As usual, Maker merits respect in Connally Turf Cup

Typically, the John Connally Turf Cup at Sam Houston runs through trainer Mike Maker. This year is no exception.

Maker won the race last year with Admiral Kitten and in 2012 with Papaw Bodie, and even when he loses, Maker makes his mark in the race. In 2013, King David was second of 10 in the race, and in 2011, the Maker-trained Stately Victor finished third.

Handicappers might find that the central question in Saturday night’s edition of the Grade 3,
$200,000 Connally is, “Which Maker horse?”

Coalport, with Javier Castellano up, figures to be the better backed of Maker’s two entrants in the 1 1/8-mile grass race, but Dreams Cut Short is not without a chance, too. In all, there are nine entrants in the Connally, with Bim Bam curiously installed as the 3-1 morning-line favorite.

Much more likely to be the top betting choice is Coalport, though bettors might think twice if they take a good, long look at Coalport’s ideal distance range while fully processing that he struggled to win an Illinois-bred turf stakes in his most recent start. More likely, the crowd will see Maker’s name and that of Castellano, glance at Coalport’s competitive speed figures, and jump happily into the pool. And who knows? Maybe it is just as simple as that.

KEY CONTENDERS

Coalport (Last 3 Beyers: 91-98-98)

Did win over nine furlongs two races ago, beating seven allowance foes at Keeneland, but previously had been 0 for 2 in races at 1 1/8 miles.

Takes his track with him and ships without issue: His last five first-place finishes have come over five different turf courses.

FORMULATOR FACT: Maker with turf starters at Sam Houston over the last five years is 9-4-2-3 but with just a $2 break-even return on investment. In other words, his ship-ins at the track fire, but at short prices.

Dreams Cut Short (Last 3 Beyers: 72-90-95)

Never picked up his feet in the Claiming Crown Emerald but was a close seventh in graded stakes competition two races ago in Florida.

One-run closer is at the mercy of pace; when the leaders go slow, he struggles.

Bim Bam (Last 3 Beyers: 78-82-90)

Now 8, and after good summer form, he tailed off sharply in the fall. One wonders if he will bounce back to form as he enters the twilight of his racing career.

FORMULATOR FACT: Trainer Ron Moquett has nearly no horses like Bim Bam. Over the last five years, Moquett has had 16 starters in turf-route races with a purse greater than $60,000, and Bim Bam has made 14 of them.

Daddy’s Kid (Last 3 Beyers: 85-NA-95)

Youngest horse in the race at age 4, meaning he has more upside than most here.

His best race, a close second in the Hill Prince that produced a career-high 95 Beyer, came on soft turf.

Heitai tough in Turf Sprint

There might be no faster Thoroughbred in the country over five furlongs than Heitai. The $75,000 Frontier Utilities Turf Sprint is a five-furlong race, and if he runs to form, Heitai will not lose this race.

Listed at an absurd 7-2 on the track’s morning line, Heitai should go off an odds-on favorite while making his first start since owner-breeder Frank Rowell transferred the horse from trainer Karl Broberg to trainer Tom Amoss.

Heitai raced Jan. 3 at Fair Grounds, setting the pace and finishing second by a neck to the crack sprinter Delaunay. At five furlongs, he has proven virtually unbeatable since Rowell moved the horse from trainer Sam Breaux to Broberg, and Heitai might not be fully exposed on turf. Rowell has an eye on the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland, a 5 1/2-furlong dash, and Heitai easily won his two turf races in 2014.

Heitai is one of 11 entrants in a race that could scratch down after connections see Heitai’s name and form lines. Among the others is Global Power, a decent turf sprinter who used to be trained by Amoss but now makes his first start for Broberg.

◗Rather than wait for a Fair Grounds first-level allowance race to fill, trainer Larry Jones has shipped the promising 3-year-old maiden winner Exodus to start in the $50,000 Allen’s Landing Stakes.

Exodus, a $600,000 auction buy owned by Rick Porter, is by Medaglia d’Oro and out of the good mare Stop Traffic.

Third in his Keeneland debut, Exodus finished a distant third in late November as the odds-on favorite in a wet-track Fair Grounds maiden sprint, but on a fast track Jan. 4, he shot to the lead and never looked back, winning by more than eight lengths. That was a six-furlong race, and Jones like the gradual progression here to seven furlongs.

Fusaichi Flame and Waging War look like the logical alternatives to Exodus, who should be heavily favored.