Stakes winners drop down to allowance races on intriguing card
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A number of entrants on Thursday’s Keeneland card wouldn’t have looked out of place in the stakes on opening weekend. Instead, they drop in class for allowance races, making for an interesting weekday card.
World Record looms large as the heavy favorite in the ninth race, a $120,000 conditioned allowance/optional-claiming race for 3-year-olds. After a steady progression in speed figures in his first three starts, he wired the Grade 2 Amsterdam by 6 3/4 lengths on July 26 at Saratoga, throwing up a Beyer Speed Figure of 101 for the 6 1/2-furlong tilt. The Amsterdam serves as a local prep to the seven-furlong Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens in August; World Record showed his customary early speed and led into the straightaway before fading to sixth in that salty field.
World Record fired a bullet work recently at Keeneland for trainer Rodolphe Brisset and should break running from post 2 under Flavien Prat as he drops in class.
The only other horse who appears to be graded stakes quality in this field of 10 is Slider, in from California for John Sadler. He had a pressured early lead in the Grade 2 San Vicente in January before finishing third behind Muth. Slider is making his first start since.
Although Slider is well-drawn outside World Record, and may keep the favorite company early, his career-best Beyer is an 86 – which doesn’t even match the 87 that World Record earned when sixth in the Jerkens.
While World Record seems like an easy single in multi-race wagers, one race prior, a number of familiar names make a $140,000 conditioned turf allowance, for 3-year-olds and up more of a puzzle. The field of 10 includes graded stakes winners English Bee, Gigante, Major Dude, Masteroffoxhounds, and Smokin’ T. From that group, Gigante and Major Dude are dropping directly out of graded stakes company.
After coming off a layoff of more than nine months with a pair of good efforts against strong allowance fields, Major Dude stepped back into Grade 1 company in his most recent outing for Todd Pletcher. He finished fifth in the Fourstardave at Saratoga behind Carl Spackler and More Than Looks, who came back to run one-two in the Grade 1 Coolmore Turf Mile on Saturday at Keeneland.
Last year, Gigante won the Grade 2 Secretariat, the Commonwealth Turf, and the Woodchopper, coming from off the pace in those outings. In his most recent start, the Grade 2 Muniz Memorial in March at Fair Grounds, he was closer, tracking in second, taking a narrow lead, and ultimately winding up second. Coming off the layoff for Steve Asmussen, he recently fired a bullet work at Keeneland, indicating that he might be ready to show that same keenness early in his comeback.
Chasing the Crown, trained by Mike Maker, was second behind Ottoman Fleet in a pair of graded stakes at Churchill Downs, then was fourth in the Tapit at Kentucky Downs on a course he may not prefer. Like Major Dude and Gigante, his most recent work was a bullet, with a number of horses in this field looking ready to fire their best shot.
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