Six Seek to Make Grade in Futurity

All six entrants in the $200,000 Futurity Stakes (gr. II) will be seeking their first graded victory Oct. 17 at Belmont Park, but only two carry graded experience.



Both Ready Dancer and Manhattan Dan are entering off graded events but will be encountering significantly different conditions in the six-furlong Futurity.



Let's Go Stable's Ready Dancer was never really involved last time out in the mile Champagne Stakes (gr. I) Oct. 3 at Belmont, after a bumped start and a wide trip throughout, but will dial back to the sprint distance he broke his maiden at over the summer at Saratoga Race Course. Trained by Todd Pletcher, the More Than Ready   colt bested a Saratoga maiden special weight field Aug. 29 by 2 1/2 lengths.



Manhattan Dan—a son of Big Brown   owned by Platinum Seven, Dan Guarino, and Runner Runner Investments—also broke his maiden in a Saratoga special weight sprint, but it was on turf, as was his first graded try in the mile Summer Stakes (Can-IIT) Sept. 12 at Woodbine.



The Gary Contessa trainee set the pace and finished third in the Summer, but will likely have some competition for the front end in the Futurity. Hall of Fame Stakes winner Full Salute, along with maiden winners Annual Report and Legend Keeper, and have all showed an affinity for being on or near the front.



The final Futurity runner is Zayat Stables' lightly-raced King Kranz, a maiden who was three-quarters of a length behind winner Mohaymen in his last start, a six-furlong special weight sprint at Belmont Sept. 19.