Rescheduled Forego, Valade stakes top card with big fields
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
After being hampered by winter weather in recent weeks, Turfway Park is back in action this weekend and has a Saturday stakes doubleheader and big fields to show for it.
Turfway was forced to cancel its cards of Friday, Jan. 28, and Sunday, Jan. 30, due to freezing conditions, and then, with an ice storm taking aim on the region, lost its entire slate of racing last Thursday through Saturday. The Saturday card was to have included the $100,000 Forego Stakes for older sprinters.
The Forego, featuring a matchup of Turfway stakes-proven Sir Alfred James and Visitant, has been re-drawn for this Saturday’s card and joins the $100,000 Valdale Stakes for 3-year-old fillies sprinting on the program. The 10-race card, which has a first post of 6:15 p.m. Eastern, has an average field size of 10.7 entrants.
The Forego was re-drawn with a field of nine, the same number as its original iteration, but the lineup has a few changes. Soaring Bird and Solidify opted out from the original field, while Spectacular Gem, a multiple stakes winner on turf, and Majestic Valley have joined the lineup. Remarkably, Sir Alfred James and Visitant fared nearly the same in the re-draw. Sir Alfred James is in his original post 7 under John McKee, while Visitant, who drew post 5 originally, is next door in post 6 with Gerardo Corrales in the irons.
Sir Alfred James, trained by Norm Cash, is seeking his second stakes victory at Turfway this year. He drew off to a 6 1/4-length score in the Holiday Cheer on Jan. 1, and matched his career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 103 while making his first start on a synthetic surface. He then ran into a hiccup not of his own making in the Duncan F. Kenner sprinting on the Fair Grounds turf on Jan. 22. He was impeded in the early stages of the race and checked hard into the rail, eventually credited with a seventh-place finish via the disqualification of Just Might.
Sir Alfred James prefers to race on the front end, and he will likely have company in the Forego from Divine Leader, who is coming off a pacesetting victory on this track. Pole Setter is coming off consecutive front-running allowance scores at Turfway, but those races were at two turns and against starter-allowance company.
Some pace up front would suit Visitant fine. The horse won 3 of 4 outings during the 2020-21 Turfway season. He rallied from midpack to win the 1 1/8-mile Kentucky Cup Classic, one of the track’s biggest races, in March. He then finished second in the Grade 2 Alysheba Stakes at Churchill and eighth in the Grade 2 Stephen Foster there in June. Both races were won by Eclipse Award finalist Maxfield.
Visitant then went to the sidelines after Dec. 18, when he romped by six lengths in an allowance. He matched his career-best Beyer of 100 for trainer Bill Morey.
The heavy favorites in a field of seven for the Valdale are Marissa’s Lady, who gives Morey a chance to sweep both stakes; and Bubble Rock, returning to action for Brad Cox.
Marissa’s Lady is unbeaten in three starts and has posted a field-best Beyer of 85 in each outing. After winning her debut and the Fern Creek, both on dirt at Churchill, she transferred her form to Turfway’s Tapeta to win the Gowell Stakes by 2 3/4 lengths on Dec. 26.
Bubble Rock won her maiden in her second career start sprinting on turf at Saratoga, posting a career-best 84 Beyer. She then won the Grade 3 Matron Stakes sprinting on the Belmont turf. She was 12th with a troubled trip while stretching out in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf in November at Del Mar.