In a tale of two comebackers, Eyeing Clover has definitive edge

On sheer accomplishment, the million-dollar earner Mr. Wireless stands out in the featured eighth race Thursday at Fair Grounds. He also stands little chance of winning.

Mr. Wireless is a route horse in a six-furlong sprint race, the 6-year-old gelding’s first start since May. He’s 9-2 on the morning line and from all appearances as well as the assessment of his trainer, Mr. Wireless will mainly function as a takeout reducer.

“We’re just looking to get him started back,” Bret Calhoun said. “I don’t think he’s any kind of three-quarters of a mile horse. What we wanted was to give him a race without working him four more times to get him into a route. This is a prep.”

Mr. Wireless is among 10 entrants in a race with two allowance conditions – nonwinners of three “other than,” and a nonwinners of a race since Sept. 14 condition that gets Mr. Wireless into the field – and an $80,000 claiming option that the connections of four entrants used. It’s a very large field for the sort of race that often fails to attract sufficient entries to even be carded.

Mr. Wireless, a 6-year-old Dialed In gelding, hasn’t won since 2022 but knocked on the door in several Fair Grounds two-turn stakes during the 2022-23 meeting, finishing third in the New Orleans Classic. Mr. Wireless hasn’t sprinted since finishing fifth in his career debut in March 2021 at Fair Grounds. Calhoun is not blowing smoke.

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Eyeing Clover also returns from an extended layoff to race for the first time since July 8, and he holds far more appeal than Mr. Wireless. Trained by Brad Cox, 4-year-old Eying Clover made his last three starts of 2023 in two-turn stakes races, winning the Hot Springs at Oaklawn Park and finishing a close third in the Texas Derby before falling apart July 8 in the Iowa Derby, where he was all but eased.

All that’s water under the bridge, and Eyeing Clover easily could be better around one turn than two. He began his career with a pair of six-furlong races, winning both, the second a first-level Fair Grounds allowance in January 2023 that he blitzed by nearly 10 lengths. Workout video from a March 3 drill with Angel of Empire offers further encouragement, though bettors should not expect to get anything close to the morning-line odds of 8-1.

Brian Hernandez Jr. rarely rides for Cox but was named on Eyeing Clover, with Florent Geroux, Cox’s general go-to Fair Grounds jockey, landing on Marsalis.

Marsalis is one of three horses coming back from the last Fair Grounds race at this class level and distance, a five-horse affair on Feb. 13 where he faded to fourth after dueling for the lead as the 7-10 favorite. Marsalis has some upside second time back if he can avoid another early pace battle.

Kavod and Willtorun, second and third in that Feb. 13 allowance, also return, Kavod running under the $80,000 claiming option as he did last month.

Pro Oxidant, third to Kavod in his most recent start on Jan. 19, skipped the Feb. 13 contest and comes into this race fresh, while Boss’ Dialin In tries the third allowance class for the first time after a romping second-level allowance win Feb. 24, where he rallied into a strong, contested pace. It’s not out of the question that Boss’ Dialin In, who never has been favored in his 11-start career, could do it again.

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◗ The race for leading jockey at the 2023-24 meet, which ends March 24, is far from decided. Corey Lanerie entering this week’s racing had 46 winners, two more than Jareth Loveberry and Jose Guerrero.

Guerrero, remarkably, has ridden 41 of those winners for Shane Wilson, who is going to win his first Fair Grounds training title.

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