Veteran Synchrony aims for a Fair Grounds Stakes hat trick

A two-time defending winner of the Grade 3, $150,000 Fair Grounds Stakes, Pin Oak Stable’s 7-year-old Synchrony will shoot for the hat trick when he lines up against 13 others in Saturday’s 1 1/8-mile turf event in New Orleans.

Off for four months, the multiple graded stakes-winning son of Tapit was last seen finishing a troubled eighth, beaten 1 1/2 lengths, in the the City of Hope Mile (G2) at Santa Anita in October. From post two, Synchrony will be reunited with jockey Joe Bravo, who is 5-for-9 aboard the Mike Stidham trainee and rode in both previous Fair Grounds Stakes victories.

“At the end of last year, there was a question as to whether or not we were going to bring him back for his 7-year old year,” Stidham said. “Because of his health and desire for racing, we decided to give him a little break and then bring him back to Fair Grounds, which is his favorite track.

“His level of enthusiasm is the same as when we first got him in years ago. Getting him over a million dollars in earnings is a goal, but we are also still chasing that elusive grade one, and we think he’s still capable of getting that done.

“In his last work (on Feb. 6), Synchrony broke off and was just doing his thing nice and easy, when a gray horse came up beside him,” Stidham said. “That horse happened to be (Mineshaft favorite) Silver Dust. He ran by us on the turn, but then Synchrony showed his grit came back at him and almost got him at the wire. They galloped out together. You would never plan something like that with those two horses, but it was just really cool to see.”

The Fair Grounds Stakes, carded as Race 10, goes at 5:32 p.m. ET Saturday.