The Lead:
The final Saturday of July sizzles with a series of national sprint races of high repute. The Vanderbilt at Saratoga, the Bing Crosby at Del Mar and the Frank J. DeFrancis Memorial Dash at Laurel Park spotlight this weekend's need for speed. The 6-furlong DeFrancis Dash, which debuted in 1990, goes as Race 9 on the card in Maryland, where a quartet of stakes will be offered on the day.
Field Depth:
Grade 3 winners WONDRWHERECRAIGIS and LIGHTENING LARRY own the field's signature scores, while Grade 2-placed SYNTHESIS has been keeping the strongest company lines in New York. THREES OVER DEUCES is a stakes winner and multiple Grade 3-placed. Three others will be making a rise in class.
Pace:
LADNEEDSAHANDLER should deliver rail speed and be challenged early by WONDRWHERECRAIGIS, SIR WELLINGTON and LIGHTENING LARRY. There's a solid pace here and to win up front will be to have earned it.
Our Eyes:
Here are my horse-by-horse notes.
1-LADNEEDSAHANDLER: Maryland-bred former claimer comes off a sharp win at 5-1/2 furlongs but takes a major rise in class and likely buckles at 6 furlongs against this quality of competition. Cross-entered Sunday at Laurel and would not be surprise to scratch.
2-WONDRWHERECRAIGIS: Runner-up in the DeFrancis each of the past 2 years (disqualified from the score in 2021 and placed second), this Laurel specialist is 6: 4-2-0 over the track lifetime. But note he's won just 1 of his last 6 and 3 of those losses have come at 4-5 odds or lower. His peak form is now 18 months in the rearview mirror, though still dangerous.
3-SYNTHESIS: Late-running 7-year-old is cross-entered in the same-day Vanderbilt at Saratoga, but would fit better in this spot. He has alternating good-and-bad efforts in 9 straight races and is on the "bad" trend now after a second-place effort in the Grade 2 Nerud at Belmont. Does get a good pace set-up for his style to succeed.
4-SIR WELLINGTON: Delaware-based runner makes just his second van ride to Laurel, running second in an allowance here in October 2020. Second-best after dueling with DeFrancis re-matched rival Lightening Larry last time out. The last 3 times he was successful were all wire-to-wire efforts. He needs the lead and might not get it.
5-THREES OVER DEUCES: This 8-year-old is 29-for-57 in the exacta lifetime and also over 50% in the exacta both at Laurel and at 6 furlongs. He's lit the superfecta in 10 of his last 11 starts and has been in the exacta in 6 of his last 8. It's about long-range consistency. The concern: his only poor effort on Preakness Day came in his only race without Lasix, and this race will be Lasix-free as well. That Maryland Sprint was exceptionally fast, however, and far stronger than this with national raiders.
6-LIGHTENING LARRY: Rides 2-race winning streak in listed stakes at Monmouth and Delaware Park while the field's hot hand. He won the 2022 Chick Lang on Preakness week 2022 in his last trip to Maryland. Florida and Jersey-based Jorge Delgado is hitting 22 percent this year and sire Uncaptured's offspring have a solid 18% win rate at Laurel on the dirt. Daniel Centeno invaded here to win the 2015 DeFrancis aboard Gentlemen's Bet and has a big chance to repeat that. Has speed, but showed in the Mr. Prospector at Monmouth that he can sit and pounce.
7-HOLY SYNCHRONICITY: Versatile pace style comes in handy with an advantageous outside draw to let the race unfold inside of him. But career allowance type has never faced this quality and has won just 1 of his last 10. Often settles for the minor awards and his $10,000 sales buy owes no one anything having earned more than $220K to date.
Most Certain Exotics Contender:
LIGHTENING LARRY is in absolute peak form, is a pure 6-furlong sprinter and doesn't have to be scrapping for the lead to still be successful.
Best Longshot Exotics Contender:
HOLY SYNCHRONICTY should get a great trip and can pass some horses for a minor share of the exotics at a price.
Sending it in ($100 bankroll):
$90 win LIGHTENING LARRY. $10 exacta LIGHTENING LARRY over THREES OVER DEUCES.
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