Cox tries to double up in pair of turf stakes

Trainer Brad Cox won a pair of age-restricted grass stakes, the Caesars with Royal Prince and the Indiana Grand with Burning Ambition, last Sept. 9 at Indiana Grand. The track’s name has changed this year to Horseshoe Indianapolis, as has the name of the Indiana Grand Stakes, and the $150,000 turf races have been moved to Wednesday. Cox, however, still will be prominently featured.

Cox has Lolloping for the Horseshoe Indianapolis, which is restricted to 3-year-old fillies, and a pair of entrants, Tommy Bee and American Pure, for the Caesars.

Nine colts and geldings were entered in the one-mile Caesars, but the race could go with five runners. Kuchar starts only if the Caesars is rained onto dirt (not impossible, with showers forecast, but highly unlikely), and Cox’s Indiana-based assistant, Ricky Giannini, said American Pure also would only run in the event of a rain-off. Play Action Pass, who was 6-1 on the track’s morning line, won a first-level turf allowance race Sunday at Churchill Downs. Shake Em Loose was expected to run in Saturday’s James W. Murphy Stakes at Pimlico.

Irad Ortiz Jr. is named to ride Cox horses in both stakes and has the call on likely Caesars favorite Tommy Bee. Tommy Bee, a Medaglia d’Oro colt owned by Robert LaPenta and Madaket Stables, is far from top class and cleared the maiden ranks for a $50,000 claiming tag last fall in New York, but he has come around steadily this season.

Twice at Fair Grounds over the winter he was thumped by capable front-runner Dowagiac Chief, who got away leading on a very slow pace March 5 in the Black Gold Stakes, but after a second-place finish in the Rushaway Stakes on Turfway’s Tapeta surface, it was Tommy Bee’s time to shine last month at Keeneland. With Ortiz engineering a favorable trip, Tommy Bee won a ninefurlong first-level allowance race by two lengths, getting his final furlong in a robust 11.20 seconds.

Better win value, however, is likely to be found with Setna the Wise, who drew post 8 but would move inside with the expected scratches. Setna the Wise, a Cairo Prince colt who was a $335,000 2-year-old auction buy, debuted March 3 in a Fair Grounds turf-route maiden and won by a half-length. Trying a first-level turf allowance at Keeneland, Setna the Wise managed to save ground despite breaking from post 11 but endured a traffic-filled run and did well to finish sixth, beaten only 3 1/4 lengths.

“He managed to get to the rail, but it never really panned out from there,” trainer Jason Barkley said. “He was trying to find a hole wherever he could. I thought he ran a really good race. At Fair Grounds he was still figuring it out and just won on talent. He can improve a lot.”

Umberto Rispoli, who has a career mark of 5-3-1-0 at Horseshoe Indianapolis, has the mount.

Stitched went wire to wire on a slow pace winning a firstlevel turf allowance last month at Churchill but should have front-end company from Wake Surf.

Lolloping, Ortiz riding for Cox in the Horseshoe Indianapolis, won her debut, a Fair Grounds turf route, but has yet to progress in two subsequent starts. Lolloping probably got too much of a demanding pace when finishing a fading sixth April 14 in a Keeneland allowance race, but she might also not be quite good enough to win the Horseshoe.

Bravo Kitten, Rispoli riding for Saffie Joseph Jr., looks like the favorite coming off two second-place finishes in Keeneland allowance races. Bravo Kitten did appear to lack full focus late in both starts, and Joseph tries the filly in blinkers for the first time Wednesday. A 22 percent winner overall with horses racing for the first time in blinkers, Joseph’s record in stakes races with horses making the equipment change is 9-0-1-1.

Dreamworker is 5-1 on the morning line, could drift higher, and might be worth a win bet with Deshawn Parker riding for trainer Joe Sharp. Dreamworker won a maiden race and a first-level allowance, turf routes both, in December and January at Fair Grounds. She led at the stretch call but faded to fifth March 12 in the Lacombe Memorial there but raced too close to the inside rail over a course heavily biased that day toward outside paths. New Year’s Eve, third in the race, was a sharp winner of the Regret Stakes on May 6 at Churchill.

◗ Simply put, Mr Chaos is the likeliest winner of the $100,000 Sagamore Sired Stakes, a 5 1/2-furlong dirt dash restricted to horses sired by Indiana-based stallions. Mr Chaos has three wins from three career starts and easily beat older allowance rivals April 9 in his 3-year-old debut. The $100,000 Swifty Sired, the sister race to the Sagamore, looks more complicated, but Lexi Sun is the “now” horse and can go wire to wire.