Shoot Craps has proven turf ability for Tyro

Shoot Craps and Montauk Cove, winners of fast maiden races, figure to take the bulk of the betting action Sunday in the $60,000 Tyro Stakes for 2-year-olds sprinting five furlongs on turf at Monmouth Park.

Shoot Craps, based in Kentucky with trainer Dane Kobiskie, has a distinct advantage over his nine rivals. He’s the only horse in the field to have raced – and won – on turf, scoring by three-quarters of a length in a maiden sprint at Belmont Park in June and earning a 72 Beyer Speed Figure. The runner-up, Rare Candy, came back to win a maiden race at Del Mar.

Shoot Craps is returning to turf after a last-place finish on dirt in the Grade 3 Bashford Manor at Churchill Downs. On July 28, he worked a bullet half-mile in 49 seconds flat, presumably with the blinkers he will be equipped with for the first time Sunday.

Montauk Cove improved dramatically in his third career start, soaring 31 points on the Beyer scale to a 76 and dominating eight opponents in a five-furlong sprint at Presque Isle Downs. The Tyro will be Montauk Cove’s first start on a surface other than Tapeta. Montauk Cove has a very low 228 Tomlinson rating for turf, and foals from his dam are a combined 2 for 14 on the surface. On the bright side, trainer Adam Rice recently scored with a first-time starter on turf at Saratoga at 9-1.

Full Salute makes his turf debut after winning his maiden with a 75 Beyer three weeks ago. Trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. is just 1 for 8 with last-out 2-year-old maiden winners trying turf for the first time, but one of the losers finished second in the 2013 Tyro, and the colt’s sire, Speightstown, has an 18 percent success rate with his 2-year-old offspring in turf sprints.

Bravura beat Texas-breds in his career debut at Lone Star Park. Trainer Bret Calhoun shows a 6-for-28 record (21 percent) with 2-year-old second-time starters making their first start on turf. Bravura’s sire, however, is 1 for 27 with 2-year-olds on turf.

Based on pedigree, first-time starters Expected Ruler, a son of Leroidesanimeaux, and City Elitist, a son of City Zip, should have an affinity for turf. Neither of their trainers, however, has a winner with a 2-year-old first-time starter on turf over the last five years.