The 25th running of the Grade 2 Mac Diarmida Stakes March 5 at Gulfstream Park features a field of seven veteran turf runners set to go a mile and three eights in an interesting betting race.
Twilight Eclipse has plenty of name recognition as the 2/1 morning line favorite, but has not raced since finishing eighth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf October 31 at Keeneland. The seven year-old Tom Albertrani trainee has been a fixture in graded stakes distance turf races on the east coast for the last two years, but must shake some racing rust as well as his penchant for settling for second and third-place finishes. In 29 career starts, Twilight Eclipse has garnered 12 such minor awards while finding the winner’s circle seven times. Notably, the classy runner has just a single victory in his last twelve starts while finding himself on the short end of numerous close finishes at the graded stakes level. Albertrani hits with just 8% of his runners returning from layoffs of 61-180 days, but Twilight Eclipse has shown the ability to fire first off the bench.
Da Big Hoss (3/1) boasts excellent recent form, taking the Grade 3 Conly Stakes last out at Sam Houston by over four lengths. Winning pilot Florent Geroux returns to the irons for trainer Mike Maker while this runner makes the third start of his current form cycle – an excellent winning angle.
Mr. Maybe (4/1) stretched out nicely to win a pair of long distance turf races to close his 2015 year, including a 4-length win in the Grade 3 Red Smith. Like Twilight Eclipse, Mr. Maybe will have to overcome the layoff, but trainer Chad Brown strikes with 28% of his runners returning from 61-180 days.
There will always be Kentucky Derby entrants that would be much better suited to skip the race entirely and find a better spot if not for the gusto of their well-meaning owners, but the Road to the Derby point qualifying system has been remarkably efficient at making the race more of a level-playing field since its inception four years ago.
On Saturday at Keeneland, the featured race is the $250,000 Dixiana Elkhorn Stakes. Scheduled to be run at one mile on the turf, the Grade 2 event has drawn a field of eight colts and geldings.
With a largely underwhelming, and thus far, slow, group of three year-olds set to contest the 2016 Kentucky Derby, logical handicappers searching for a pick outside of the undefeated and likely highly-favored Nyquist may have already begun the hand-wringing process.
On Friday at Oaklawn Park, the featured race is the $600,000 Apple Blossom Stakes. Restricted to fillies and mares, the Grade 1 event will be contested at a mile and a sixteenth on the main track and has drawn a field of six.
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