Strong Quality knows but one way to race – go to the lead and try to last. Those tactics should be effective in the $100,000 Colonel E.R. Bradley Stakes on Saturday at Fair Grounds. The other pace player in the Bradley, a 1 1/16-mile grass contest, is Brigadier General, a dirt horse who was cross-entered in the now-postponed Fifth Season at Oaklawn Park, and whose connections surely were hoping for a rain-off that’s not going to happen. Barring a surprise grass start from Brigadier General, Strong Quality should make a clear lead and prove difficult to run down. Just nine went into the Bradley, including four horses exiting the Dec. 23 Buddy Diliberto Memorial, won by the late Two Emmys. Beatbox finished second in the Diliberto but lacks Strong Quality’s credentials, is drawn outside, and could be trying to run down a superior rival loose on the lead. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. In the Diliberto, Beatbox came from 10th in the early stages but saved ground around the far turn and managed to sail cleanly through two tight gaps in the homestretch. He was beaten on the square and is miscast as the 5-2 morning-line favorite, with 3-1 Strong Quality the likely chalk. English Tavern was third in the Diliberto, outrunning his 31-1 odds with help from an excellent trip. Protonic Power ran the race’s fastest final 2 1/2 furlongs, 29.90, coming from last to finish fifth, but he’s unlikely to better that performance. In fact, the most appealing runner exiting last month’s race is Rising Empire, who checked in ninth, an uncharacteristically dull showing. Just 24 days earlier, Rising Empire, albeit with an assist from setting a slow pace, had won a third-level Fair Grounds grass allowance, a solid comeback from a 4 1/2-month layoff. Last March, he finished second over the Fair Grounds course in the Grade 2 Muniz Memorial, but while Rising Empire has bounce-back potential, that doesn’t mean he’s beating Strong Quality. Strong Quality has been based with trainer Mark Casse’s string at Fair Grounds, captained by assistant trainer David Carroll since late November, following a powerhouse Churchill Downs dirt allowance win. Strong Quality shipped to Oaklawn to finish second Dec. 16 over a muddy strip in the Tinsel Stakes, and a return to turf is a lateral move at worst. Switched to grass racing last February, Strong Quality won allowance races at Gulfstream Park and Keeneland before being overmatched in the Grade 1 Manhattan and the Grade 1 Arlington Million. Running back 19 days after the Million, he was fourth in the restricted Tapit Stakes at Kentucky Downs, a quirky course that might not have suited Strong Quality. Florent Geroux should put Strong Quality on the lead from post 2 and may never look back. Tufani a new face in Krantz Lovely Princess won a head bob over the onrushing Creative Cairo winning the Blushing K. D. Stakes on the Fair Grounds turf course last month, but both horses will have to deal with Tufani on Saturday in the $100,000 Marie Krantz Memorial Stakes. Tufani runs back just three weeks after capturing the Pago Hop over the Fair Grounds course, and the Pago Hop was restricted to 3-year-olds. But Tufani came out of the Pago Hop with great energy, her connections reported, and the Krantz hardly is a salty spot. Nine are entered in the 1 1/16-mile Krantz, which has enough pace that it ought to be a truly run race. Fancy Martini, starting for the first time since being claimed by owner Ken Ramsey and trainer Robertino Diodoro, has an outside shot, but other than her, the race is short on plausible contenders. Lovely Princess is least appealing among the three major players. She was saved by the wire in the Blushing K. D., has been racing without a break since April, and has been slower in her last two starts than she was several months ago. Creative Cairo has come solidly forward since belatedly beginning her 2023 campaign in August, but she’s a 6-year-old lacking upside, and Tufani beat her by more than four lengths in a Nov. 18 Fair Grounds allowance. Tufani, trained by Michael Stidham, has four wins from seven starts and her best days lie in front of her. She earned a moderate 85 Beyer Speed Figure winning the Pago Hop, a final figure that obscures the strength of the filly’s performance. Just seventh at the stretch call, Tufani won by two lengths after roaring through her final quarter-mile in 22.95 seconds, and an added half furlong Saturday only enhances her already strong chances. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.