Servis family well represented at Claiming Crown

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Had things worked out a little differently during the final part of the season, and if there were not a championship on the line in New York for Maximum Security, the Florida Derby winner may have been back at Gulfstream Park to close out his 3-year-old campaign on Saturday’s Claiming Crown program.

But even without Maximum Security, a former $16,000 claimer who was nominated for the $125,000 Claiming Crown Rapid Transit, trainer Jason Servis will be well represented on Saturday’s program. He’ll send out three Claiming Crown starters, including Leitone, who figures to be among the favorites in the featured $200,000 Jewel, and Shekky Shebaz, who enters the $110,000 Canterbury off a third-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.

The Jewel and Canterbury are two of the nine Claiming Crown races on Saturday’s 11-race program, with first post set for 11:50 a.m. Saturday will mark the eighth consecutive year the Claiming Crown has been run at Gulfstream Park.

Leitone was claimed by Servis for a bargain $12,500 out of a 13 3/4-length victory at Belmont Park on June 16 . He has made four subsequent starts, winning a pair of $50,000 claiming races in New York in wire-to-wire fashion while also finishing third against high-priced optional-claiming company over the Belmont Park turf course in July.

“We got lucky because we won a big shake for the horse. I think there were at least seven or eight others in for him that day,” Servis recalled. “He was a Group 1 winner in Chile, which made him my kind of horse. We put him into our program and he’s responded well.”

The nine-furlong Jewel will be a bit of a family affair, with two of Leitone’s chief rivals, Forest Fire and Degrom, trained by Servis’s brother John and nephew Tyler, respectively.

“I’ve run against both John and Tyler plenty of times, but I don’t think I’ve ever run against them both in the same race before,” said Servis.

Forest Fire brings a three-race winning streak into the Jewel, including a half-length triumph in the Maryland Million Classic at Laurel on Oct. 19 in his first start going 1 1/8 miles. Degrom has registered a win, a second, and a third in three tries since he was claimed by Tyler Servis for $20,000 at Parx in mid-July.

The Jewel is one of many wide-open betting races on the card. Among the other logical contenders in the Jewel are supplemental nominees Third Day and Noble Thought, along with the Jorge Navarro-trained duo of Holiday Bonus and Ekhtibaar.

Canterbury: Shekky Shebaz, who became eligible for the Canterbury by winning a $25,000 claiming dash this summer at Saratoga, prompted the pace near the inside under Irad Ortiz Jr. before finishing just 1 1/4 lengths behind winner Belvoir Bay in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. The much-improved Shekky Shebaz has posted Beyer Speed Figures of 103 in each of his three starts since joining Servis’s barn this summer.

“He’s coming back kind of close. I’d have preferred to have had another month to get him ready, but we wanted to be in the Claiming Crown,” said Servis. “He was a little tense in the gate and Irad thought if he behaved a little better he might have gotten away better in the Breeders’ Cup, but to be honest he exceeded our expectations with his performance.”

Shekky Shebaz is one of many speed types in a talented field set to contest the five-furlong Canterbury. Defending winner Rocket Heat is back, and the field also includes Tiger Blood and the red-hot Mar Vista Miguel.

Emerald: Muggsamatic, Jason Servis’s third Claiming Crown entrant, will be among the favorites in the $125,000 Emerald, even though he’s not raced since being claimed for $25,000 out of a win at Monmouth Park on Aug. 11.

“We took him with this race in mind and kind of backed off him a little to protect him since then,” Servis said.

Other key contenders in a field of 12 include locally based stakes winner Driven by Thunder; the recently claimed and in-form Tusk; fresh horse Dontblamerocket; and Apreciado.

Express: The six-furlong, $110,000 Express, first of the nine Claiming Crown races, is loaded with speed. Fast Pass, whose last start came in the Group 1 Korea Sprint, and Whyareuawesome will likely have to run down the survivor of a prospective early duel among Northern, Take Charge Dude, Harryhee, and Travy Boy.

Glass Slipper: No standouts in this one-mile race for fillies and mares worth $110,000, with Navarro holding the upper hand by sending out three of the 10 prospective starters, Picasso Moon, Cuddle Kitten, and Potra Liza. Liza Star, third in the Sunshine Millions Distaff last month at Gulfstream Park West, may prove the one to catch.

Distaff Dash: Unaquoi, second in this five-furlong turf event a year ago behind Oxford Comma, returns and faces Turf Amazon runner-up Stetson Gold and Navarro’s speedy Band of Angels, among others.

Rapid Transit: Navarro again will be well represented, sending the trio of Who’s Out, First Deal, and Benefactor in the seven-furlong Rapid Transit. They’ll try to snap the three-race win streak of Yodel E. A. Who, who won those races by a combined margin of 17 lengths, all in front-running fashion.

Iron Horse: Salsa’s Return and Donji, first and second in this 1 1/16-mile event a year ago, are both back. Bobby G should provide that pair with a stern challenge breaking from the rail and coming off a third-place finish in the Richard W. Small Stakes at Laurel.

Tiara: This 1 1/16-mile turf race for fillies and mares has a full field of 12 led by New York invader Vip Nation and the horse-for-course Una Luna, who has finished first or second in 10 of 13 local starts.