Don’t Split Tens shaky favorite

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Don’t Split Tens was scratched from the Grade 3 Arlington Classic last weekend to start instead in the $50,000 Springfield Stakes on Saturday at Arlington. Don’t Split Tens would have been something like 20-1 in the Arlington Classic, but facing Illinois-breds in the Springfield, he is the 2-1 morning-line favorite, the horse to beat if his established form holds.

“If,” though, is a powerful two-letter word in the lexicon of horseplayers, some of whom will think twice about taking a short price on a horse sufficiently talented but unproven in two important areas.

Don’t Split Tens’s four races all were around two turns, and he goes a one-turn mile in the Springfield while breaking from tricky post 1. There’s also the issue of racing surface: Don’t Split Tens’s grass races look good enough to win the Springfield, and even an off-the-turf start over a sloppy Fair Grounds oval in March was decent, but Don’t Split Tens never has started on Polytrack.

One person who has faith is leading rider Jose Valdivia Jr., who takes the mount for the first time. Another is trainer Chris Block, who trained a Polytrackloving sister of Don’t Split Tens.

“He’s a half-brother to My Option, who was much better on synthetic than on any surface and was good around one turn,” Block said. “And if you can base anything off works on the Poly – which sometimes you can, sometimes you can’t – his breezes have been good. He seems like a game horse that won’t let the surface affect what he wants to do.”

Riv, the 5-2 second choice on the line, already has demonstrated his Polytrack chops, with solid wins over the local surface at this meet and last. What Riv hasn’t yet done is race farther than six furlongs; the mile could test him.

Riv probably makes the front, but the outside-drawn Smoke ‘n’ Gloat seems unlikely to permit Riv to slow the pace. On the Lam has thrown in some performances good enough to contend, but like Riv, he’s uncertain to stay the distance. Go Oshie Go is 15-1 on the line, and a return to Polytrack on May 19 produced a career-best performance. His trainer, Steve Manley, won four Arlington races last week, and Go Oshie Go at least could boost the exacta even if the favorite succeeds.

◗ Babybluesbdancing won the Pat Whitworth Illinois Debutante over Hawthorne’s dirt last fall, and if she can deliver a similar showing over Polytrack on Saturday, she can win the $50,000 Purple Violet for Illinoisbred 3-year-old fillies.

Babybluesbdancing, trained by Terrel Gore for owner Lizbeth Gore, is one of eight in the oneturn-mile Purple Violet. Carlos Silva trains three starters, with Hope N Wishes looking more promising than Konza Chrome and Romancin N Dancin.

Babybluesbdancing ran four times over Arlington’s main track last summer, finally winning a maiden race in her last start of the season. Babybluesbdancing might not have loved the surface, but she also just might prefer distances longer than the sprints in which she was racing. Her Whitworth win came at 1 1/16 miles, and Babybluesbdancing faced Stonetacular and Elate, considerably better horses than she meets Saturday, in a May 5 allowance race at Churchill Downs.