A full gate of colts and geldings will contest the 21st running of the $50,000 Prairie Bayou Stakes at Turfway Park Saturday.
Written for three-year-olds and up, the Prairie Bayou covers 1-1/16 miles on Polytrack.
The distance and surface may benefit Rerun, a six-year-old gelding trained by Kellyn Gorder. At Keeneland two starts back, Rerun set the pace before finishing second in a 1-1/8 mile allowance race that was taken off the turf.
In the spring he came from off the pace to win the Grade 3 Miami Mile on the turf at Gulfstream Park. Julie Burke has the mount on Saturday and breaks from post four.
Flashlight was claimed out of a turf win at Saratoga in August, and new trainer Mike Maker promptly ran him in stakes company.
The first stakes effort at Arlington Park, he was second on the turf in the one-mile Teleprompter, and at Gulfstream Park West, he dueled through the stretch before finishing second in the Tropical Turf Handicap (G3) at the Prairie Bayou distance. Flashlight will break from post five with Carlos Marquez Jr. aboard.
Grade 2 winner One Go All Go was fourth at Keeneland two starts back, beaten less than two lengths in the 1-1/8 mile Bryan Station after setting the pace over yielding turf. A half-furlong less over Polytrack may be what he needs to rebound from a poor showing last out at Churchill.
The three-year-old colt will break from post eight with Ronald Hisby up for trainer Pavel Matejka.
The meet’s top jockey, Albin Jimenez, rides Midnight Cello, who breaks from the far outside. The five-year-old gelding has run his recent best races on all-weather surfaces, including a win in the Grade 3 Hanshin Stakes at Arlington Park in July.
Two starts back he was fourth behind multiple graded stakes winner Tapiture in the Grade 3 Ack Ack Handicap on the Churchill Downs dirt. Michael Tomlinson trains.
The field for the Prairie Bayou from the rail out: Indygo Bo (jockey John McKee, 119 lbs.); Mister Pollard, the field’s leading money winner (Malcolm Franklin, 120); Becknerville, in off three straight wins at Indiana Downs (Alejandro Contreras, 120); Rerun (Burke, 124); Flashlight (Marquez Jr., 120); Six Spot (Sophie Doyle, 120); Recount, in off a restricted stakes win at Hawthorne (Dick Cardenas, 123); One Go All Go (Hisby, 123); Kalamos (Carson Sullivan, 124); Taketothestreets (Channing Hill, 120); Dac (Rodney Prescott, 120); and Midnight Cello (Jimenez, 124). Crewman and Forfeit wait as also-eligibles.
The Prairie Bayou is the fourth race on Turfway’s nine-race card on Saturday. First post is 6:15 p.m.