Venerable Ben’s Cat will be favored to win his third Laurel Dash

It’s always a special day in Maryland when Ben’s Cat is running. The popular sprinter trained and owned by King Leatherbury is the star attraction in the last of six turf stakes on Saturday’s 12-race program at Laurel Park.

The 8-year-old Ben’s Cat will seek to win the $100,000 Laurel Dash for the third time in four years in race 11.

“It is primarily the same horses we have been running against,” said Leatherbury, noting that Ben’s Cat has already beaten five of the nine rivals entered to challenge him in the six-furlong Dash. “We are all set. With a decent trip, we will win.”

Ben’s Cat, who surpassed $2 million in earnings this summer, will be a prohibitive favorite to win the Dash again. He scored in an off-the-turf running of the race in 2011, was second in 2012, and prevailed by a neck as the 3-5 favorite last year.

The two best betting races among the four stakes for older horses on the card are the $100,000 Lady Baltimore for fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles (race 7) and the $100,000 Laurel Turf Cup at 1 1/2 miles (race 10).

The 14-horse Lady Baltimore features Medea, a Grade 3 winner three starts ago, along with four other horses who were beaten two lengths or less at the Grade 3 level this season – Lonesome Town, Moment in Dixie, Fasnacloich, and Scampering.

The Laurel Turf Cup’s 14-horse lineup includes My Afleet, winner of the Dueling Grounds Derby three weeks ago; Reflecting, second in the 1 1/2-mile Yankee Affair on opening day at Belmont earlier this month; and Calvados, who missed by a nose in a Group 3 stakes going 1 1/2 miles in Argentina this past spring.

The other stakes for older horses, the $125,000 Jameela for Maryland-bred fillies and mares, is topped by multiple stakes winner Madame Giry, who got up by a nose as the 4-5 favorite in last year’s running of the six-furlong sprint.

LAUREL DASH (RACE 11)

KEY CONTENDERS

Ben’s Cat (Last 3 Beyers: 96-98-94)

◗ He comes off two solid efforts in Grade 3 races, winning the Parx Dash by a nose and then missing by a neck despite clipping heels in the Turf Monster Handicap nearly four weeks ago. He has six wins and two seconds in eight starts on Laurel’s turf.

Stormofthecentury (Last 3 Beyers: 83-85-92)

◗ He scored a 28-1 upset of Ben’s Cat in the 2013 Turf Monster but hasn’t been close to Ben’s Cat the two times he has faced him this season.

Bold Thunder (Last 3 Beyers: 83-93-92)

◗ He ran a couple of big Beyer Speed Figures at Gulfstream early this year that would stamp him as a threat to Ben’s Cat. He lost by only 1 1/2 lengths to Ben’s Cat despite breaking awkwardly when they met in July at Parx.

LADY BALTIMORE (RACE 7)

KEY CONTENDERS

Madea (Last 3 Beyers: 78-87-85)

◗ She won the Grade 3 Eatontown at Monmouth Park in June but has been dull in her last two races at the same level.

Moment in Dixie (Last 3 Beyers: 74-76-96)

◗ She is back on turf for the first time since her fourth in the Grade 3 Endeavour at Tampa Bay in January. She nearly connected at 25-1 in the Grade 3 Doubledogdare on Keeneland’s Polytrack, missing by a neck.

Fasnacloich (Last 3 Beyers: 86-82-79)

◗ She outran her 17-1 odds to finish a close third in the Grade 3 Violet at Monmouth a month ago. She merits respect off her 4-for-6 record on turf.

Misty in Malibu (Last 3 Beyers: 87-75-84)

DRF FORMULATOR FACT: She comes back 14 days after a near-miss in a restricted stakes for trainer Rodney Jenkins, who is 5 for 11 (45 percent) with a $5.47 ROI over the past five years with quick turnarounds in turf routes following an in-the-money finish.

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Scampering (Last 3 Beyers: 84-86-87)

◗ She was seventh, but beaten just two lengths, in same race Fasnacloich exits.

DRF FORMULATOR FACT: Trainer Shug McGaughey is 2 for 3 with the horses he has shipped to Laurel this year.

LAUREL TURF CUP (RACE 10)

KEY CONTENDERS

Reflecting (Last 3 Beyers: 97-88-92)

DRF FORMULATOR FACT: Over the past five years, McGaughey is 4 for 10 with horses returning in 21 days or less in turf routes between 1 1/4 and 1 1/2 miles. But the two times Reflecting has tried it, he finished fifth.

My Afleet (Last 3 Beyers: 89-86-82)

◗ He returns three weeks after an all-out, nose win against 3-year-olds at Kentucky Downs. Trainer James Lawrence is 0 for 8 over the past five years with last-out winners running back in 21 days or less in turf routes.

Calvados (Last Beyer: 86)

◗ He backed up to sixth in his first start in the United States. He merits respect for trainer Ignacio Correas, who is 6 for 25 (24 percent) over the past five years with horses making their second start off a layoff in turf routes, including three stakes wins.