Topper T to get unique racing plan after big Beyer
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Topper T emerged from his 110 Beyer Speed Figure performance last Sunday at Prairie Meadows in outstanding condition and likely will make his next start in the overnight ranks, trainer Jon Arnett said Wednesday.
Topper T won a $30,000 claiming race by more than 18 lengths and was awarded the year’s third-highest Beyer for the performance in which he covered six furlongs on a fast track in 1:08.38.
“He came out of it great,” Arnett said. “He really came out of it good.”
Topper T was put back on Lasix for Sunday's race after being unable to run on the diuretic in a stakes held at Prairie Meadows June 24. He finished fifth as the favorite that day after winning three straight races up to the John Wayne Stakes. It was the first time Topper T had run without Lasix – and the first time he’d run in a stakes for owner Danny Stafford and Arnett after being claimed last September.
The rules of racing in almost all jurisdictions now prohibit the use of Lasix in stakes races in a Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority policy that went into effect earlier this year. Arnett said he will pursue overnight handicaps and allowance races with Topper T because he wants to keep the multiple stakes winner on Lasix.
“He just cannot compete without Lasix,” Arnett said. “If we can’t have that, we’re not going to take a chance on hurting the horse.
“It will kind of be a different road for him. We’ll see how we can take him along. It’s really hard anymore to get any kind of straight allowance, but with that being a claiming race the other day, it won’t count against him in some allowances with conditions.”
Topper T is a 10-time winner who is approaching $500,000 in earnings. He was bred in Iowa and is currently based at Prairie Meadows. Arnett is hopeful the horse will have opportunities to run back in his home state during the course of the meet.
“If we could race him here, it would be nice,” Arnett said. “He might be a type of horse we might have to travel with a little bit, kind of map out some races in places we can go with him.”
Arnett said Stafford also has been fielding offers from folks looking to purchase Topper T. The veteran trainer said the Beyer Figure earned by Topper T was new territory for his barn.
“I’ve been training 40-something odd years and never had a horse do that,” Arnett said. “The horse, I was really proud of the horse. He’s a really nice horse.”
Arnett said his goal with Topper T as a trainer has been to get him to relax more in his morning training.
“We’ve tried to slow him down, save something for the afternoon,” he said.
It appears the plan is working – 110 percent.
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