Case The Race - Stephen Foster Handicap

Einstein, a leading candidate for 2009 Horse of the Year midway through the season, will try to make history by becoming the first horse to win grade I events on dirt, turf and synthetics in the same year in the $600,000 Stephen Foster Handicap this afternoon here at Churchill Downs. Lava Man is the only horse to have won grade I races on all three surfaces, but he did it over the course of three seasons. Einstein, trained by Helen Pitts, has already bagged the March 7 Santa Anita Handicap on the Pro-Ride surface and the May 2 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at Churchill this year, and will be looking for the trifecta on a strip where he has already won twice. Einstein will face seven rivals in the nine-furlong Stephen Foster, an event in which he finished runner-up to eventual Horse of the Year Curlin in 2008. He was assigned top weight of 124 pounds. It is actually a comment by Ms. Pitts that has prompted me to put the 4-1 shot, #5 RESEARCHER on top of my contenders' list, as she noted that "conventional dirt is his least favorite racing surface." RESEARCHER is the only entry in this Grade I event not taking a step up in class, and has posted a quartet of "POWER RUNS" in his last five starts. The Brazilian bred #3 EINSTEIN has hit the board in four straight, winning three times including back-to-back "POWER RUN WINS" in his last two outings, however I note that his Equibase Speed Figures in those two wins were noticeably lower than RESEARCHER'S comparable figures in his respective "POWER RUN WINS" in his last two "adventures!"