NEW ORLEANS – String King has ruled the Louisiana-bred turf division with consistent excellence since 2011, and trainer-owner-breeder Charles Smith said the gelding appears eager to continue his reign. In fact, Smith said that although String King is 7 years old and about to make his 39th start, he never has appeared in better form. Smith’s assessment will be tested Saturday when String King starts as the favorite in the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Turf at Fair Grounds, a race String King has won three times – in 2011, 2012, and 2014. In 2013, Smith gave String King a shot at the Champions Day Classic on dirt, and he lost by a nose to Sunbean. String King comes into this race off a three-month break. “It doesn’t hurt him to have a little time off,” said Smith, who has managed String King carefully and respectfully over the years. String King has rewarded Smith by winning 18 races, including 13 stakes, and earning $980,552. With a victory or runner-up finish Saturday, String King would become the eighth Louisiana-bred to reach the $1 million mark. Freshened since winning the Unbridled Stakes against open company Sept. 12 at Louisiana Downs, String King enters the Champions Day Turf on a three-race winning streak. About 30 days ago, Smith, whose base is the River Point Training Center in Haughton, La., near Louisiana Downs, sent String King to the Fair Grounds barn of trainer Kenny Hargrave. String King has had three sharp half-mile workouts in New Orleans, and Smith, who has received daily reports from Hargrave, is confident the gelding is primed for a strong performance. “The program’s working pretty good,” said Smith. “Of course, anything would work good with him. He’s all racehorse.” The Champions Day Turf, run at about 1 1/16 miles for statebred 3-year-olds and up, drew 10 entrants, including three cross-entered for the Champions Day Classic – Know You Now and One King’s Man for trainer Joe Sharp, and Hot Zapper for trainer Andy Leggio. Sharp said his runners would be possible for the Turf only if it’s switched to dirt, while Leggio said he has yet to pick Hot Zapper’s race. String King, who will be ridden by Richard Eramia, will break from the rail. Smith said he’s not concerned about post position or how the early running unfolds. “He’s got speed enough to get in any position he wants,” said Smith. Smith said he has changed training methods for String King as the horse has grown older. “I jog him a lot more, give him three or four days off after a work,” he said. “I jog him more than I gallop him.” Smith must be doing something right. This year, String King has four wins and a second in five starts. He began 2015 with his first graded victory in the Grade 3 Colonel E.R. Bradley last January at Fair Grounds. This season’s Bradley will be run Jan. 16 and might attract Chocolate Ride, last season’s Grade 2 Mervin Muniz Memorial winner. “If everything goes well Saturday, we’ll probably take on Chocolate Ride,” said Smith. Trainers of rival horses acknowledge String King will be tough to beat but aren’t conceding to him. “He caught me the last jump at Louisiana Downs last time [in the Unbridled],” said Dewaine Loy, trainer of Well’s Gold. Loy said he has noticed the Fair Grounds turf course has been favorable to front-runners, and his strategy for Well’s Gold is straightforward. “I’m thinking wire to wire,” said Loy. Eddie Johnston, who called String King “a monster,” trains Hopeful Notion, who rallied from a few lengths back to win an optional-claiming race Nov. 21. “I think Well’s Gold is going to help me because he’s going to go out with String King,” said Johnston. Gallery, who won in open stakes company against fellow 3-year-olds last summer at Belmont Park, is an invader from Tampa Bay Downs for trainer Mike Dini. “He’s improving,” said Dini. “He’s been a little shy about changing leads. That can be the difference between winning and losing.” Heitai one to catch in Sprint The record shows Heitai is less proficient at six furlongs than in shorter dashes on dirt or turf. His only six-furlong victories in 11 tries came in 2013, when he won the Champions Day Sprint and Duncan F. Kenner at Fair Grounds. In his last three six-furlong races, including an optional claimer Nov. 21, he set the pace before being caught near the finish line. Still, with 15 wins, including 10 stakes, in 33 starts and more than $1 million in earnings, Heitai stands out on class in a field of 10 statebred 3-year-olds and up running Saturday in the six-furlong Champions Day Sprint. Heitai, who will be ridden by Leandro Goncalves, usually sets the pace, and trainer Tom Amoss isn’t planning any tricks with the 5-year-old gelding. “There’s no secret to our game plan,” said Amoss. “Heitai is going to the front, he’s going to go fast, and he’s going to try to hold on until the end.’’ Amoss said he was satisfied with Heitai’s Nov. 21 race, in which Heitai ran the first half-mile in 44.75 seconds on a sloppy track and couldn’t hold off the pace-pressing Top Cat Boogie in the final strides. “He came off a long layoff, he’s a big horse, and it takes time for him to get fit,” said Amoss. Top Cat Boogie, trained by Brent Toups, is among Heitai’s challengers in this race. Too Dim, who caught Heitai late to win the Champions Day Sprint last year, also will be among the starters. Trained by Johnston, Too Dim hasn’t won in five starts since. “He’s training great,” said Johnston. “Heitai’s the speed, but it doesn’t look like he wants to go six furlongs.”