Fast pace in Rebel would help Silver Dust

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – There appears to be an ample amount of speed signed on for the Grade 2, $900,000 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park, with such 3-year-olds as American Anthem, Malagacy, Royal Mo, and Uncontested all candidates for the 1 1/16-mile race Saturday. That sits really well with trainer Randy Morse, who will send out the promising Tapit colt Silver Dust.

“The faster they go up front, the better it is for him,” Morse said.

Silver Dust is part of a potential field of 10 for the Rebel, which will share a card with the Grade 2, $350,000 Azeri Stakes for fillies and mares and the $250,000 Essex Handicap. The Rebel carries 85 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby to be distributed to the first four finishers on a scale of 50-20-10-5.

American Anthem set the pace and finished second by a head in the Grade 3 Sham at Santa Anita. Malagacy has started his career with a pair of front-running sprint wins at Gulfstream. Royal Mo and Uncontested pulled wire jobs in recent stakes, with Royal Mo taking the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita and Uncontested the Smarty Jones in stakes-record time at Oaklawn.

“On paper, it looks like there should be plenty of pace,” Morse said. “But sometimes you think that, and everybody else is thinking the same, and they let one horse go out there. That’s out of our hands. We’re a sit-still-and-pick-up-the-pieces kind of horse.”

Silver Dust has made three starts. He won a maiden special weight race in his second race Nov. 20 at Churchill Downs, closing with a rush for a 3 1/2-length win while going a one-turn mile. He then launched his 3-year-old season Feb. 20 at Oaklawn, rallying for fourth in the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest Stakes.

Corey Lanerie, who was aboard for both starts and has the mount again Saturday, told Morse after the Southwest that going into the final turn of the race, he had a lot of horse with Silver Dust.

“He said about the middle of the turn, for some reason, he kind of spit the bit, then about the three-sixteenths pole, a horse came down and bumped him, and it was almost like it made him mad and he went back to running,” Morse said. “I loved the way he kept coming, and then he galloped out strong.

“He’s the kind of horse that doesn’t put a lot into his works, so he gets way more out of a race than he does training.”

Tom Durant owns Silver Dust, whom he purchased for $510,000 at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. auction of 2-year-olds in training last March. The horse is out of the Hard Spun mare Filare l’Oro, who is part of the female family of multiple Grade 1 winner Stop Traffic and multiple Grade 3 winner Gouldings Green.

“I think his best asset is … you can’t write the race far enough for him,” Morse said of Silver Dust. “I think this horse will run a mile and a half with no problem. He’s going to get better and better as they go farther.”

Morse said he likes the transition Silver Dust has made from ages 2 to 3.

“He’s growing up every day,” he said. “He’s taking his training more serious. He’s maturing.”

Morse has a 38-horse stable at Oaklawn. Following the close of the meet next month, he will head to Churchill Downs and also plans to send some horses to Prairie Meadows.

Pletcher trio arrives

A trio of stakes horses from Florida flew into Little Rock, Ark., on Monday and arrived on the Oaklawn backstretch by midday, track spokeswoman Jennifer Hoyt said. The horses all were from the barn of trainer Todd Pletcher. Malagacy goes in the Rebel, while Madefromlucky is being pointed for the Essex Handicap and Eskenformoney is among the nominees for the Azeri.

A flight bringing horses from Southern California was due to arrive Tuesday at Oaklawn. Those expected on the flight include Rebel candidates American Anthem and Royal Mo. Mor Spirit also is expected from Southern California for the Essex and is the probable highweight for the race at 121 pounds.

Purse increase

Oaklawn on Sunday announced an overnight purse increase for the final month of the meet that will push the value of maiden special weight races to $80,000 from the current $72,000, while allowances will be worth as much as $84,000 from the previous high level of $76,000.

The increases will begin Saturday.

Starter allowances and claiming races with a tag of $30,000 or more, including maidens, will all be boosted by $2,000 each. Oaklawn also has raised the purse of its Trail’s End, the 1 3/4-mile final race of the meet, to $55,000 from $50,000.

“This year, we have benefited from strong business in racing and gaming, which is allowing us to increase purses during the season for the ninth consecutive year,” Wayne Smith, assistant general manager at Oaklawn, said in a statement.