Texas Bling stretches out to mile for Assault

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Texas Bling will be returning to the distance of his biggest win Saturday night as part of a large, competitive field of 11 in the $50,000 Assault at Lone Star Park. The one-mile race is the main event on a closing-night program with four restricted stakes worth a cumulative $300,000:

◗ Vivian Da Bling, who owns one of the year’s highest Beyer Speed Figures for 2-year-olds, an 85, can give trainer Bret Calhoun his sixth victory in the $100,000 fillies’ division of the Texas Thoroughbred Association Sales Futurity.

◗ Supermason will be out to back up his cruising maiden win with a stakes score in the $100,000 colts-and-geldings division of the TTA Sales Futurity, a race his trainer, Calhoun, has won five times, including the last three editions.

◗ Lasting Bubbles defends her title in the night’s first stakes, the $50,000 Valor Farm for fillies and mares bred in Texas.

Texas Bling will be one of the top choices in the Assault, a race for 3-year-olds and up bred in Texas that also drew Texas Air, the winner of the $50,000 Star of Texas this year at Sam Houston Race Park; Special U F O, the winner of the $50,000 Texas Hall of Fame Night at Retama Park last November; and F J Uncle Vic, a stakes-winning 3-year-old who in his last start ran third in the Grade 3, $200,000 Lone Star Park Handicap.

Texas Bling registered the biggest win of his career in the $300,000 Springboard Mile at Remington Park at 2. He will be stretching back out to that distance off a second-level allowance win at six furlongs May 16. He settled just off the pace in the race at Lone Star before moving out to a 1 1/2-length win at 1-2.

“He had a really nice race, showed a good turn of foot, and acted like he’s back to his old self,” said Danele Durham, who trains the 4-year-old Texas Bling.

The race was Texas Bling’s first since a March 29 allowance at Oaklawn in which he finished an uncharacteristic seventh. Following that race, he was found to have an upper-respiratory infection. For the Assault, he shows a strong series of works, including a half-mile bullet in 46 seconds June 5 and a five-eighths bullet in 59.60 seconds June 21.

“I tried to run him 30 days after his last race, and the race didn’t go,” Durham said. “They wrote it back in a different form, and it didn’t go again, so we’ve worked up to the Assault. He has never trained better.”

David Cabrera, the leading rider at Lone Star who since last teaming with Texas Bling in May has graduated from apprentice to journeyman, has the mount from post 10. Texas Bling has more natural speed than a number of his rivals and could get an ideal trip tracking probable pacesetter Hang Cool.

“The way he was closing the other day, he still looked like he wanted to get a mile,” Durham said. “He still knows how to relax and come from off the pace, and I think he’ll do the same thing this time.”

Texas Air could go favored in the Assault on the basis of the field’s best last-race Beyer, a 97, for his runner-up finish in an optional claimer at a mile June 20. He also put up his best career Beyer at the trip in December, when he earned a 101 for a one-mile allowance score at Retama Park.

Lindey Wade has the mount from post 5 for trainer Allen Milligan.