Toboggan

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

SHAKE YOU DOWN (Montbrook) makes his second straight start over the inner
track this year in Saturday’s $100,000 Toboggan H. (G3) and, as he did in that
February 20 optional claiming event, appears poised to school his rivals on the
front end. The Scott Lake-trained gelding turned up his game a notch last time,
opening up a sizable early advantage through fast fractions before cruising to
an easy decision and earning a 107 BRIS Speed rating for the confidence-building
victory. We’ll look for the classy seven-year-old to carry his form forward
against this company on Saturday.

PRIMARY SUSPECT (Hennessy) is the only opponent with enough gas to run early
with Shake You Down and enters this test off a couple of solid performances at
Gulfstream for trainer Mark Hennig. The four-year-old earned a 105 Speed rating
in his seasonal bow and then stepped up to face the classy Forest Danger
(Forestry) last time, finishing a respectable second and receiving another
triple-digit figure. Primary Suspect will be making his first start over the inner
surface and must avoid regressing off his last outing, but we wouldn’t be
surprised to see him hold second the entire way.

PAPUA (Louis Quatorze) is probably the biggest threat from the three-horse
entry. The six-year-old loves the inner track (six wins) and exits a 3
3/4-length romp in which he sat close to the pacesetter before striking. The
Sustained runner doesn’t own much early speed, but he could offer a challenge
for it all if the front runners falter.

HOUSTON’S PRAYER (Houston) owns a 1-3-1 mark from five attempts over the
inner oval and brings fine Speed and BRIS Late Pace numbers into this event. The
chestnut gelding hasn’t proven himself at this level, but he may continue to
improve for trainer Allen Iwinski. SUPER FUSE (Lite the Fuse) will be running
late, but he comes off a dull showing at Tampa. We’ll just watch here. JETS FAN
(Gold Token) returns off a freshening and has never run over the inner track.
We can’t recommend his chances.