BY BROCK SHERIDAN
Trainer Joe Sharp will try Seminole Chief at a new distance Sunday over the Remington Park grass as the Florida-bred gelding goes nine furlongs for the first time in the $75,000 Remington Green. A winner of two of three starts since joining Sharp’s barn prior to his victory in a $75,000 claiming race going a mile on the grass at Churchill Downs on June 17, Seminole Chief is set to face off against four other 3-year-olds and older in the Remington Green.
Owned by Bradley R. Grady and David Grund, Seminole Chief also tries to produce a $4,000 Export Incentive for breeders Brad and Misty Grady of Grandview, Texas with a non-graded stakes victory outside Florida.
After winning the Churchill Downs claiming race, Seminole Chief stretched out to a mile-and-a-sixteenth on grass to win the $102,000 Jonathan B. Schuster Memorial (Listed) at Horseshoe Indianapolis on July 11. However, he stumbled at the start of the one-mile King Edward (G2) last out on August 15 on the Woodbine grass, finishing fifth.
Sharp has trained Seminole Chief on the synthetic at Turfway since and has seen him produce two nice works. He breezed five furlongs in 1:01.40 on September 12, the sixth fastest of 41 at the distance, then worked four furlongs in :49.20, the second fastest of 13 that morning, a week later.
With a victory in last year’s $158,000 Appleton (Listed) at a mile on the turf at Gulfstream in March and victory in the mile-and-sixteenth In Reality division of the Florida Sire Stakes on dirt as a 2-year-old in 2023, Seminole Chief has shown the versatility Sharp may be looking for in trying him at a new distance Sunday.
Seminole Chief is by Girvin out of Secret Song by Dunkirk and has seven wins with a second and two thirds in 18 career races. With earnings of $554,686, Seminole Chief has proven to be a good return on his $80,000 price at the 2023 Ocala Breeders’ Sales June Sale where HND Bloodstock selected him out of he Bobby Dodd consignment.
Paco Lopez will ride Seminole Chief for the first time Sunday and they will depart post three. They are the second choice on the morning line at 5-2.
The Michael Maker-trained Eff Thirty Five is another looking to draw a line through his last race, a trouble-laden sixth-place finish in the Grade 2 AGS Kentucky Turf Cup Invitational at Kentucky Downs on September 5.
That was his first start for Maker after winning his two previous starts including the $75,000 Alphabet Soup Stakes going a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the turf at Penn National on May 29 and an upper tier, $75,000 optional claiming going nine furlongs on the grass at Colonial Downs on July 5.
Eff Thirty Five is by Yoshida (Jpn) out of a Unbridled’s Song mare Newstone and has racked up $327,948 from eight wins, four seconds and a third in 21 races.
Eff Thirty Five will be ridden from post one by John Velazquez and they are the 2-1 program favorites.
Others set for the Remington Green are E Lion with Jose Alvarez in the saddle, Erik Asmussen has the call on Gigante and Truly Quality will be ridden by Emmanuel Esquivel.
Return to the September 25 issue of Wire to Wire
