Pimlico: Ben's Cat eyes fifth Mister Diz win

The return of Maryland-bred millionaire Ben’s Cat and defending Dahlia Stakes champion Embarr highlight the first two turf stakes of Pimlico’s meet Saturday.

Ben’s Cat, who is closing in on $2 million in earnings, will launch his 8-year-old campaign when he seeks to win the $75,000 Mister Diz for the fifth time. The five-furlong turf sprint, restricted to Maryland-breds, goes as race 7 as the first of three stakes on a 10-race program that begins at 1:10 p.m. Eastern.

Ben’s Cat is following the same schedule as a year ago, when he came off a win sprinting on dirt in the Fabulous Strike at Penn National the previous fall to score his fourth Mister Diz victory. He was the 2-5 favorite. Owned and trained by the 81-year-old King Leatherbury, Ben’s Cat prepped for this year’s Mister Diz, his first start since Nov. 27, with a bullet half-mile work from the gate in 49 seconds over a muddy Laurel Park main track last Saturday.

Julian Pimentel, who has been aboard for 16 of the 24 victories Ben's Cat has recorded, retains the mount Saturday.

“I worked him last Saturday and he doing well,” Pimentel said. “He is very popular around here and there is just something about him. He is a really unbelievable horse and has matured so much throughout the years. He can be close to the pace or if they are going too fast up front sit back and make that one move when he sees the horses in front of him and wants to go get them.”

A P Elvis appears the most serious threat to Ben’s Cat. The 7-year-old A P Elvis is 2 for 3 on Pimlico’s turf course and has a recency advantage, having raced three times this season, all at Gulfstream Park. His best showing in two tries against Ben’s Cat last season came when he finished 3 3/4 lengths directly behind third-place Ben’s Cat in the Grade 3 Turf Monster Handicap at Parx.

The $100,000 Dahlia, a one-mile turf event for fillies and mares, pits two mares attempting to fire fresh, just as they did a year ago.

Embarr, owned and trained by Susan Cooney, returned from a five-month layoff and overcame a stumble at the start to win last year’s Dahlia by three-quarters of a length. She went winless in eight subsequent starts, although in six of those losses, Embarr was facing Grade 2 or Grade 3 competition.

Misty in Malibu came off a five-month freshening to lead wire to wire in a first-level allowance at Pimlico last April. She will be making her first start since clearing her second allowance condition going a mile in October. Her high-percentage trainer, Rodney Jenkins, is 5 for his last 29 (17 percent) with horses back in 61 to 180 days in turf routes.

The trainer stat that jumps off the page, however, regards Shug McGaughey and his Dahlia entrant, Divine Luck, who comes off a second-place finish in an optional claimer at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 27. McGaughey’s record with shippers returning from a 31- to 60-day layoff in non-graded turf stakes is 6 for his last 10 (60 percent), with a $5.27 return on investment, which makes Divine Luck dangerous despite her 1 for 16 record.

The field of 11 includes a three-horse uncoupled entry for trainer Graham Motion. The Motion trainees – Joy, Zucchini Flower, and Game Fair – all have not raced in more than 180 days. The best of the trio may be Joy, the winner of an overnight stakes at Delaware Park following a two-month layoff last summer.

◗ Steady N Love, the winner of the one-mile Caesar’s Wish against open company three weeks ago, looks best among five 3-year-old Maryland-bred fillies in the $75,000 Twixt at 1 1/16 miles on the main track.

* According to figures released Thursday by the Maryland Jockey Club, average daily handle at Laurel Park's winter meet dropped 19 percent from $1.8 to $1.5 million.