Speedsters Saint Leon, Card clash
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Five of the seven horses in the featured fourth race on Saturday at Arlington, a six-furlong Polytrack dash, are entered for a claiming tag, but that tag is $125,000, and the race might as well be a minor stakes given the field’s quality.
The price is high enough that even Saint Leon, who won the $75,000 Arlington Sprint last out, is entered under the claiming option, and his age, 9, figures to protect him from being taken. Saint Leon, a gelding, typically gets longer breaks between starts but returns less than a month after winning the Arlington Sprint for the third year in a row. Trainer Michele Boyce doesn’t often ship, and there are few local options for Saint Leon.
“If I want to run the rest of the year, I have to run,” Boyce said.
Also in the field is Card, whose last-start win in a second-level Polytrack allowance race here produced a Beyer Speed Figure of 104, the highest figure on a synthetic track in North America this year. Card is also entered for the $125,000 tag.
KEY CONTENDERS
Saint Leon (Last 3 Beyers: 94-95-95)
◗ The relatively quick turnaround doesn’t concern Boyce, nor does the stretch in distance to six furlongs. What concerns Boyce is Polytrack. Saint Leon has a good synthetic record, 4-4-1 from 12 starts, but this is not his favorite surface. “He’s definitely better on grass,” Boyce said.
◗ Saint Leon could be in for a major pace battle. Card is very fast horse, and Saint Leon might not be able to get a clear lead. The gelding is a fighter, but not a passer, and his best races have come when in front.
Card (Last 3 Beyers: 104-72-93)
◗ Card is a decent sprinter on dirt but much better on synthetics.
◗ He’s run twice on Arlington Polytrack, winning his debut by almost four lengths some 15 months ago, and cruising to victory in the aforementioned July 13 allowance.
◗ His connections were savvy entering him for the claiming tag, thus preserving his third-level allowance condition, but they were unfortunate to encounter Saint Leon and his identical running style.
El Seventyseven (Last 3 Beyers: 88-82-77)
◗ The 6-year-old makes his synthetic-surface debut.
◗ His two works on Arlington Polytrack were “fine,” according to trainer Hugh Robertson, who also noted favorable Polytrack works don’t guarantee racing success.
◗ What gives El Seventyseven appeal is his running style. He pressed Saint Leon’s pace in the Arlington Sprint and faded to fourth, but El Seventyseven is much better taking back and making one run. He should be closing on tiring speed Saturday.
“He broke real good and was just too sharp last time,” Robertson said. “He doesn’t run well when he’s up on the lead. Hopefully we can get him back a little this time.”◗ Robertson said he also plans to run his second horse in the race, the Minnesota-bred Heliskier.