The
Grade 1, $250,000 Carter at seven furlongs is expected to pit Calibrachoa,
winner of the Grade 3 Toboggan and Grade 3 Tom Fool Handicap over the inner
track in his two most recent starts, against Morning Line, victorious in
last year’s Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby.
Calibrachoa,
claimed for $40,000 by Mike Repole and Todd Pletcher, has rattled off four
consecutive wins, while Zabeel Racing International and Thoroughbred Legends
Racing Stable’s Morning Line looks to regain the winning thread for trainer
Nick Zito after finishing second by a head in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt
Mile, third in the Grade 3 Hal’s Hope, and second in the Grade 1 Donn Handicap.
Calibrachoa’s
stablemate Have You Ever is also expected to compete in the Carter, as are
Fastus Cactus, Heritage Hall, Independence War, Seniors
Pride and Sunrise Smarty.
Apriority,
who received a Beyer Speed Figure of 113 for his optional claiming win at Gulfstream Park
on March 5, and multiple graded stakes winner Kensei, second to Grade 1
winner Misremembered in the Santana Mile last time out, could also join the
field.