Encino will look to keep rolling at his favorite track as he towers over the field for Saturday night’s $125,000 Dust Commander Stakes for older horses going 1 1/16 miles on the Tapeta at Turfway Park.
The Dust Commander is part of the sequence for the jackpot pick six, for which a $509,239 carryover survived following Wednesday night’s first card of the four-day racing week. Encino will likely be a prohibitive favorite and a single on many tickets. Now 5, the Godolphin homebred, trained by Brad Cox, is a stakes winner on both dirt and turf, but is a cut above on synthetic. He has never been worse than second in five starts at Turfway, including a win in the 2024 John Battaglia Memorial; a runner-up effort in last year’s Grade 3 Kentucky Cup Classic; and a win in the Prairie Bayou Stakes in December. The 1 1/16-mile Dust Commander is, presumably, a well-timed prep toward this year’s renewal of the Grade 3, $300,000 Kentucky Cup Classic on March 21.
Encino, like other Turfway-based horses, missed weeks of serious training as a winter storm followed by frigid weather made it impossible to clear surfaces and closed the track for training. He showed no ill effects as he stepped out with a strong half-mile breeze, third fastest of 77 on a busy work tab Feb. 7.
Encino, who prefers to race on the lead, could have little to no company on the front end Saturday. Prince of Power is coming off a front-running allowance win at this distance at Turfway, but he has been well beaten in recent stakes attempts and is cross-entered in Friday night’s Forego Stakes, a sprint for older horses at Turfway. Sugoi also prefers to be forwardly placed and is coming off a local win. He is, however, a long way from his best form, which saw him become a graded stakes winner routing on turf back in 2024 before changing hands via the claim box several times.
A lack of company on the front end for Encino could spell trouble for some others in this field. Welaka was a rallying allowance winner at Turfway last time out. His Kelsey Danner-trained stablemate Baby Max is more tactically versatile, with the ability to stalk or come from off the pace. Baby Max is a local stakes winner coming off an allowance score in January, appearing to have returned well from a freshening after a busy early 2025.
Honor Marie, a familiar name, also would be up against it with a lack of pace. The multiple stakes winner on dirt improved position from last of 11 to finish fifth in the Boone County in December at Turfway, his first start on synthetic.
Chiron is the defending Dust Commander winner but is winless since and was eighth behind Encino in the Prairie Bayou. Completing the field are Smokey Mandate, third to Prince of Power last out; Swiss Slang, stepping up from claiming company; and Native Shaman, making his first start since April.
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