Teuflesberg entered, likely to start in Marfa

Teuflesberg has surfaced periodically on the national racing radar this year, most notably when he defeated Hard Spun in the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park in February and again when he upstaged a solid field in the Woody Stephens Breeders' Cup on the Belmont Stakes undercard in June.

Most recently a creditable fourth in the Gradeo1 King's Bishop Stakes on the Aug. 25 Travers undercard at Saratoga, Teuflesberg is taking the Turfway Park route in trying to strike it big again. The colt was entered and then scratched from the one-mile Turfway Fall Championship last Saturday. One week later, he has been entered again at the Florence, Ky., track, this time in the $75,000 Marfa Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs.

Trainer Jamie Sanders said Thursday that she is hoping to use the Marfa as a prep for the Kentucky Cup Sprint, a Grade 3 race to be run Sept. 29 at Turfway. The six-furlong KC Sprint has frequently produced starters for the Breeders' Cup Sprint, and although Sanders and her three ownership partners in Teuflesberg are not ready to commit to a specific Breeders' Cup event at Monmouth Park, surely a couple of sharp efforts at Turfway would make him a logical fit for the BC Sprint.

Sanders said a dispute within the Teuflesberg partnership led to the scratch from the Fall Championship, and although she said there are still unresolved issues, "I think I'm actually going to run him this time."

Willie Martinez has the mount on Teuflesberg, who will break from post 2 in a field of eight.

Teuflesberg will be facing older rivals for the first time in the Marfa, and although his opposition does not look particularly stout, the race shapes up as a decent test for the KC Sprint, which is restricted to 3-year-olds. The top challengers in the Marfa appear to be Off Duty, Reigning Court, and Buddy Got Even. Of that trio, Buddy Got Even might rate the best upset chance, if only because of his record on synthetic tracks: 5 wins from 10 starts, including a three-length victory in January in the Forego Stakes over the Turfway Polytrack.

The rest of the Marfa field is Cat and a Half, Cognac Kisses, Bully for You, and Cowboy Hardware.

The Marfa goes as the 13th race on a 16-race card that also includes six simulcast races from Kentucky Downs. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.