War Front progeny loom large in twin turf routes Thursday
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Keeneland racing office intended to have a pair of allowances to anchor a nine-race Thursday card, but how they got there is a little different from how it was designed.
A second-level turf route for older horses drew 20 entrants – none of whom have yet started at a spring meet that ends Friday – and when the other allowance failed to fill, the decision was made to split the 1 1/16-mile turf race into divisions.
The result is two $64,000 races that will bring a fine end to a program that starts at 1:05 p.m. Eastern. They’re slotted as races 7 and 9, and both are well matched with fields of 10, including several sons of War Front who figure as contenders.
The War Front son in race 7 is Blarp, who drops back out of stakes company after going through his first allowance condition in November at Fair Grounds for trainer Joe Sharp.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 4 Blarp. Trainer Joe Sharp is 18-0-2-3 over the past five years on turf at Keeneland. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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A pair of War Front sons figure well in race 9: War Envoy, coming off a third-place finish in the Barbados Gold Cup for Wesley Ward, and Vici, who outran his odds in two turf starters over the winter in New Orleans for Al Stall Jr.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 3 Vici. Trainer Al Stall is 19-5-3-4 with a $5.23 ROI over the past five years in turf routes at Keeneland. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 10 Prince Gagarin. Trainer Michael Matz is 39-1-5-3 with a $0.45 ROI over the past five years with horses making their first start following a trainer switch. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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“[War Envoy] came out of his race fine,” Ward said. “We’re just trying to get a steady schedule going for him and hopefully make a stakes horse out of him.”
After Thursday, only the 10-race Friday finale remains at this 16-day meet, with the Grade 3 Bewitch as the feature. Churchill Downs kicks off its Kentucky Derby meet Saturday night with a Downs After Dark program.
KEY CONTENDERS
Race 7
Munjaz, by Sea The Stars
Last 2 Beyers: 85-82
◗ British-bred Shadwell homebred makes his first start in more than 15 months for Kiaran McLaughlin, who unveiled him in December 2014 to rave reviews.
Blarp, by War Front
Last 3 Beyers: 81-90-94
◗ Former claimer should appreciate the drop back into the allowance ranks after failing to threaten graded types in the Muniz Memorial on Louisiana Derby Day.
Race 9
War Envoy, by War Front
Last 3 Beyers: NA-90-87
◗ Coolmore colt ran a bang-up race at Tampa in December in his second stateside appearance and now stands to benefit from the useful outing in Barbados.
Vici, by War Front
Last 3 Beyers: 87-80-73
◗ Claiborne/Dilschneider homebred has tactical speed that could come in handy for the perennially underrated Brian Hernandez Jr.