Power Alert, Something Extra square off again in Jaipur

ELMONT, N.Y. – In one of the widest-open races on the card, a baker’s dozen will line up for the 32nd running of the Grade 3, $300,000 Jaipur Invitational. The six-furlong turf dash is scheduled for the Widener course and attracted the largest field among 10 stakes races on the star-studded program. It is the fourth of 13 races, with post time set for 1:15 p.m. Eastern.

Power Alert and Something Extra have taken turns beating each other in Kentucky recently and look like the primary threats in this rubber match. The Australian import Power Alert has won 3 of 4 starts since coming to the United States, the lone defeat coming on good turf as the favorite in the Shakertown. He rebounded to post a wire-to-wire win the Turf Sprint in course-record time at Churchill Downs, earning a 101 Beyer Speed Figure.

“He got the track he likes,” trainer Brian Lynch said. “I thought it would be easier on him in the Shakertown, but he turned it around. The way the track was playing, I thought he’d have to be close to the lead.”

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Power Alert originally was targeting the Evangeline Downs Turf Sprint, which was rescheduled after heavy rain in Louisiana last Saturday.

After running second in the 2013 Shakertown and third last year, Something Extra sped clear early and never looked back in this year’s Shakertown on a Keeneland course that had taken heavy rain a day earlier.

“Funny, we always thought he liked really, really hard, firm turf, but he handled this,” trainer Gail Cox said.

Drawn on the far outside is Mosler, a $1.05 million yearling buy who is fresh off his first stakes win in the opening-day Elusive Quality for Bill Mott.

Mosler went through his preliminary conditions on dirt nicely enough but raised his game several lengths to take the grassy Elusive Quality decisively with a new Beyer top of 99.

“We’ve considered turf in the past, but he’d run well enough on the dirt, so there wasn’t really a reason to try it right away,” assistant trainer Leanna Willaford said. “He was very impressive.”

The diverse field also includes Ageless and Shrinking Violet, a couple of hard-knocking mares with the credentials to contend.

Ageless was beaten less than a length in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint and comes off a rail-skimming score in the $100,000 The Very One on the Preakness undercard.

Shrinking Violet was picked up for a mere $4,000 by Wesley Ward at the 2010 Keeneland November breeding stock sale. The $400,000 earner gets a switch back to Kent Desormeaux, who was aboard for her 10-1 upset victory in the Grade 2 Monrovia in January.