Ward regroups with Maven in Franklin-Simpson

FRANKLIN, Ky. – Even Wesley Ward has a hard time figuring out this crazy game once in a while.

“I really don’t know what happened with him last time,” Ward said of a disappointing sixth-place finish by Maven at Saratoga last month.

The race stands as aberration for both man and beast. With six wins from the first four cards, Ward held a hot early hand at the six-day Runhappy meet at turf-only Kentucky Downs, where Maven figures as a major contender in the featured Franklin-Simpson as the curtain comes down on another eventful stand Wednesday.

Maven, bred by Ward and owned by Richard Ravin, will have star jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard in the $500,000 Franklin-Simpson, a 6 1/2-furlong race that drew an oversubscribed field of 3-year-olds. The American Pharoah colt will be looking to rebound from the Aug. 26 Mahony at Saratoga, a race in which Noah and Jack sped off to a huge early lead and never came back to the field.

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Maven, typically full of early run, never got close. The colt had won three of his four prior starts and was the 9-5 favorite for the Mahony.

“He’d been doing great into that race, and he’s done great coming out of it,” said Ward. “Maybe when [Noah and Jack] got so far ahead, it just took the heart out of him. I really think it’s a throwout and we’ll look forward to something better Wednesday.”

Ward also has Kimari entered as the only filly, and the 5-2 morning-line favorite, in the Franklin-Simpson, but he said she was much more likely to race the previous day in the rescheduled Music City. Her defection would leave room in the starting gate for at least one of the four also-eligibles in the Franklin-Simpson. Sixteen are entered, with as many as 12 allowed to start.

Maven, breaking from post 3, is being asked to outrun a capable group. Among the opposition are Turned Aside, Old Chestnut, Fore Left, and Flap Jack, the respective 1-2-3-4 finishers in the Grade 3 Quick Call on July 24 at Saratoga.

Turned Aside (post 1, Jose Ortiz) represents the first-ever Kentucky Downs starter for New York-based trainer Linda Rice.

Old Chestnut (post 6, Florent Geroux) has run back since the Quick Call, and it wasn’t good. He, like Maven, was never in shouting distance when finishing well behind Noah and Jack, his Mark Casse-trained stablemate.

Fore Left (post 11, Mario Gutierrez) rebounded with a respectable Quick Call effort after finishing ninth of 10 in the June 20 Belmont Stakes.

Flap Jack (post 4, Ricardo Santana Jr.) was an okay fifth in the Mahony following the Quick Call for trainer Jack Sisterson.

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Fringe considerations include Another Miracle, a last-out winner of the My Frenchman at Monmouth Park, and Embolden, making an interesting turnback from the one-mile Saranac.

Competitive Saint, the Mahony runner-up for trainer George Weaver, figures as a threat if he draws in off the also-eligibles as No. 13 with Luis Saez.

The Franklin-Simpson goes as the ninth of 10 races on a program that starts at 12:15 p.m. Central. Post time for the feature is 4:32 p.m.

A busy closing-day card also includes three $100,000 designated preps (races 6-8) toward the Claiming Crown series in December at Gulfstream Park, along with split $45,000 divisions of a marathon starter (races 2 and 10) and a $95,000 allowance (race 4).

The Wednesday card is the focus of the second of two days (following Tuesday) of an online handicapping contest offering seats to the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge and the 2021 National Handicapping Contest. Full details are available on the track website, kentuckydowns.com. The contest is sponsored by Daily Racing Form.

Live action on the Kentucky circuit returns Thursday to Churchill Downs in Louisville, where the last nine cards of a split September meet will take place through Sept. 27.

As for those Claiming Crown previews:

◗ Jakarta, beaten just a half-length after leading to deep stretch in the Caressing last month at Saratoga, will be looking to get first run on Dance Rhythms in race 6, a 6 1/2-furlong prep toward the CC Distaff Dash. The 5-year-old mares will start alongside each other in posts 4 and 5 as the favorites in a field of nine.

Mike Maker, trainer of Jakarta and the all-time leading trainer in both Kentucky Downs and Claiming Crown history, has a second entry in Flora Fantasy, who gets Irad Ortiz.

◗ Maker has two of the major contenders in Apreciado and Muggsamatic in race 7, a mile and 70-yard prep toward the CC Emerald. They’re foremost among an eight-horse field that also includes the Steve Asmussen-owned coupling of Ya Gotta Wanna and Don’task Don’ttell.

◗ A very well-matched field of 10 fillies and mares is entered in race 8, a mile and 70-yard prep toward the CC Tiara, with Aife, Sugar Fix, and the New York invader Foxtail among the top threats.