Turkey day at Fair Grounds is on tap on Thursday and a short and sweet group of seven will be vying for that coveted winner’s circle snapshot. The Thanksgiving Handicap, a $75,000 six-furlong stakes, is carded for three-year olds and upward and several entrants have a legit look at victory.
Turkey day at Fair Grounds featuring the Thanksgiving Handicap could very well be renamed the Tom Amoss Invitational. The trainer has won this race in three of the last four years including last year when Control Stake never looked back with a 99 Beyer Speed Figure.
From the rail out Clearly Now is looking at a stalk and rally kind of trip. He is proven at Fair Grounds, has some back class as he is a Grade 3 winner and he was troubled in this very race last year.
Clearly Now has not raced since April and he came into this race last year also off a layoff. He also drew the rail last season but had to race wide while getting to the winner late. When the ballots were counted, Clearly Now was the beaten chalk at 4-5.
Clearly Now has a nice late kick and there is plenty of speed in this turkey day at Fair Grounds offering. He could be a bit past his peak right now but he will get the right kind of pace to take advantage of on Thursday.
Supermason has a style that is no secret, he will go to the front and try to tow-rope his rivals to the wire. He has won a third of his twenty-one starts and his versatility could be his best asset. This racer has won short, long, on grass and in stakes company.
Union Jackson, trained by Steve Asmussen, will take his share of action. The son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin has not raced since June but he is repeatedly proven off the layoff and he has a super stalk and kick kind of a style. He ran his eyeballs out last time in the Aristides at Churchill Downs and was flattered when the winner of that race won his next start in a stakes with a 97 Beyer.
A M Milky Way looks like the longest shot on the board. The Texas-bred was a fish out of water on the grass last time but he has natural speed and could show more zip with the blinkers added to the equation today.
Those that attend turkey day at Fair Grounds Thursday hope they don’t get Totally Drenched. That is the name of the runner that breaks from post five and he has been consistent while facing softer rivals. This is his first stakes attempt so he will have to adapt on the fly.
Turkey day at Fair Grounds would not be the same without an Amoss runner and Quijote fits the bill. He was stakes placed in his second start of 2016 in the $125,000 Jimmy Winkfield and is coming off a game second in his return to the races at Keeneland last month.
Yockey’s Warrior loves this racetrack. He broke his maiden here at first asking last year by nearly seven lengths. He was given a race two back on the turf but added the front wraps last time and beat optional claimers at Keeneland. He is trained by Albert Stall, who has never won this race but has been right there in previous runnings of the Thanksgiving Handicap.
Yockey’s Warrior has had some throat issues but he draws a good post on the outside. When a runner draws outside, the jockey has options. He doesn’t have to gun his charge and force the runner into a peak mode too early but the rider can see how the race is unfolding and adjust.
The way the turkey day at Fair Grounds feature sets up is that Supermason has to gun hard out of the gate. That is his style and his best chance but he won’t be alone on the lead.
A M Milky Way won’t be far behind, Totally Drenched figures in the hunt early and that leaves Union Jackson in a spot to track and pounce when it counts. He was over five lengths clear of his nearest rival last time and he brings the best last-race Beyer to the party.
Take Union Jackson to win.
