Tickle and Blue Harbor, and Mr. Tickle could be favored in the Dowd Mile. Black claimed Mr. Tickle for herself last August at Remington for just $5,000 from the Karl Broberg barn, and Mr. Tickle has gone on to even better things than Ted W. His seven starts since the claim have yielded six victories, the lone loss a closing second to Blue Harbor this past winter at Sam Houston, and Mr. Tickle confidently handled the transition to the Fonner bullring in his April 1 start, running down Blue Harbor to win by a measured length.

Blue Harbor, claimed by Black from Broberg for $10,000 two races ago, also was making his Fonner debut, and it’s possible he was moved a touch early into a solid pace last time. It’s not out of the question he could reverse the decision with Mr. Tickle, while third-place Mas Mischief also can’t be discounted Wednesday at a longer price. Mas Mischief broke from post 7 last out and was caught wide on all three turns, plugging away willingly for third in his first Fonner race.

Thetrashmanscoming, fourth in the April 1 allowance, is a difficult read. He’s just a 4-year-old, and last summer was good enough to win the $65,000 Prairie Mile. Thetrashmanscoming didn’t start from August to February, and in three 2020 starts hasn’t looked the same horse as in 2019. He also looked lost early in his Fonner debut two weeks ago, dropping nearly 20 lengths off the leaders before coming with a steady run to finish fourth, a performance just good enough to make one wonder if Thetrashmanscoming is getting good again.