Shiloh Bound out for fourth in row

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - You start doing the math, and you find yourself shaking your head. Shiloh Bound was 43-1 in his career debut, 22-1 in his second start, and almost 16-1 the third time he raced. The horse won all three times, and a win parlay would have landed you in a new tax bracket.

goes after his fourth victory without a defeat on Friday at Arlington, his first start since January, and yes, the horse will once again offer a square price. Shiloh Bound was one of seven horses entered in the eighth race, a third-level allowance with a $62,500 claiming option at one mile on dirt.

Dirt, turf, whatever - nothing has gotten between Shiloh Bound and the winner's circle yet. Debuting in a $45,000 maiden claimer last November at Churchill, Shiloh Bound won by a length, and seven weeks later, he won a Fair Grounds allowance race by a nose. Switched to turf and jumped into a stakes, Shiloh Bound wrapped up his winter with a half-length victory in the $60,000 Black Gold Handicap.

Walter Bindner, who trains Shiloh Bound for the Twin Lanterns Racing Stable, was pointing Shiloh Bound to the Lecomte Stakes when Shiloh Bound came up with a bruised hoof. After fooling around for a few weeks, Bindner ended his fight with the foot, and Shiloh Bound went to the sidelines.

Friday, he runs against older horses for the first time, facing the best opposition he has met. Don't count him out.

"He's probably an overachiever," the Kentucky-based Bindner said. "He's got grit. He's very determined in everything he does."

Indeed, Shiloh Bound works as hard in the morning as he does in the afternoon.

Said Bindner, "You could never put a horse next to him and not have him want to beat that horse. He's a tough horse to train. He requires a pony every time he goes to the track. You have to keep him away from other horses."

Until race day, that is. In the Friday feature, Shiloh Bound must beat a group that is solid for the class level. scored by more than nine lengths in a second-level allowance the last time he raced, but it was a stretch-out in distance from a one-turn mile to 1 1/8 miles that seemed to boost his performance. Afleet Buck, Fiery Diablo, and Bodgiteer all step up in class from high-level claimers, while Mr. King Pin takes a steep climb after a blowout win in a $14,000 claiming race.