Synchrony looks strong in winning Fair Grounds Handicap
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
NEW ORLEANS – Synchrony is bigger, stronger, and maybe even faster than he was a year ago. And a year ago, when he won the Grade 3, $150,000 Fair Grounds Handicap for the first time, Synchrony already was a fast horse.
He won it again Saturday, beating runner-up Bandua by 1 1/4 lengths while running his record on the Fair Grounds grass course to 4 for 4.
Synchrony ($4.20) went on to win the Muniz Memorial Stakes last March and, barring the unexpected appearance of a surprisingly worthy foe, he’ll be favored to win it again this season.
“I still think there’s a Grade 1 out there somewhere with his name on it,” said Mike Stidham, who trains Synchrony for Josephine Abercrombie’s Pin Oak Farm, the horse’s breeder.
Synchrony is an eight-time winner from 19 starts and won his fifth stakes race Saturday, but he lacks a Grade 1 win that would enhance his resume as a stallion. He was third last year in the Grade 1 Turf Classic on the Kentucky Derby undercard, a race run in testing conditions, and will have that spot as a spring goal this year.
The Fair Grounds grass course this week was, to a degree at least, carrying speed and favoring inside paths all week, so Stidham and jockey Joe Bravo formulated a plan to keep Synchrony from falling too far behind the leaders while cleaving to the rail to the greatest extent possible, and Bravo executed it. Synchrony went straight to the inside after breaking from post 7, and while he was eighth past the stands the first time, pacesetting Great Wide Open, going a snappy opening quarter-mile in 23.18, remained within hailing distance.
Great Wide Open, tracked by First Premio, went a half in 47.37, but those two would play no final role. Synchrony, tipped off the fence past the three-furlong pole on the far turn, gained momentum as he hit the quarter-pole, really digging to find his best stride at the furlong grounds, and powering to the lead in the final 100 yards to win going away.
Longshot Bandua, who wants to go farther than this race’s 1 1/16 miles, stayed on strongly for a fine second as Markitoff, another price horse, got third. Synchrony, the 122-pound highweight, was timed in 1:48.09 over a firm course.
Great Wide Open faded to fourth, one place ahead of 7-2 second-choice First Premio.
Synchrony is by Tapit out of Brownie Points, by Forest Wildcat. He ended his 2018 season with a tough-trip third at Del Mar, after which Stidham and his crew gave Synchrony only a brief break, lest he become too heavy and lose too much fitness. Stidham for weeks has reported glowingly on Synchrony’s training, and on Saturday his horse ran to it.
