Wonderful Light trying new things in Coalition Stakes

Wonderful Light will make his first start over a track less than a mile in circumference, and his first around two turns, in the $75,000 Coalition Stakes at Timonium on Saturday. He’ll be favored to win the 6 1/2-furlong race, but will have to beat four Charles Town-based horses, who have made a living around tighter turns.

Belmont Park-stabled Wonderful Light is a 5-year-old half-brother to two-time Grade 1 winner and $1.5 million earner By the Moon and races for the same connections as his retired sibling – trainer Michelle Nevin and the Jay Em Ess Stable of Samantha Siegel. He has run well since returning from a 10 1/2-month layoff in July, finishing second in the Rumson Stakes at Monmouth Park and winning a high-level optional claimer at Laurel Park.

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He also should get a nice setup from the outside post in the eight-horse field. Three of the West Virginia horses are quick, and there is an almost quarter-mile run to the first turn going this distance at Timonium. Victor Carrasco should have plenty of time to find a place to tuck in behind the speed on Wonderful Light before making his move on the backstretch or around the second bend.

But experience counts, and North Atlantic and Aaron’s Tap, who race for the king of Charles Town Jeff Runco, have plenty of it. North Atlantic, who figures to come from off the pace, is 15 for 36 with earnings of nearly $474,000, while Aaron’s Tap, who is fast and will leave post 1 running, is 12 for 20 and has a bankroll of $246,851.

The competitive Coalition lineup also includes late-running Clubman, who is in sharp form for trainer Rodolfo Sanchez-Salomon but racing at a distance shorter than his best. Charles Town-based Sparticle is trained by Kevin Patterson, who is 40 for 90 on the year as of Thursday morning.