Synchrony aims to defend Fair Grounds stakes titles this winter

Following a troubled third in the Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap at Del Mar on Nov. 24, trainer Michael Stidham plans on pointing Synchrony toward repeat victories in the major stakes for older horses on grass at Fair Grounds this winter.

Last meet, the 6-year-old son of Tapit won both the Grade 3 Fair Grounds Handicap and the Grade 2 Muniz Memorial Handicap.

“We plan on running in the same races we ran in last year,” Stidham said. “We may just freshen him up a little and hopefully have him ready for at least the last two turf stakes here.”

Synchrony had a hard way to go in his most recent effort and was placed at the back of the pack and lacked enough racing room at the top of the stretch, thus forcing jockey Joe Bravo to go wide. He eventually made up enough ground to finish a late-closing third.

“Synchrony was the best horse in that race by far,” Stidham said. “He was stuck in the back of the back of the pack and was still at the quarter pole turning for home. Joe was last at that point and didn’t get out until the three-sixteenth pole. When he did, he flew home and then ran out of ground.

“In my opinion, he was the best horse and he should’ve won. With a clean trip, he wins. Not taking anything away from the winner (Caribou Club) because he ran big, but that’s horseracing. There’s nothing you can do about that.”

Not all was lost for Stidham however. Earlier on the card, he scored a victory in the Grade 3 Jimmy Durante with Godolphin-owned Elsa who won at 11-1 odds.

The 2-year-old daughter of Animal Kingdom broke her maiden at first asking over the Laurel Park turf on July 20 and ran third in the Bolton Landing Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 15 next out behind Wesley Ward trainees Stillwater Cove and Chelsea Cloisters. She then returned to Laurel Park in the Selima Stakes on Sept. 22 where she was seventh over a yielding turf.

“We had only sprinted her up to that point,” Stidham said. “At Laurel first time out she was impressive and then was third in a very tough stake behind Chelsea Cloisters, who was second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. We ran her back in a six furlong turf race at Laurel and turf was like a swamp. They went three-quarters in 1:16 so that says how slow it was that day and she hated it.

“We decided that the only guarantee place that we would get some firm turf is California, so we went out there and made the plan right after she ran badly on the soft turf. It gave us the chance to stretch out to a mile which we knew she was going to like. It all worked out great.”

Elsa is out of the Distorted Humor broodmare Abtasaamah, who is a half-sister to two-time Grade 1 winner Midshipman as well as graded stakes winner Fast Cookie – the dam of three-time Grade 1 winner Frosted.