Taylor's Spirit meets Agi's Cait in Prairie Gold Lassie

They bet their money on Taylor’s Spirit in her career debut, but it’s Agi’s Cait who’s the pick to get the money Friday night at Prairie Meadows in the $65,000 Prairie Gold Lassie.

The Gold Lassie (race 7, 8:42 p.m. Central) headlines the card, along with the $65,000 Prairie Gold Juvenile (race 8, 9:07).

The six-furlong Gold Lassie drew eight 2-year-olds, four of whom appear unlikely winners. Beach Getaway drops in class from the $100,000 Debutante at Churchill Downs but has limited upside after four starts this spring and summer. She and the Steve Asmussen-trained Princesse Rafaela are the second-tier contenders behind the two favorites.

Locally based Taylor’s Spirit, an $80,000 Algorithms filly owned by Mark Norman and Norman Stables and trained by Scott Gelner, debuted July 8 at Prairie Meadows with a couple of fast recent works. She raced in blinkers and a shadow roll, and with a considerable portion of the win pool backing her, she prevailed by nearly 14 lengths.

An impressive win margin and a solid enough 70 Beyer Speed Figure for sure, but Taylor’s Spirit appeared fully cranked for that start just 12 days before Friday’s race. Jockey Kevin Roman gave her some stern encouragement with the riding crop as the filly widened her stretch margin, and she’s asked to stretch her speed an additional furlong on short rest.

Moreover, Taylor’s Spirit might not be entirely uncomplicated. Despite the shadow roll, she attempted to hurdle a nonexistent object before the three-furlong pole, though the filly quickly got back on stride.

Agi’s Cait, meanwhile, had done little serious work, trainer Mike Campbell said, when she made her career debut May 28 at Arlington. She nevertheless caught the eye while finishing second to a well-meant Larry Rivelli-trained filly named O’Keeffe (who came back to run poorly in the Debutante). Back June 22 in another Arlington maiden race, Agi’s Cait, a $250,000 Tale of the Cat filly owned by George Mellon, jumped right onto the lead and rolled to an easy win while kept under wraps by jockey Jesse Campbell. There’s the question of how her Polytrack form will travel to dirt, but if, as the morning line says, Agi’s Cait is the second choice, she could be worth a play.

Meanwhile, Brother Richie shows up as the 8-5 morning-line favorite in the Prairie Gold Juvenile. A Louisiana-bred who debuted at Canterbury Park, Brother Richie is the solid choice at a short price.

Trained and co-owned by Gary Scherer, Brother Richie is named for Gary’s late brother, the trainer Richie Scherer, and he did his namesake proud first time out. Breaking on top in a five-furlong maiden dash June 24, Brother Richie saved the best part of his performance for the end.

Mildly challenged in upper stretch by stablemate Richie Gary, Brother Richie, who looks powerful and physically advanced for his age, changed leads like an old pro and proceeded to run his final furlong in 11.82 seconds. That’s strong stuff for a first-timer, and Brother Richie, who raced with minimal equipment, should have no trouble negotiating the stretch-out to six furlongs Friday.

The vulnerable horse is 2-1 second choice The Gray Dehere, who wore front bandages in both of his Lone Star starts and bore out late in them, even with blinkers added in his June 24 maiden win.