Stakes winners try to get back on track in Stanton

The Stanton Stakes field of seven at Delaware Park on Wednesday includes a pair of open stakes winners, who will be trying to get back on track after finishing off the board in their latest races, and a trio of last-out first-level allowance or optional-claiming winners. The evenly matched group of 3-year-olds will meet at 1 1/16 miles on turf.

The open stakes winners in the $50,000 Stanton are Regally Irish, who in April won the $97,000 Bridgetown, a six-furlong turf sprint, for Graham Motion, and the Arnaud Delacour-trained Five Star General, winner of the Central Park, a one-mile off-the-turf race at Aqueduct last fall at age 2.

The last-out first-level winners are Eons, who races for Delacour; Caladan, who will be switching from dirt to grass for Anthony Pecoraro; and Credit Swap, who will be returning from a layoff of more than six months for Michael Stidham.

A good performance Wednesday could earn any of them a start in the Grade 3, $200,000 Kent, a 1 1/8-mile turf stakes for 3-year-olds on the July 6 Delaware Oaks undercard.

Eons comes into the Stanton off a professional victory over 12 rivals on Black-Eyed Susan Day at Pimlico. The son of Giant’s Causeway commenced a three-wide bid from between horses on the far turn of the 1 1/16-mile race, opened up a clear lead in midstretch under Javier Castellano, then fended off late-running Largent by a neck. It was close to three lengths back to the third-place finisher.

Largent, an Into Mischief colt who sold for $460,000 at the 2017 Keeneland September sale, was the 11-10 favorite following his debut win at Gulfstream Park. Eons has the top two Beyer Speed Figures in the field. He earned an 82 at Pimlico and an 83 winning a Keeneland maiden race in his prior start.

Trevor McCarthy will take over the mount on Eons, a $300,000 Keeneland September yearling buy.

Caladan was entered to race on turf in his first three starts, but each of those races was taken off the turf. He won a first-level Delaware allowance by a head over Aspect on May 8. Aspect came back to win a Delaware allowance by 5 1/2 lengths on Memorial Day.

Regally Irish has made his two most recent starts at six furlongs, but did win an optional claimer going a mile at Tampa Bay Downs in January. His last race was a fifth-place finish in the Tom Ridge Stakes over the Tapeta track at Presque Isle, and it can be forgiven.

Five Star General has made his last three starts in the Woodhaven on turf at Aqueduct, the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks on Polytrack at Turfway Park, and on dirt in the Grade 3 Sam Davis at Tampa. He was hindered by a slow pace in the Woodhaven, where Clint Maroon went wire to wire and there was little movement between the other four horses. He is well-spotted against this field.

Credit Swap has made all three of his starts at 5 1/2 furlongs on grass but has sprinted like a horse who can go farther. He has worked eight times since mid-April for his 3-year-old debut.