Somelikeithotbrown sharp for return

As ungraded stakes in the middle of winter in Kentucky go, Friday’s $75,000 John Battaglia at Turfway Park is a cut above. Besides drawing a full field of 12, the race attracted a pair who competed in the Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs in November – Somelikeithotbrown and The Mackem Bullet.

They made their presence felt in the Breeders’ Cup, too. Somelikeithotbrown led for all but the final sixteenth of the Juvenile Turf, holding third, while The Mackem Bulllet ran sixth in the Juvenile Fillies Turf, ahead of more than half the field.

The two are the favorites for Friday’s Battaglia, a 1 1/16-mile race on Polytrack that serves as the traditional prep for the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby on March 9, the track’s signature race. Somelikeithotbrown is the 8-5 morning-line choice, and The Mackem Bullet is the second favorite at 3-1.

Others have worthy credentials. Wallace, 12-1, was a stakes winner at Woodbine last year; fellow 12-1 shot Dabo exits a key turf race at Gulfstream and was an eye-catching debut winner on Polytrack last summer; and 8-1 Echo Alpha Six finished third at Fair Grounds in an allowance on Jan. 11.

The Battaglia marks the first start since the Breeders’ Cup for Somelikeithotbrown, a 3-year-old son of Big Brown who spent the early winter in Florida. The colt recorded four breezes there, one short of what trainer Mike Maker had wanted, but the workouts left him encouraged.

“He’s done phenomenal,” said Maker. “I’m expecting a big effort on his part.”

Although Somelikeithotbrown’s natural speed will likely place him close to the pace under Rafael Hernandez, Maker would like to see him ridden as patiently as possible. In the Breeders’ Cup, as well as in earlier graded placings in the Pilgrim and With Anticipation, he seemed to be traveling best in early stretch, only to be outfinished.

“I think he’s waiting on horses,” he said. “He fools ‘em. So we’ll try to wait as long as we can this time.”

He likely cannot afford such a mistake against The Mackem Bullet. In addition to her respectable finish in the Breeders’ Cup, she finished second in a Group 2 and a Group 1 stakes overseas. After the Breeders’ Cup she won a first-level allowance by 10 1/2 lengths at Turfway on Dec. 31.

The Mackem Bullet’s trainer, Wesley Ward, had initially planned to train her up to the $100,000 Bourbonette on the Jeff Ruby undercard, but her readiness swayed him to test males in the Battaglia.

“She’s very talented,” said Ward. “What you see on the form isn’t as good as she is.”