Romans confident barn will heat up at home

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With its lone winner being the obvious exception, the Dale Romans stable was unusually quiet at Saratoga this summer when sending out just 12 starters.

The low profile was partly by design and partly forced by circumstance. Romans still is looking to assemble the caliber of horsepower that earned him the Eclipse Award for top trainer in 2012.

“We were in kind of a regroup mode after an active winter and spring, looking forward to what we hope will be a big fall – although winning the Travers sure was great,” said Romans.

An otherwise-subdued Saratoga meet was made entirely worthwhile, of course, by the dramatic upset by Keen Ice in the Aug. 29 Travers Stakes. Romans is now looking for that momentum to return his stable to a familiar role atop the standings at his home track, Churchill Downs.

“Now we’re back home and hopefully ready to roll,” he said.

An 11-time leading trainer at Churchill, Romans has six starters among four races Friday, opening day of the 11-day September meet. His best chances probably are with Jack Tripp in the third and Leanne N Susan in the seventh.

In the meantime, Keen Ice is never far from his mind. Romans said he and Donegal Racing president Jerry Crawford tentatively have agreed that the colt will not race again until the Oct. 31 Breeders’ Cup Classic, “but that is a long time between races,” referring to the nine-week gap. “So, we’re keeping our options open, as always. The main thing is to keep the colt happy and healthy.”