Shakertown

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

A field of eight will travel 5 1/2 furlongs over the Keeneland turf course in
Sunday’s $100,000 Shakertown S. (G3). IN SUMMATION (Put It Back) comes into this
race in fine form versus better and rates our top choice for trainer Christophe
Clement. The four-year-old was a solid fifth in the Sir Beaufort S. (G3) over
one mile most recently, which followed runner-up efforts in the Nearctic S.
(Can-G2), Hollywood Turf Express H. (G3) and Restoration S., and we feel that
the turnback in distance will suit the colt just fine. Clement hits at a high
rate with horses off the layoff, and the presence of Garrett Gomez only enhances
the dark bay’s chances.

SGT. BERT (Confide) captured his second straight Woodford S. over this course in the fall,
and certainly deserves attention in this dash. Trained by Gary Montgomery, the
gelded six-year-old sports four wins at the distance and a pair over this sod,
and has trained well in advance of this. Should the top one not fire, the bay
would be the likely upsetter beneath Rafael Bejarano.

LIFESTYLE (Indian Charlie) exits a sharp tally over the Gulfstream turf and
should factor with these with anything resembling his last. The lightly raced
seven-year-old hails from a hot barn and is the potential speed of the speed,
leading us to believe that he’ll be the one to catch turning for home. John
Velazquez will guide the bay.

HOLD THE SALT (Salt Lake) was a 3 1/2-length winner in his lone turf sprint
and could get a small share for James Dodgen. The dark bay is unraced since
December and shows only two drills in 2007, but the rail draw and the overall
mediocrity of the field could see the gelding finishing off some exotics. Brian
Hernandez has the riding assignment.

THE NTH DEGREE (Distorted Humor) is no stranger to stakes company and closed
quite well in the recent Turf Dash S. for conditioner Eduardo Caramori. The
gelded chestnut would likely benefit most from a rapid early pace, but we’re not
sure how much early foot is signed on, leading us to keep Eddie Castro’s mount
on the bottom of the gimmicks. SHARK (Danzig) captured his lone turf try to date and exits a good second in
the Delta Express S. for Jeff Thornbury. The well-bred five-year-old has yet to
show that he is capable of keeping up with graded company, but the bay could get
a paycheck due to the lack of depth in this group. Jeff Graham will steer the
Kentucky-bred.

COGNAC KISSES (Dixie Union) posted a career-best BRIS Speed figure with a recent
allowance score at Mountaineer, but will be making his turf debut in here. The
four-year-old colt took five tries to break through his allowance condition and
will likely find this group too much for his liking. CONGO KING (Horse Chestnut [SAf]) broke his maiden at first asking but has
hit the board just once in his subsequent eight efforts. We respect the high
profile conditions surrounding the four-year-old, but we can’t recommend his
inclusion in any tickets.