He is entered in a $40,000 allowance optional claiming race (no tag on Lentenor!), with a purse of $38,000. The race will be run on the turf at a distance of a mile, with the rails set at 25 feet. Kendrick Carmouche will retain the mount on Lentenor after guiding him to the winner's circle on July 31st at PARX racetrack. I am excited and a little surprised that Mr. Carmouche will get the mount, pleasantly surprised I should say. I think Kendrick rode Lentenor smartly in his last race, he knew he was on the best horse that day, and just waited patiently until he could make his move, guiding Lentenor like he was a high performance race car through the traffic and hitting the finish line at just the right time, in first!
With the quick turn around and the step up in competition for Lentenor and Kendrick, plus the potential of a big field, this will be a good test for Lentenor and what races he is pointed towards down the road. You have a potential field of 14 for the race, with one being a main track only entry and four being "also eligible" entries. Lentenor will be breaking from the one hole, I think this will be a good place for Lentenor considering the size of the field. If Kendrick can get a clean break, look for Lentenor to be third or fourth going into the first turn on the rail. Lentenor will not have the luxury he had in the last race, where he was near the back most of the race before making his winning move. This field is a better class of horses, he will have to be stalking near the front to have any chance of winning. Another huge favorite of mine is also entered in the race. The five year old colt Roddickton will be breaking from gate position three. This will be Roddickton's first start with his new connections, after being sold in a private sale after his last race on July 23rd at Saratoga. In that race, Roddickton failed to fire and finished a disappointing sixth, after winning three straight races. Roddickton was trained by Mr. Matz his whole career, and it will be very interesting to see how he does first time out with his new connections. I will be very happy if we have a Lentenor/Roddickton exacta!! In fact, that is my prediction, Lentenor will win the race, Roddickton second, and Gaither Draw finishing out the top three. Lentenor is the class of the race and will be your post time favorite.
I will be making the trek down to Delaware Park once again, photos of Lentenor in the winner's circle to follow....
Good luck to all, and a safe race for all!!!
The field:
Post position---Horse---Weight---Jockey---Last three starts---Trainer
Photos from Lentenor's last race:
Photo of Roddickton getting some rest, taken at Fair Hill back on November 7, 2009 (Thanks Elaine!!!):
