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Revolutionary seeks cleaner trip in Pimlico Special
"We've had our eye on the Pimlico Special since the Oaklawn Handicap," Pletcher said. "It's based on how they are both doing and training, the timing and the distance." Moreno, who blossomed into one of the more consistent sophomore performers in the second half of 2013, is another leading Special candidate. Hero of the Dwyer at Belmont last July, the Ghostzapper colt subsequently ran third in the Jim Dandy and then second behind Will Take Charge in both the Travers and Pennsylvania Derby. The Eric Guillot charge made his season debut in last month's $1.5 million Charles Town Classic. The leader at the first call, Moreno dropped back and then re-rallied to get third, three lengths behind upset winner Imperative. "They'll have to run better numbers," said Guillot when asked about Moreno's Pimlico Special opposition. "But all the horses in this race bother me. They've all got a chance, even though I think I have one of the best here. It's a horse race -- anything can happen. "The distance suits him. The speed suits him and his running style," Guillot said. "He's a front runner. I think my horse has to be the favorite." Several runners enter the Special in career peak form. Carve, who joined the Brad Cox barn over the winter, was a sharp 5 3/4-length allowance winner at Oaklawn March 9 and then was a game third in the Oaklawn Handicap. Valid, whose best effort in two prior stakes attempts was a runner-up finish in the Fred W. Hooper Handicap at Calder in December was subsequently second by a neck to Golden Lad in a Gulfstream allowance and then reeled off two allowance wins by a combined margin of 9 3/4 lengths. Making his stakes debut in the Special is the Bob Baffert-trained Cat Burglar, who passed his first two allowance conditions at Santa Anita during the winter-spring meet. The latter score over a mile came at the expense of stablemate and Grade 3 winner Govenor Charlie. "His last two wins have been pretty impressive, so I'm going to give him a shot at it," Baffert said. Among the remaining Special entrants, Prayer for Relief and Bourbon Courage are both past winners of the Super Derby at Louisiana Downs.
Winning Image goes for her seventh stakes score in the past two seasons in the $100,000 Skipat, a six-furlong dash for fillies and mares. A seven-year-old, Winning Image landed the Primonetta last month over the Skipat course and distance while guided by 62-year-old veteran Tony Black, who retains the mount on Friday. In a race that looks evenly-matched on paper, the Skipat field also includes Flattering Bea, who was stakes-placed at Pimlico last year and enters off a neck score in the Sugar Maple at Charles Town. Lion D N A and Risky Rachel have also had good form this year, winning multiple stakes at Aqueduct and Tampa Bay Downs, respectively, over the winter. The graded stakes-placed pair of Five Star Momma and Munnings Sister, along with Primonetta also-rans Red's Round Table and She's Ordained, will also line up. Tepin, who captured the lucrative Delta Downs Princess when last seen in November, gets back to work in the $100,000 Miss Preakness over six furlongs. Other notables in the field of 10 three-year-old fillies are Matron winner Miss Behaviour, third in the Stormy Blues at Pimlico on turf last time; Tea Time, who took the $95,000 Sharp Cat at Belmont last fall and was fifth in the Beaumont over Keeneland's Polytrack last out; the stakes-placed Jojo Warrior, a fading fifth after setting the pace two weeks ago in the Eight Belles at Churchill Downs; and Our Lesmis, who steps up in class after dominating Pennsylvania-bred company in her first two starts. Daring Dancer, who remained undefeated when notching the Appalachian at Keeneland last month, will be a heavy favorite to win her fourth in a row in the $100,000 Hilltop over 1 1/16 miles on the turf, which attracted seven other three-year-old fillies. Trainer Wesley Ward accounts for four of the eight starters in the $75,000 Rollicking, a five-furlong sprint for two-year-olds. Among Ward's quartet are the colt Hootenanny and the filly Spanish Pipedream, both of whom won at first asking during the Keeneland spring meet by a margin of 4 1/4 lengths. Trainer John Robb has a solid contender in Governmentshutdown, who won a Pimlico maiden by six lengths in his first outing with blinkers. Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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