Temple City Terror sharp for Robert G. Dick Memorial
Temple City Terror, a two-time winner of Churchill’s Keertana Stakes, is the 3-1 morning-line favorite for Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Robert G. Dick Memorial for fillies and mares traveling 1 3/8 miles on turf at Delaware.
The Robert G. Dick is one of four stakes Saturday, along with the Grade 2, $500,000 Delaware Handicap, the $100,000 Battery Park, and the $100,000 Dashing Beauty.
Trained by Brendan Walsh, Temple City Terror finished third in the 2021 Robert G. Dick, then was third in the Grade 2 Glens Falls at Saratoga. Put away for the rest of 2021, Temple City Terror ran fifth in an allowance on April 14 at Keeneland before winning the 1 1/2-mile Keertana in last-to-first fashion on May 28.
“She could not be doing better,” Walsh said.
Stand Tall also makes her third start of 2022 in the Robert G. Dick. Second in the Keertana, Stand Tall has more speed than Temple City Terror.
“She doesn’t have to be in front, but she’ll be in the front group,” trainer Rusty Arnold said.
Luck Money finished second in this race last year. She seeks her first win since Belmont’s Zagora on Halloween in 2020.
Luck Money finished a distant second over boggy ground in a four-horse field in Belmont’s Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay on May 7. She then ran fifth in the Keertana. Trainer Arnaud Delacour added blinkers for the Keertana, but they come off Saturday.
“I hoped she could lay closer,” Delacour said about trying blinkers. “The last couple of races, I felt she was too far back and getting too comfortable. But the pace was slow, she was pulling, and it didn’t work out.”
Delacour said Luck Money will probably sit back and make one run.
Trainer Graham Motion attempts to win the Robert G. Dick for the ninth time when he saddles Sister Otoole. Sister Otoole last started in the Sheepshead Bay and was beaten 40 3/4 lengths. Motion said she didn’t handle the yielding turf that day.
Motion said he has been pointing Sister Otoole to this spot in the two months since the Sheepshead Bay and wanted her to be fresh.
Also entered were La Lune, Key Biscayne, Whimsical Muse, Belle Belisa, Treasure Tails, and Gladys.
Battery Park Stakes
Grade 2 winner Tax makes his long-awaited return in the Battery Park for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/16 miles.
Now 6, the gelding last finished 10th in the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream in January 2021. Tax was injured in a freak accident involving a metal grate while training, and trainer Danny Gargan turned him out.
The Battery Park will be his first start in 532 days.
Considering that Tax is a large horse, Gargan is not necessarily expecting a win following such a long layoff. He does believe Tax will show speed from the inside post under jockey Kendrick Carmouche.
Phat Man tries for his first victory since last year’s Battery Park. Trained by Kent Sweezey, Phat Man finished fourth against Mind Control and Hot Rod Charlie after pressing the pace in Monmouth’s Grade 3 Salvator Mile on June 18.
Sweezey wants Phat Man to revert to the late-running tactics he used to win last year’s Battery Park.
“We’re going to go back to what worked before,” he said.
Magic Michael ran second, beaten two lengths by Phat Man, in last year’s Battery Park. He ended last year with three straight victories and prepped for this with a fifth-place effort on turf in the Bensalem Match Series on June 14 at Parx Racing.
Also entered were Amatteroftime, Gentleman Joe, Ridin With Biden, Confessor, Tappin Cat, and Bobby G.
Dashing Beauty Stakes
Cilla, winner of last summer’s Grade 2 Prioress at Saratoga, looks for a rebound performance in the Dashing Beauty for fillies and mares going six furlongs. Sixth in Keeneland’s Grade 1 Madison on April 9, Cilla then finished fifth in Pimlico’s Skipat on May 21.
“I took two horses up there and both ran flat races,” trainer Brett Brinkman said about the Skipat. “I can’t put my finger on it. They just didn’t have their day.”
Brinkman’s other Pimlico entrant, Old Homestead, returned to win a stakes at Laurel, and Brinkman is getting similar vibes from Cilla.
“She’s put on weight and looks strong,” Brinkman said.
Stand Up Comic cross-entered at Belmont but likely starts here, according to trainer Butch Reid. Unbeaten in her three dirt starts last year, Stand Up Comic finished second in the Jersey Girl at Belmont in her seasonal debut June 12.
“She was a little excited and lost weight, so we gave her time,” Reid said. “She’s calmed down. I think she’s more mature.”
Ten-time winner Street Lute is 4 for 4 at Delaware and is one of the region’s more consistent fillies. She looms a strong contender along with Cinnabunny.
Also expected to run are Juror Number Four, We Miss Susie, Alayla, and Gerri B. Malibu Beauty raced Wednesday and will likely scratch.