Departing Cuts Back for Commonwealth

Adele Dilschneider and Claiborne Farm's millionaire Departing and a trio of recently turned 4-year-old graded stakes sprint winners headline a field of 10 the $250,000 Commonwealth Stakes (gr. II) April 9 at Keeneland.

 

The seven-furlong Commonwealth will be run as the seventh race on Saturday's 11-race program with an approximate 4:05 p.m. EDT post time.

 

Trained by Al Stall Jr., Departing is a four-time graded stakes winner whose lone race at Keeneland was a runner-up finish in the 2014 Fayette (gr. II). The son of War Front   seeks to halt a six-race winless skid dating from his victory in the one-mile Firecracker (gr. II) last summer at Churchill Downs. Set to try seven furlongs for the first time, he comes in off a third-place finish in the 1 1/8-mile Fair Grounds Handicap (gr. III) Feb. 20 when he race in second throughout but was outfinished by Chocolate Ride and Roman Approval.

 

Robby Albarado has the mount on Departing for the Commonwealth and will break from post 8.

 

Jerry Durant's Holy Boss, winner of the Amsterdam (gr. II) at Saratoga Race Course last summer and fourth in his most recent start in the TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I) last fall at Keeneland, is a three-time stakes winner. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Holy Boss will be ridden by Florent Geroux and break from post 9.

 

Rick Westerman's Ready for Rye won the Swale (ge. II) last year and was graded stakes-placed in three other sprints. Trained by Tom Albertrani, Ready for Rye will break from post 2 and be ridden by Javier Castellano.

 

Suzanne Stables' Barbados, runner-up to champion Runhappy in last fall's Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix (gr. III) at the Lexington track, won the 2015 Hutcheson (gr. III) and enters Saturday's race off a victory in the Pelican Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs Feb. 20. Barbados will break from post 10 under Luis Saez for trainer Mike Tomlinson.