Speedyness has score to settle in Native Dancer
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Plenty of trainers are shipping in to take advantage of a stacked Laurel card Saturday, but the two $100,000 stakes for older males will run through local connections. Speedyness, a 4-year-old gelding trained by Jamie Ness, will be the likely favorite in the Native Dancer Stakes, while Brittany Russell enters West Coast defectors Worcester and New King in the Frank Whiteley Stakes.
Cutting back to six furlongs in the Not For Love last month, Speedyness was forced to duel at an uncomfortable distance and begrudgingly ceded the lead in the stretch, finishing third. Ness will stretch the two-time stakes winner back out to 1 1/8 miles in the Native Dancer.
“We took a shot at six [furlongs] last time, and he ran his race but just got beat,” Ness said. “He’s not a sprinter. His better race is to go to the lead and go as fast as he can, far as he can.”
Speedyness will be a daunting presence on the front end with a nagging score to settle. In December, trainer Linda Rice shipped Film Star to Laurel for the Robert T. Manfuso, where he ran one of the best races of his life to run down Speedyness in the stretch. Coming off an 11-week layoff, the 6-year-old Film Star is returning to Maryland and will face Speedyness again. Jockey Jose Lezcano has the mount on Film Star.
“I guess that’s what we’ve got,” Rice said when asked about the rematch.
While Speedyness and Film Star square off again Saturday, Russell will be preparing 5-year-old horse Worcester and 4-year-old colt New King for the Frank Whiteley at seven furlongs. Worcester made his first start for Russell in November and has since earned two easy allowance victories at this distance. New King arrived in Maryland last month and will make his first start since a poor performance in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap.
“Obviously, he’s been good over this track and at the distance,” Russell said of Worcester. “He’s training great and I’m happy with him. New King, he came in and was a little quiet off the van. We just let him come around and get right, and he seems to be great.”
New King could easily deliver in his Laurel debut for Russell, but his stablemate seems like the horse to beat. The only runner to beat Worcester in his last three starts was New York powerhouse Bank Frenzy, who outran him in the Stymie amid an ongoing four-race winning streak.
Russell’s duo will likely have to chase Bartlett, a 4-year-old gelding trained by John Servis. The front-runner earned two convincing allowance victories at Parx Racing last year before Servis moved him to the turf for the Grade 3 Hill Prince in November. He faded to fifth that day and has not raced since.
“There was no reason for the layoff other than a little rest through the winter,” Servis said. “He came back super.”
Servis entered Bartlett in an allowance on Sunday at Laurel, but the trainer said that he’s going for the stakes race. He plans to use this sprint as a prep before stretching Bartlett back out later this year.
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