|
|
Field coming together for Lane's End
Chitoz was second, beaten only a neck, in last year's Kentucky Cup Juvenile S. (G3) at Turfway. In his seasonal debut, the bay colt finished fourth as the favorite in a second-level allowance race on the turf at Gulfstream Park. "Chitoz obviously ran well last year at Turfway over the Polytrack," Pletcher said. "With a race under his belt this year, we're hoping to see an improved effort on Saturday." Pletcher's other Lane's End charge, Duke of de Buqe, has never raced anywhere but Aqueduct. He has two wins from four starts, all in dirt races restricted to New York-breds. The bay gelding, however, is out of the Devil's Bag mare Miss Livi, which makes him a half-brother to Balto Star. "Duke of de Buqe is a horse we always thought would like the turf, and since he's a half to Balto Star, who could run on both dirt and turf, we think Duke of de Buqe will handle the Turfway Polytrack well," Pletcher said. "The Lane's End is a good option for him." Trainer Dale Romans reports that his Lane's End contender, Halo Najib, is all set for the 1 1/8-mile race following a bullet five-furlong workout in :58 4/5 on Sunday at Turfway Park. Halo Najib left his Florida base for Kentucky a week ago. Romans said the deciding factor in bringing the chestnut to the Lane's End was his undefeated record on synthetic surfaces. He broke his maiden at first asking last October over Keeneland's Polytrack and two starts ago won the O.B.S. Championship S. over the Ocala Training Center's synthetic surface. Adriano's ninth-place finish from post 12 in the Fountain of Youth S. (G2) on February 24 at Gulfstream Park was not exactly what Graham Motion was expecting, but the British-born trainer will give Adriano another chance in the Lane's End. After a 6 3/4-length grass score in one of the most visually impressive performances of the current Gulfstream meeting, Adriano moved from allowance ranks to the Fountain of Youth for his first try on dirt. His bad luck started at the post position draw, where he drew the outside stall, and got worse from there, with first-turn trouble contributing to the lackluster finish behind Cool Coal Man (Mineshaft). "He had a tough post, and I'm not sure he handled dirt as well as he handled grass," Motion said. "We were kind of experimenting with him. But I think he should handle the Polytrack and deserves one more shot at the big time." Adriano's lone Polytrack effort resulted in a solid fourth-place finish in the Breeders' Futurity (G1) last October at Keeneland. "He ran respectably that day," Motion said. "It was a big step up for him, after just breaking his maiden at Delaware." Motion is also eager to give Adriano another try at the Lane's End distance. "I think that as the distances get longer it will only help him," he said. Racecar Rhapsody is owned in partnership by Jerry Carroll, who owned Turfway Park from 1986 to 1999. After breaking his maiden over Keeneland's Polytrack last October, Racecar Rhapsody finished a close third in the Kentucky Jockey Club S. (G2) at Churchill Downs and concluded his juvenile season with a fourth-place effort in the Delta Jackpot S. (G3) at Delta Downs. The Kenny McPeek charge has been training forwardly at Gulfstream for his return to action. The Lane's End will be the last of 12 races on Saturday. Gates open at 10 a.m. (EDT). First post is 1:10 p.m.
 Send this article to a friend
|
|
