Steppe back with own age group in Awesome Banner Handicap
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Steppe, a 3-year-old gelding trained by Bobby Dibona, will have a prime opportunity to return to his winning ways in the $70,000 Awesome Banner Handicap on Saturday at Gulfstream Park. Since Dibona claimed him for $50,000 in February, he has not finished worse than second in five starts.
“I took my time with him, gelded him, and did a couple little things,” Dibona said. “He just seems to be getting better and better. [Jockey Miguel Vazquez] thinks he’s super good. Coming back with straight 3-year-olds, it looks like a really good spot.”
In September, the Sky Mesa gelding earned his second straight photo-finish victory when he prevailed by a neck over next-out winner Awesome Train in the Duke of Mischief, a similar $70,000 handicap at a mile on dirt. But in a seven-furlong rematch against third-place finisher Pure Class on Oct. 18, that rival turned the tables and beat him by two lengths.
“He’s a better miler than he is at seven-eighths,” Dibona said.
Back at a mile on Saturday, Steppe will not have to deal with older rivals like Awesome Train or Pure Class, though he will see a familiar face. Roar of the Beast, a colt trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., has not won in three starts since a 13 1/4-length romp over Steppe on June 26.
The two runners have displayed diametrically opposed form since the start of the summer. Steppe has improved dramatically to earn matching 83 Beyer Speed Figures in his last two starts. Roar of the Beast, pegged as a contender in the $100,000 Petramolo Mile at Colonial Downs in August, has offered very little since finishing seventh in that race. He finished 8 1/2 lengths behind Steppe in the Duke of Mischief on Sept. 20.
While Roar of the Beast tries to save face, two new faces could step up to challenge Steppe in the field of six. Classic of Course, a gelding trained by Patrick Biancone, switched back to dirt in October and finished third in the $70,000 Mr. Jordan Handicap. The versatile runner won the $158,000 Cutler Bay on turf in May and ran solidly on dirt as a juvenile.
McKellen, a colt trained by Jose D’Angelo, will return from a layoff of nearly seven months. His two starts as a 3-year-old have been in $150,000 stakes, both distant finishes out of the money. In his last race in April, he shipped to Aqueduct and ran fifth behind graded stakes winner Mo Plex in the Bay Shore.
Another handicap victory for Steppe could be part of a big day for Dibona, who said that he also is excited about two other runners on the Saturday card.
Chloe’s Toy, claimed by Dibona in September, has finished second in each of her last three starts and should be dangerous again in the fifth, a $10,000 claiming race. In the 11th, 5-year-old gelding Nate the Great, a favorite in 10 of 17 career starts, should he highly regarded again in a $57,000 allowance.
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