Risk Vs Reward steps up off claim
OLDSMAR, Fla. – Trainer Dennis Ward had the recently claimed Risk Vs Reward, entered in a race here last weekend, but the 4-year-old gelding was scratched because of a licensing snafu.
“Just as well,” Ward said. “They ran seven-eighths in 1:22 and change, and he can’t go that fast.”
Maybe the nominal Friday feature will suit him better. Risk Vs Reward, with Jose Ferrer riding, is one of seven older horses in race 6, the lone allowance on a nine-race card that starts at 11:55 a.m. Eastern. Five of them, including Risk Vs Reward, are entered for an optional $16,000 tag.
“He’s clean and sound, and I like what I’ve seen of him so far,” said Ward, who claimed the Florida-bred gelding last month off a win for $12,500. “We’re stepping up in conditions, but he should be okay in there.”
Brasstown, Davidic Line, and Confessor loom the main opposition for Risk Vs Reward in a well-matched 1 1/16-mile race with a base purse of $24,500.
Ward is perhaps best known as the father of Wesley Ward, who has enjoyed a fabulous training career dating to 1991. Even at age 76, the elder Ward still exercises some of his horses.
“Two or three a day,” he said in his Barn 29 headquarters.
Meanwhile, the Friday opener, a $10,000 maiden-claiming race, looks like a good spot for trainer Tony Dutrow to get his 2,000th career win. He’ll send out Genesis One as the likely favorite in the seven-furlong race.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.