Prairie Bayou Stakes matches synthetic aces vs. classy wild cards

Tapeta often serves as a great equalizer. Snapper Sinclair and Rushie have never raced over a synthetic surface during their distinguished careers, whereas lesser lights such as Hush of a Storm and Betwithbothhands tend to raise their game a few notches when unloosed over Tapeta.

Therein lies the main storyline to the $100,000 Prairie Bayou, the Saturday night feature at Turfway Park in northern Kentucky. Snapper Sinclair, an earner of more than $1.85 million, and Rushie, a Grade 2 winner, both will be trying out Tapeta for the first time, while Hush of a Storm (3 for 4 on synthetics) and Betwithbothhands (4 for 8) are proven entities over the surface.

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Somewhere between those extremes are capable sorts such as Big Dreaming and Cross Border, two more contenders in a well-matched field of 11 3-year-olds and up in the 1 1/16-mile Prairie Bayou.

“It looks like a really competitive spot,” Michael McCarthy, trainer of Rushie, said earlier this week from California. “Obviously the thing about our horse is whether or not he can handle the Tapeta. He prefers a tighter surface, and that’s what he’ll get. We’re just hoping he runs to his works, and if he does, he should be tough.”

Under the supervision of McCarthy assistant Justin Curran, Rushie has been working swiftly over the Churchill Downs main track. The gray colt ran third last year in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby and Grade 2 Blue Grass at Keeneland prior to winning the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile at Churchill on the 2020 Kentucky Derby undercard.

Snapper Sinclair (post 4, Rafael Bejarano), first or second in 16 of 35 starts, was no factor in his latest race, the Nov. 6 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar. The 6-year-old horse has jumped up with the occasional big one, however, and must be respected on class alone.

Big Dreaming (post 2, Gerardo Corrales) tipped his hand with a four-length allowance triumph in his Tapeta debut two weekends ago at Turfway. Running back to that effort, which earned him a 97 Beyer Speed Figure, would put the Wayne Catalano-trained colt in the mix.

Cross Border (post 8, Alex Achard) went 1 for 9 over synthetics prior to coming under the care of Mike Maker. Since then, the 7-year-old has become a Grade 2 winner while amassing most of his million-dollar-plus bankroll by racing exclusively on grass, which often translates to good things when switching to Tapeta.

Outside Prairie Bayou possibilities besides Hush of a Storm and Betwithbothhands include Megacity and Mr Dumas, the respective one-three finishers in a Keeneland turf allowance. Megacity earned a 97 Beyer for his win.

This is the 26th running of the Prairie Bayou, which honors the gelding who won the Preakness and Jim Beam Stakes during his 3-year-old season of 1993. It’s the fifth of eight races on a Saturday night card that starts at 6:15 p.m. Eastern. Post time for the feature is 8:14.

The holiday meet runs through Dec. 31, after which three more months of Turfway action ensue with a 2022 winter-spring meet that starts Jan. 1.