Synthetic is Jade's Revenge's specialty

Graham Motion didn't bother to assimilate Jade's Revenge into his top string of horses in south Florida this winter. Not that Jade's Revenge doesn't have a solid record or considerable upside - indeed, with synthetic tracks having proliferated across America, the 5-year-old horse could be in for a big year.

"Clearly, he's a superior Polytrack horse," said Motion.

Motion has been keeping Jade's Revenge at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md., where the horse trains regularly on Tapeta.

Jade's Revenge will ship from Fair Hill to make his 2008 debut Saturday in the $50,000 Dust Commander Stakes at Turfway Park. Eleven older horses are entered in the one-mile Dust Commander, with Jade's Revenge drawing post 7. Rodney Prescott has the mount.

Although unraced for nearly nine months, Jade's Revenge "is more than ready," said Motion. "We were going to run him in California, but the way things have gone out there, we just waited for the Turfway race. He's been ready for quite a while now."

Jade's Revenge, owned by the Bushwood Stables of Better Talk Now fame, won back-to-back Polytrack stakes last spring in Kentucky, taking the Tejano Run at Turfway, then the Grade 3 Ben Ali at Keeneland. He then finished seventh in the Grade 3 Eclipse at Woodbine on May 21, after which Motion said he "noticed that the horse wasn't moving well in behind, so we gave him a break. He's fine now."

While assistant Alice Clapham will saddle Jade's Revenge, Motion slyly remarked that he will watch the race "from somewhere warm" via simulcast.

A handful of capable opponents will try to spoil the comeback. Chicago shipper Major Rhythm has earned more than $700,000. High Blues and Itsallboutthechase both enter off sharp local allowance victories. Embossed is a multiple graded winner on turf. Catman Running won the John Battaglia Memorial here last spring. Gin and Sin is a seasoned stakes performer with nearly $500,000 in earnings.

Self Made Man, Say It Son, Recognition, Revival Ridge, and Win Me Over are also entered.

The Dust Commander, which goes as race 11, is directly preceded by two allowances on a 12-race card that starts at 1:10 p.m. Eastern.