The Player to flaunt his speed

The Player was doing too much playing, trainer Buff Bradley and jockey Calvin Borel decided.

The horse needed to get his head in the game, so Bradley fitted him with a set of blinkers for the Mineshaft Handicap on Feb. 17 at Fair Grounds, and The Player hit it out of the park.

The Player won the Mineshaft under Borel by more than four lengths, earning a career-best 100 Beyer, and galloped out far in front. The Player is the raildrawn controlling speed Saturday at Fair Grounds and could toy with five foes in the Grade 2, $400,000 New Orleans Handicap.

“After that last race we’re pretty pumped up about him,” said Bradley, who also owns The Player with Carl Hurst. “He’s shown us quite a few times in the past he has the ability to be a big horse, but he’d run a couple good races and throw in a clunker. Blinkers seem like they got him going in the right direction.”

The Player picks up just two pounds and starts as the 122-pound highweight in the New Orleans Handicap, giving five pounds to his main rival Good Samaritan. The Player stretches out from 1 1/16 miles to 1 1/8 miles, but won the Grade 2 Fayette over that distance.

The Player is listed as the morning-line second choice at 9-5 behind 8-5 Good Samaritan, but those odds seems unlikely: Horseplayers quickly will notice The Player appears to hold a critical tactical edge. Four-year-old Good Samaritan has ample talent but has always been a deep closer, and the Fair Grounds main track recently has been kind to pace horses. If The Player gets away well under Borel, he probably never looks back.

Leofric figures third choice off a second in the Razorback Handicap, but he’s a 5-year-old who appears a cut below the top two. Admirable 7-year-old Scuba, Hollywood Handsome, and Han Sense complete the field.

The New Orleans Handicap goes as race 8, post time 3:39 Central it is the first leg of a 50-cent all-stakes pick four.

KEY CONTENDERS

The Player, by Street Hero Last 3 Beyers: 100-96-93

◗ Blinkers went on after The Player sucked back at the top of the stretch after getting a perfect pressing trip in the Jan. 13 Louisiana Stakes. The Player jumped back into the bridle the last 100 yards and quickly galloped out in front, suggesting he wasn’t focused on his task.

◗ The Player has been so sharp that Bradley intentionally slowed him down March 18, putting the horse through an easy half-mile drill.

“We schooled him in the paddock, I touched him on the side, and he tried to kick me,” Bradley said. “He doesn’t normally do that.”

Good Samaritan, by Harlan’s Holiday Last 3 Beyers: 102-97-96

◗ Had no luck while running well in defeat his first three races last year, all on turf, before breaking through with a 4 3/4-length win on dirt in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga.

◗ Added blinkers for his last two starts of 2017 and finished an encouraging campaign running second while facing older horses in the Grade 1 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs.