Tapnfire faces familiar foes in optional-claiming route
A second straight stakes-less Saturday card at Fair Grounds has a second-level turf-route allowance for older fillies and mares as the day’s feature, going as Race 8. Also open to $40,000 claimers, the race, carded at about 1 1/16 miles and with the temporary turf rail set at its outermost position of 20 feet, attracted a field of 11.
At most, however, 10 horses will run, as trainer Andrew McKeever said Wednesday that Werewolf had come up with “a minor issue” and would be scratched. Too bad because Werewolf ran two strong grass races in Kentucky last fall and looked playable Saturday.
This is the third race under these conditions run at this meet, and many of the entrants already have faced one another this winter. Tapnfire ran as well as any of them while finishing second Nov. 22 in her most recent start and has run well enough to win a race like Saturday’s in three of four starts since owner and trainer Louie Roussel acquired her during the Arlington meet last summer. In the Nov. 22 race, she was a somewhat one-paced second but came home decently with little chance to catch the victorious 3-5 favorite, Masquerade, who had led through a walking pace.
Counterfactual is dropping in class for owner Maggi Moss and trainer Tom Amoss from third-level allowances to start for the $40,000 claiming price. And there was very little separating Asperites, Graceful Grit, and Voluptuous when they finished 2-3-4 in a race like this Dec. 13.
