It's All About Speed in DeFrancis Dash
Not only does the calendar indicate it, but this time of year is also the Fall of horse racing season. The Breeders’ Cup seems to be the unofficial end of the horse racing year. When cases for all Eclipse award hopefuls have been stated and they turn out until next Spring or are retired. That is unless you live and/or race in the Mid-Atlantic region. On Saturday (Nov. 15), Laurel Park hosts their annual Fall Festival of Racing featuring the $350,000 Frank J. DeFrancis Memorial Dash plus five other $100,000 stakes races on the 9-race card.
The 23rd running of the 6 furlong “Dash” attracted a strong field of 10 which includes local turf sprinting legend Ben’s Cat, who is no slouch on dirt having won 10 of 14 lifetime outings on the main track, and will break from post 8. “I was reluctant to enter and am not sure we will run because there are some really tough horses in here,” said trainer/owner King T. Leatherbury. “I have the option of running him in the Fabulous Strike at Penn National in a couple weeks. He has done some good things on the dirt but there are too many good horses in here who are faster. The race came up really tough and it is supposed to. There are only so many big races for sprinters.”
The likely Morning Line favorite will be Bern Identity who took the Dave’s Friend stakes at Laurel on Sept. 6th then finished 3 lengths behind eventual BC Sprint winner Work All Week in the G3 Phoenix at Keeneland on Oct. 3rd. The Kelly Breen trainee was assigned Post Position #6.
A pair of Grade 1 winning, New York invaders Dads Caps and La Verdad will break from 5 and 7 hole, respectively. Dads Caps exits a runner-up effort in the G1 Vosburgh while La Verdad won the Iroquois Stakes. Both races took place over the main dirt oval at Belmont.
Trainer Steve Asmussen ships in #7 - Mico Margarita just two weeks after a disappointing (12th place) showing in the BC Sprint. “Mico” will need Laurel Park to be less speed favoring than he experienced at Santa Anita.
Zee Bros will go postward with the #4 saddlecloth for D. Wayne Lukas. The “Coach” must be hoping that the 4 year old son of Brother Derek can recapture some Maryland racing magic, as he did when winning the Chick Lang Stakes on Preakness Day 2013 at Pimlico, in gate to wire fashion. This will be his first start on the Laurel Park main track.
The rest of the field includes…
#1 - Happy My Way (Joe Bravo / Joe Orseno)
#2 - Heaven’s Runway (Trevor McCarthy / James Toner)
#3 - Favorite Tale (John Bisono / Guadalupe Preciado)
#10 - Smash and Grab (Jevian Toledo / Damon Dilodovico)
Post Time for the DeFrancis Dash, race 8 on the 9-race card, is scheduled for 3:55pm EST.