Pletcher, Cox, Maker have contenders in two key Wednesday stakes at Horseshoe Indianapolis
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You could confuse a midweek May afternoon of racing in central Indiana with a Saturday in New York or Kentucky.
Trainers Todd Pletcher, Brad Cox, and Mike Maker have key players in two 3-year-old turf stakes Wednesday at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Jockeys Irad Ortiz Jr. and Luis Saez will pop in for a rare Indiana appearance.
Pletcher has started more than 24,000 horses during his Hall of Fame career, but has been part of only three races at Horseshoe Indianapolis. He runs the possible favorite, Dude N Colorado, in the $150,000 Caesars Stakes. The Caesars, carded for one mile and open to 3-year-olds, drew a strong field of 11 runners and immediately follows the $150,000 Horseshoe Indianapolis, for 3-year-old fillies at one mile.
Ortiz has the mount on Dude N Colorado, a front-running English-bred son of Uncle Mo who exits a disappointing eighth-place finish in the Transylvania Stakes at Keeneland last month. Dude N Colorado did good winter work over the patchy Gulfstream grass course, running third behind talented stablemate Major Dude in the Kitten’s Joy Stakes and winning the ungraded Colonel Liam on March 4.
Dude N Colorado got a perfect pressing trip in the Kitten’s Joy and, despite breaking from post 12 in the Transylvania, Ortiz managed to work his mount into the No. 2 path before the first turn. Dude N Colorado chased eventual winner Mo Stash until midstretch, ran out of gas, and checked in eighth. He races on Lasix for the first time, but will be negative value with Ortiz named and with the chance of a demanding pace scenario.
Maker runs two, and on paper it looks like Top Recruit, coming out of a dirt sprint and into his grass debut, will go to the lead. That could work well for Maker’s better chance, Worthington, who returns to turf, likely his preferred surface, after a dud on the Tampa dirt and a modest run on Turfway Tapeta. Worthington won grass races at Kentucky Downs and Churchill at age 2 and was third Jan. 7 in the Dania Beach at Gulfstream.
Worthington hasn’t settled especially well while racing forwardly and in the clear and looks like a horse who would benefit from getting cover from a stalking position. Saez rode him to the Churchill win and the Gulfstream third and is back aboard Wednesday.
Cox operates a productive Indiana string and has live chances in both stakes. His horse for the Caesars, Wadsworth, never has raced on turf, but twice worked on grass last month at Churchill and has a grass-leaning pedigree. His dam, Dickinson, was a Grade 1 winner on turf. Wadsworth, a Godolphin homebred, debuted at Saratoga but showed little in three dirt starts last season. He came to life racing on Turfway Tapeta over the winter and exits a solid fourth-place finish behind victorious Two Phil's in the Jeff Ruby Steaks.
“Those turf works were very, very good, although he has always been a very good work horse,” Cox said. “I think he probably is a true grass horse, as much as I don’t want him to be.”
Wadsworth races without blinkers for the first time since his debut. His positional speed and post 1 could land him and jockey Florent Geroux in excellent position.
Though Midnight Rising came from far back to finish third in a closer-dominated first-level turf allowance on closing day at Keeneland, that race’s eighth-place finisher, Dunedin, merits a second look. Returning from a winter break, Dunedin was a decent closing third at Gulfstream in the Cutler Bay, and at Keeneland he got stuck behind a wall of horses in upper stretch, never getting out while full of run.
“He just needs to run in a straight line,” trainer Kelsey Danner said. “He was slow to mature a little bit, but he does have some ability.”
Danner has a plausible winner, Mohawk Trail, in the Horseshoe Indianapolis. Mohawk Trail got a poor ride in her stakes debut, the Florida Oaks, hung wide with no cover on both turns and was sent early into a strong pace. Reserved off the pace April in the Sanibel Island at Gulfstream, she came with a good late, wide run for third in a race won by the highly promising Breath Away.
“I was really happy with how she closed,” Danner said. “You have to get her covered up.”
Cox also has a runner, Capella, another horse making her turf debut. Based in New York over the winter, Capella was just all right running third in the Busher and fourth in the Grade 3 Gazelle. Her sister, Bonny South, was a multiple graded-stakes winner on dirt, but there are plenty of grass influences in the female family of this Juddmonte Farms homebred.
In a Keeneland first-level turf allowance, Mrs. Astor, Ortiz riding on Wednesday for trainer Jonathan Thomas, finished a head in front of Safeen, Saez riding for trainer Eddie Kenneally. Those horses rate a chance, as do Erna and Work of Fiction in a closely matched contest.
*** Two $100,000 dirt sprint stakes restricted to 3-year-olds sired by Indiana stallions bookend the open stakes competition.
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