Wise Dan as good as he was going into the Ben Ali say Lopresti for the Stephen Foster Handicap
The star power of the handicap will be on display in the Grade 1, $400,000 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs on 16 June, 2012, when nine super older horses will roll out of the gate to run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles on dirt on a race that is
exclusive for 3-year-old and above colts and geldings.
Among them will be Morton Fink’s 5-year-old gelding, Wise Dan, who will be looking to keep his good form going even against the tough in his class.
The Stephen Foster Handicap is of much significance to Wise Dan because his three race win streak is on the line, and the son of Wiseman’s Ferry is accustomed to keep two race win streak’s at best, and somehow gives it away in his third start recently, and
that has already happened twice in his career – once as a juvenile and once as a sophomore.
However, his current streak stems from his sophomore season, though late in the season in October last year, but he has managed to make it three on the trot, with the hat-trick victory coming this year – which served as the 2012 seasonal debut.
The trio of wins started over Keeneland’s synthetic surface, when Wise Dan – trained by Charles Lopresti, got the best of a relatively easier field, going over a distance of 1 1/8 miles in the Grade 2 Fayette Stakes.
The season ended on a high, as Wise Dan defeated the likes of Mission Impazible and Flat Out to win yet another race at the Churchill Downs, the Grade 1 Clark Handicap on 25 November, 2011.
It was back to Keeneland’s poly track this season, with Wise Dan refusing to go down in the Grade 3 Ben Ali Stakes, as he got the better of Big Blue Kitten in second and Guys Reward in third, to claim his first ever hat-trick at the age of 5.
Lopresti has said that he finds Wise Dan as good right now a he was going into the Ben Ali, when he talked about the Stephen Foster Handicap.
This means the streak shouldn’t be snapped here regardless he faces Nates Mineshaft, Nehro, Mission Impazible and many others in the Stephen Foster – Wise Dan must roll on.
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