Cowboy Culture ready to roll

No sooner had Cowboy Culture gotten back on track May 17 with a good win in the Arlington Classic than he went off the rails again. But after a layoff of 2 1/2 months, Cowboy Culture should be heavily favored to win the $200,000 Centaur Stakes on Wednesday at Indiana Grand.

The Centaur (race 8, post time 5:21) shares top billing on a rich card (first post 2:05 Eastern) with the $200,000 Indiana Grand (race 9) for 3-year-old fillies, with both races over one mile on turf. Also carded are two $100,000 Indiana-bred grass races, the A.J. Foyt and the Florence Henderson. Heavy rain was forecast for the area Monday night, with mainly sunny and cool conditions predicted Wednesday.

Cowboy Culture, trained by Brad Cox for Head of Plains Partners and Cheyenne Stables, won his first three starts, including a minor Fair Grounds stakes over Haskell Stakes winner Girvin. Cowboy Culture didn’t ship well going from Fair Grounds to Gulfstream, where he was seventh in the Palm Beach Stakes, and he raced ineffectively again when sixth in the Transylvania at Keeneland in April.

The Arlington Classic marked a return to form, producing a 5 3/4-length win, and Cox said the horse, in full health again now, is set for more of the same.

“He’s ready to roll,” Cox said. “We’re real pleased with how he’s doing. We contemplated bringing him to the Saranac at Saratoga, but decided it wasn’t in his best interest.”

Cowboy Culture breaks from post 1 under Florent Geroux, and Cox said he expects him to stick fairly close to the pace.

Drawn on the outside of an eight-horse field is Canadian invader Tiz a Slam, who returns to turf for the first time since his 2-year-old season. Tiz a Slam finished second in the $1 million Queen’s Plate over Tapeta at Woodbine, but didn’t pick up his feet making his dirt debut last out in the Prince of Wales at Fort Erie.

“He doesn’t seem to take a liking to dirt,” trainer Roger Attfield said. “We’ll throw the last one out.”

Tiz a Slam finished a close fourth last year in a strong edition of the Grade 2 Summer Stakes, won by Good Samaritan.

Harmac is 7-2 on the morning line for the Centaur, quite a departure for a horse that never has gone off at less than 11-1 in a six-start career, and who won the Bruce D. Memorial at Arlington last out at 27-1. Harmac, trainer Grant Forster said, still was immature and basically ran off last winter at Fair Grounds in his only turf race.

“The jockey came back and said he handled the turf beautifully,” Forster said.

Whether Harmac can handle an in-form Cowboy Culture is another question.

◗ Derby Express set the pace and finished second a year ago when facing older rivals as a 3-year-old in the A.J. Foyt Stakes. Still fresh just three starts into his 4-year-old campaign, and coming off an open allowance-race, Derby Express stands a good chance of going one place better and winning the Foyt.