String King eyes Unbridled Stakes

String King is set to make a second start at the Louisiana Downs meet next month in the $75,000 Unbridled, according to Charlie Smith, his breeder, owner, and trainer. The 1 1/16-mile turf stakes will be run on the Super Derby undercard Sept. 10. String King won the race a year ago after capturing his third straight Louisiana Cup Turf Classic.

String King did not fire in this year’s Louisiana Cup on Aug. 6 at Louisiana Downs, finishing seventh at 4-5. It was a rare defeat for the millionaire, who will be going for his 20th career win in the Unbridled. He picked up No. 19 on July 2, when he captured the $100,000 Louisiana Legends Turf at Evangeline Downs in his first start since March.

“He’s fine, I just don’t know what happened to him last time,” Smith said. “I’m not a real proponent of the bounce theory because I never had run enough horses on my own to have them bounce, so to speak. But String King, being 8 now and running a big race off a [long] layoff, then coming back in 30 days, he could have bounced.”

Smith said the horse has done well since, and he looks forward to the Unbridled.

“He’s still my million-dollar man,” Smith said. “He’s won stakes now from 3 until 8, and hopefully we go ‘til 9 or 10. If not, he’ll tell me, and I’ll sure dadgum listen.”