Frac Daddy Back on All-Weather in Ben Ali
Magic City Thoroughbred Partners’ Frac Daddy, a participant in last year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) and Belmont (G1), has won races on dirt, turf and Polytrack in his career, but the Polytrack score here during the 2013 Fall Meet may been the most impressive.
“That was a monster race,” trainer Ken McPeek said of the 3½-length allowance victory that was completed under wraps.
McPeek is hoping for a similar effort Saturday when he sends Frac Daddy to the gate in the 84th running of the $150,000 Ben Ali (G3) at 1 1/8 miles.
“I think he needs to run at a certain distance,” McPeek said of Frac Daddy, who finished second in his 2014 debut on dirt in the Maxxam Gold Cup going 1 1/8 miles at Sam Houston on March 1. “Right now he is probably a Grade 3 horse until he proves to be more competitive.”
Frac Daddy earned his trip to the Kentucky Derby with a runner-up finish in the Arkansas Derby (G1). He finished 16th in the Kentucky Derby and 14th in the Belmont.
“We put him in some ambitious spots last year,” McPeek said. “(Owner) Carter Stewart might like those spots better than me. He said when he played quarterback that sometimes you’ve just got to go deep.”
McPeek said that Rosalind, dead-heat winner of the Central Bank Ashland (G1) on April 5, is scheduled to work here Saturday morning as she prepares for an engagement in the $1 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) on May 2 at Churchill Downs.
Rosalind is expected to ship to Churchill next week and have one work there prior to the Oaks.