Delaware Park horses to watch: October 19
Off at Delaware Park. Photo © www.HoofprintsInc.com.
by Frank Vespe
Delaware Park has an eight-race card on tap for Thursday. Scheduled post time is 1:15 p.m. Some horses to watch:
- The sixth is a maiden claiming event for two-year-olds going six furlongs on the main track, and as you might expect for maiden claiming juveniles, it’s not necessarily the greatest group of horses ever assembled. The morning line favorite is #6 Die Hard Di (5-2), who’s dropping out of maiden special company, but we have a suspicion that the Scott Lake trainee #5 Diamond Junior (7-2) may end up the chalk. He was second on debut against similar as the 4-5 favorite, and an improved effort here seems likely. Keep an eye on the toteboard for guidance. But we’re more interested — at least in an academic sense — in the two Keith Nations trainees, #3 Demerara (8-1) and #8 Rumfire (8-1). Both are making their career debuts, and they seem to have been working in company for their last three breezes. But a couple of factors are worth noting. First, Demerara has the type of breeding that might make you think star: he’s by Twirling Candy, a popular sire of national repute, and is out of a Demons Begone mare who has produced seven winners, including four stakes winners. This guy is bred to be something — but shows up here for a $25,000 tag in his first career start. Not exactly a vote of confidence. Also notable: Nations puts solid bug boy Franklin Ceballos on the horse — the first time he’s ridden Ceballos at the Delaware meet. Rumfire, meanwhile, is a more modestly bred sort who’s a homebred for his owners. He’s not in for the tag, his connections allowed to waive it because he’s Delaware-certified. And for this runner, Nations will leg up solid journeyman Jomar Torres, clicking at 22 percent for the meet. What’s it all mean? It’s entirely possible neither of them is good enough to beat the top pair in here, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Rumfire outrun his more glamorous stablemate.
- The seventh is a first-level allowance/optional claimer for older horses going six furlongs on the main track. The strong morning line favorite is #7 Doodle Hopper (3-2), and this John Rigattieri trainee figures tough in here; he enters with a six-race in-the-money streak and has never been worse than second in five tries at the trip. He may prove too good for these. But let’s take a look at #4 Silver Trophy (4-1); the four-year-old has proven an astute claim by trainer Mike Gorham, who scooped him up for $4,000 five back and since has posted a record of 4-2-1-0. The Silver Train gelding defeated PA-bred allowance foes at Penn National last out and clearly has a good rapport with Augusto Marin, who will ride him again here for the fifth straight time. He also thrives at the distance — a record of 8-3-3-0 — and likely will be the main speed in here.
ARABIAN WATCH
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