Phipps Stable’s Boisterous , third in the Woodford Reserve Manhattan Handicap (gr. IT) on the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) undercard, will carry high weight of 122 pounds as he heads a field of 11 turf specialists entered for the $200,000 Arlington Handicap (gr. IIIT) July 14 at Arlington Park.
The 1 1/4-mile Arlington Handicap, ninth race on the card with an approximate post of 5:14 p.m. CDT, serves as the final local prep for the Arlington Million (gr. IT), which will be held Aug. 18. The Arlington Handicap is one of four major stakes that comprise the track’s Million Preview Day program. As an added bonus, the 1-2-3 finishers in the race will have their entry and starting fees waived for Arlington Million XXX should they elect to run in that event next month.
A 5-year-old son of Distorted Humor , Boisterous won the Fort Marcy Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Belmont Park in May. Last fall, he captured the Red Smith Handicap (gr. IIT) at Aqueduct Racetrack and the Knickerbocker Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Belmont. Racing on grass, he has won seven of 14 starts and has earned in excess of $500,000. Alan Garcia is slated to ride for trainer Shug McGaughey.
Robert Courtney Jr.’s Rahystrada, winner of the 2010 edition of this race, returns to Arlington after a third-place finish in the $500,000 Colonial Turf Cup Stakes in Virginia last month. The son of Rahy won last year’s Arlington Handicap and followed that up with a fifth-place finish in Arlington Million XXIX last August. Since that time, the Scooter Hughes-trainee captured the Kentucky Cup Turf Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Kentucky Downs last September. Joel Rosario picks up the mount aboard the 8-year-old gelding, second in the weights at 120 pounds.
Lothenbach Stables’ Mister Marti Gras returns to his home base after taking his act on the road through his first four starts of 2012, the best of which being a second-place finish in the Eclipse Stakes (Can-IIIT). The Chris Block-trained son of Belong to Me was runner-up in this race last year and then followed that up with a score in the Washington Park Handicap (gr. III) over Arlington’s Polytrack. Shaun Bridgmohan will ride.
Others in the Arlington Handicap include Henry Pabst Trust’s Joinem, runner-up in the Louisville Handicap (gr. IIIT) at Churchill Downs in May last time out; William Stiritz’ Proceed Bee, sixth in this race last year and most recently third in a third-level allowance at Arlington; Joyce Young and Gerald McManis’ Sky Blazer, a winner in two of his last three starts in allowance company; and Millard Seldin and the Estate of Hoss Inman’s Cherokee Lord, winner of the $125,000 Remington Green Stakes last fall.
$200,000 Arlington Handicap (gr. IIIT, Race 9, approximate post 5:14 p.m. CDT), 3YOs & Up, 1 1/4 Miles (turf)
PP., Horse, Jockey, Weight, Trainer
1. Mavericking, T Thornton, 113, C M Block
2. Sky Blazer, J R Leparoux, 116, B Tagg
3. Southern Anthem, M Mena, 114, M Lovell
4. Mister Marti Gras, S Bridgmohan, 118, C M Block
5. Proceed Bee, R Albarado, 116, S Becker
6. Joinem, J L Castanon, 117, D M Carroll
7. Cherokee Lord, I Diego, 115, C Livesay
8. Rahystrada, J Rosario, 120, B G Hughes
9. Boisterous, A Garcia, 122, C R McGaughey III
10. Nikki’s Sandcastle, D Sanchez 115, D C Kassen
11. Vertiformer, Q Hamilton, 115, , W M Catalano
