Trikari faces fresh test in Dinner Party

BALTIMORE – Trikari, a 4-year-old colt trained by Graham Motion, has the widest post of the 13 entered in the Grade 3 Dinner Party at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday. After finishing third in the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile in his 4-year-old debut, a test in class could be replaced by one in navigation as the burgeoning turf star looks for his first victory since August.

By the end of a busy 3-year-old season, one that included two Grade 2 victories and a Grade 1 triumph in the Belmont Derby, Trikari was clearly fatigued and let it show when he finished sixth in the Grade 3 Bryan Station at Keeneland. Motion gave him the winter to recover, and his performance last month was a clear sign that he could be rounding back into top form. After four straight starts at a mile, he will stretch out to 1 1/8 miles in the Dinner Party.

“I thought his race [in the Maker’s Mark Mile] was very respectable on soft, difficult going, and I actually think the mile and an eighth probably suits him better at this age,” Motion said. “He seems to have matured and settled down a little bit, so I think the extra distance is going to help him.”

Neat, a 4-year-old colt trained by Rob Atras, is looking for reasonable competition and a clean trip after a rocky stretch. A four-time stakes winner as a 3-year-old, he was overwhelmed in the Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe at Santa Anita off the layoff, and an attempt to find class relief in the Henry S. Clark at Laurel Park went sideways due to a tough trip.

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“It’s been a frustrating start to his year,” said Atras. “Last year, he had some eventful trips and was able to work through them and overcome them. We got a little bit lucky a couple times. So this year has been an unfortunate start, but we still have high expectations for him.”

Trainers Philip D’Amato, Shug McGaughey, and Saffie Joseph Jr. have entered two horses each in the Dinner Party. D’Amato’s star runner, 6-year-old gelding Balnikhov, won last year’s Dinner Party and will try to defend his title after two poor starts against classier competition.

“He won it last year, so he definitely likes the turf course with a little moisture in it,” D’Amato said.

Joseph’s runners, 7-year-old gelding Cash Equity and 4-year-old colt Abrumar, are struggling with the same issue at different points in their careers. Cash Equity has not won a race since 2023 despite several strong recent finishes in graded stakes company, while Abrumar has lost two of his last three starts by less than a length, prolonging a drought going back to March 2024.

Fort Washington, one of two horses entered by McGaughey, will be a key contender in a cavalry of late chargers. The 6-year-old runner closed from seventh to win the Grade 3 Canadian Turf at Gulfstream Park in early March. Signator, his stablemate, is 2 for 2 in his 5-year-old season and won the Henry S. Clark with a closing trip.

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