Sidavi an intriguing prospect for hot-handed Amoss in Harrison Stakes

Eleven trainers have started more horses at the ongoing Indiana Grand meeting than Tom Amoss, but none has more winners. Amoss is 33-15-14 from 88 runners, putting him up five in the trainer standings over Genaro Garcia, who has required 180 starters to hit 28 wins. For every dollar wagered to win on an Amoss-trained horse this meet a bettor would have reaped a 10.5 percent profit, and if the Amoss-trained Sidavi goes to post anywhere near his 8-1 morning-line price in the $100,000 William Henry Harrison Stakes, he seems worth a play.

Amoss and owner Maggie Moss claimed Sidavi for $16,000 on June 15, knocked out an allowance win 15 days later, and since have sat on the gelding. Sivadi already has returned a profit, and that he appears for the first time in the better part of two months in a six-figure stakes race easily can be interpreted as a positive sign. And his price might hold up considering the sheer number of Harrison entrants.

A full field of 12 Indiana-breds was entered in this six-furlong dash and 13 – a dozen in the main body plus an also-eligible – went into the Harrison’s sister race, the $100,000 Shelby County. The Harrison is race 7, scheduled post time 4:53, the Shelby County race 8, post time 5:21.

On paper, there is too much early and middle speed for any of the pace players to hold up all the way unless the track is biased or they punch over their weight. Operation Stevie, a one-run closing sprinter, has the right style for the expected race flow, but so does Sidavi at more than two times the forecast odds of 5-2 morning-line favorite Operation Stevie.

Trained and co-owned by Cipriano Contreras, Operation Stevie finished fourth as the favorite in the 2017 Harrison, and perhaps because of that performance Contreras appears to have tried to keep him fresh this year. Operation Stevie hasn’t started since June 26, and will need to work out a trip from post 11.

Here Comes Doc, a 4-year-old who has risen to peak form in his last three starts, also merits a long look.

The Shelby County has lured at least as much pace as the Harrison and is an equally daunting handicapping knot. One thing that is clear: Expect Indy has traveled a long way to race. Based in Maryland with trainer Kieron Magee, Expect Indy ships into a venue where she was a three-time winner in earlier days. Her starter-allowance and allowance form against open competition is solid enough, but the six-furlong Shelby County is on the short side of her distance range and Expect Indy’s price figures to be on the short side of acceptable.

Hay Little Bit, the 3-1 morning-line favorite, looks like a clear contender, with a second-place finish in the 2017 Shelby County, good form this summer, and the right style to snug into a favorable race flow. But at something close to her 6-1 morning-line odds, Carmalley Chrome holds appeal. Five-year-old Carmalley Chrome hasn’t raced since finishing sixth in this race last August, but has run well fresh and on her best is the fastest horse in the Shelby County. She’ll need to clear the other speed for her best chance – but there’s a decent chance she’s fast enough to do so.