Petey Cramer aims to keep Sharp's momentum going

Blindly betting the top three trainers – Tom Amoss, Joe Sharp, and Mike Stidham – after seven race days at this Fair Grounds meet would have resulted in a powerhouse rate of return. Never mind the fact that such a strategy would take all the fun and intrigue out of handicapping. Two of those barns, Sharp’s and Stidham’s, have contenders in the featured sixth race Saturday at Fair Grounds.

Sharp, who worked as an assistant trainer for Stidham before assuming a similar position with trainer Mike Maker and eventually going out on his own this year, sends out Petey Cramer, while Stidham has Forest Elf for this second-level, turf-sprint allowance with a $40,000 claiming option.

Sharp has four wins and two seconds ($4.27 return on investment) with his eight runners through Nov. 30, and two of those wins have come on grass. Petey Cramer is the 5-2 favorite on the track’s morning line, but though it feels almost foolish to side against Sharp and Stidham (the latter sported a gaudy 12-4-4-1 record entering this week’s action), there is one under-the-radar horse with a chance to upset the shorter prices.

KEY CONTENDERS

Billy Two Hats (Last 3 Beyers: 55-57-47)

◗ See the Beyer Speed Figures listed here and you know the horse will offer value. None of those three recent races came on turf, which he needs for his best.

◗ The cliché “if it weren’t for bad luck, he’d have no luck at all” fits Billy Two Hats’s turf-sprint form from last season at Fair Grounds.

◗ Note that the capable Steve Margolis barn still has this horse in for the same $40,000 claim price that current connections paid one year ago. They’re keeping the faith.

Petey Cramer (Last 3 Beyers: 79-66-77)

◗ He makes his second start with Sharp and last out finished second to the good sprinter Saint Leon, a better horse than Petey Cramer meets here.

◗ Like Maker, his former boss, Sharp has a way of getting recent arrivals in his barn to run back to peak form achieved some time ago. For instance, Petey Cramer has a three-race Beyer sequence of 87-91-86 from earlier this year, and it would be no surprise if he jumps back into that performance range again Saturday.

Forest Elf (Last 3 Beyers: 84-84-84)

◗ He keeps running the same race and has worked sharply since shipping to New Orleans, suggesting a similar effort is in the offing.

◗ Claimed for $25,000 six starts ago, he’s entered under the race’s allowance condition, a positive signal from his connections.

Eramia has fracture

Jockey Richard Eramia, who hurt his shoulder in a spill Nov. 29, had hoped to return to riding next week but was diagnosed Wednesday with a small fracture in his shoulder and will be out about six weeks, according to his agent, Rick Mocklin.