Work All Week totes heavy load in Cammack Handicap
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
There are no real handicap races anymore, the common wisdom goes. Racing secretaries are loath to load a horse with too much weight for fear of losing him to another track, and horsemen are quick to pull the plug on an intended start if the weight assignment tilts against them.
None of that applies to the $100,000 Addison Cammack Handicap for Illinois-bred sprinters Saturday at Arlington. Work All Week, a standout in the division, was assigned a weight of 130 pounds for the Cammack. He will spot his rivals 11 to 18 pounds in a six-furlong Polytrack dash if, as his connections still intend, he lines up in the starting gate.
“We’re pretty sure we’re going to run, but I feel like we’re being asked to pull a sled,” said Work All Week’s co-owner and breeder, Rich Papiese. “I think we should be carrying weight – it is a handicap – but when was the last time you saw 130 pounds?”
If Work All Week gets through this race in good shape, he could find himself racing on a much bigger stage, with a trip to Saratoga possible later this summer, Papiese said.
KEY CONTENDERS
Work All Week (Last 3 Beyers: 103, 101, 98)
* Work All Week easily is the best of nine horses entered in the Cammack. He finished sixth in November 2012 when debuting in a two-turn turf race but since then has 10 wins and a second from 11 sprint races on dirt and Polytrack. He has won back-to-back six-figure open stakes, the Hot Springs at Oaklawn and the June 27 Iowa Sprint, in which he beat the very good sprinter Delaunay.
* Work All Week’s lone loss in a one-turn race came in the 2013 Cammack, in which he opened a big midstretch lead but was nailed by Sweet Luca, who looked beaten at the eighth pole.
“I don’t think he ever saw the horse last year,” Papiese said. “He is a better horse on dirt than synthetic, but I think he’ll run on anything.”
* Work All Week and Chris Emigh break from post 9, outside the other speed. Work All Week is a front-runner, and some combination of Massive Explosion, Mish Mosh, and Big Looie might soften him up during the first half-mile. A taxing pace and a heavy impost can make even a superior horse like Work All Week vulnerable late in the game.
Sir Applesolutely (Last 3 Beyers: 81, 85, 94)
* Sweet Luca has lost six straight since he upset Work All Week one year ago, and he does not appear to pose as great a threat to Work All Week as another horse from the barn of trainer Chris Block, Sir Applesolutely. Sir Applesolutely absolutely needs pace help on the front and for Work All Week not to turn in a peak performance, but this horse has a strong synthetic sprint finish at his best and has a puncher’s chance to upset the heavy favorite at a price.