Ward duo Outfielder, Longshoreman headline G3 Futurity

Trainer Wesley Ward sends out a talented pair of colts in Outfielder and Longshoreman in Friday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Futurity, at Belmont at the Big A. The six-furlong outer turf sprint for 2-year-olds offers a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Del Mar.

The Futurity is slated as Race 6 on Friday’s nine-race card which also features the Grade 2, $200,000 Pilgrim in Race 8, offering a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.

AMO Racing’s Outfielder [post 1, Frankie Dettori, blinkers OFF], despite not having worked over turf, dominated in his May 23 debut at Churchill Downs when sprinting clear to a 6 1/4-length score in a five-furlong turf maiden. There, with Hall of Famer John Velazquez up, he showed the way through splits of 21.69 seconds and 44.48 en route to an easy victory in a final time of 55.93 that registered a 74 Beyer Speed Figure.

“I was very confident based on his workouts on the dirt,” Ward said. “He did have a lot of gallops on the grass [in Florida] where he moved over it really nice. He ran great and Johnny was ultra impressed.”

The Speightstown colt was expected to make his next start in the Group 2 Norfolk in June at Royal Ascot, but a shin issue sustained during a breeze at Keeneland saw Outfielder miss that start.

Instead, he returned in a stacked Group 1 Prix Morny on August 25 traveling six furlongs on the straight at Deauville – a race Ward had previously captured with No Nay Never [2013] and fillies Lady Aurelia [2016] and Campanelle [2020].

Outfielder showed the way into the final furlong before landing a 2 3/4-length fourth behind the victorious filly Venetian Sun, who was completing a four-race win streak and recently returned to finish third in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud. The runner-up of that event was Group 2-winner Gstaad, while third-place Wise Approach captured the Group 1 Middle Park this morning at Newmarket.

“We gave him some time and got him ready, but unfortunately that may have cost us going into the Morny not having the two starts,” Ward said. “Previous Prix Morny races we've had a win in America and a win at Royal Ascot, so they had good experience, where this guy went from a maiden to a straight six-furlong race. He ran in the toughest Prix Morny that I ever ran in, so those two factors - not having the experience and being an extremely tough race - I thought he ran very credible. All the other horses in the race had a lot more experience than him.”

Outfielder has since returned to training at Keeneland where he recently worked a bullet five-eighths in 1:01.20 Friday over good dirt.

“He came back in perfect shape and had some really nice breezes on the dirt here at Keeneland. I'm looking forward to getting him in the right spot - hopefully this is it,” Ward said.

The $850,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale purchase is out of the stakes-winning Medaglia d’Oro mare Notte d’Oro – a half-sister to multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Red Rifle. His multiple graded stakes-placed third dam, May Night, won the 2005 P. G. Johnson at the Spa.

For the People Racing Stable, John Haagsma and James Cestaro’s Longshoreman [post 4, Manny Franco] is among the more experienced horses in the field with three starts.

The Twirling Candy colt was a pacesetting second in his 5 1/2-furlong debut in April at Keeneland before shortening up to five furlongs and graduating second out in June at Churchill Downs.

“He was ready to go at Keeneland, but 5 1/2-furlongs is a long way to go in April for a 2-year-old, and we caught a bit of a rain-soaked track that day,” Ward said. “He went really fast fractions for his first start, and he just got beat on the square - too quick early. He vindicated that and ran a really nice maiden win at Churchill.”

Longshoreman endured a troubled trip last out in the 6 1/2-furlong Listed Juvenile Sprint on August 31 at Kentucky Downs. There, he was keen early behind rivals while fighting jockey Walter Rodriguez and lacked racing room when trying to find an inside route and then an outside path in a stymied stretch run.

“He got away a step slow and got checked and checked and checked - inside and outside,” Ward said. “I give him a real valid excuse for losing that last race. It's not often you get beat like that and say, 'he could have won.' But this race is one of them. When they opened the gates, the trouble started.”

Longshoreman is out of the winning Munnings mare Lady Pauline, a half-sister to Lady Aurelia. His third dam is multiple Group 1-winner D’Wildcat Speed.

Rainbows End Racing Stable and West Paces Racing’s Attfield [post 6, Dylan Davis] will make his stakes debut for trainer Tom Morley.

The Vekoma chestnut is named in honor of Morley’s former assistant, John Attfield, who passed away in November. Attfield, who often dressed in colorful suits to match the silks of his horses on race day, was a popular member of the local racing community.

The equine Attfield enters from an emotional debut victory August 29 at Saratoga Race Course on the same card as the Morley-trained Donegal Momentum – a favorite of the late Attfield – captured the Listed Bernard Baruch.

Attfield, sent to post at odds of 23-1, exited post 5-of-9 under returning rider Dylan Davis in the 5 1/2-furlong sprint over firm turf and rated in fourth position as the heavily backed Ward-trainee Schwarzenegger set swift splits of 21.59 seconds and 44.82. Schwarzenegger opened up a 6 1/2-length advantage at the stretch call but drifted out several paths inside the eighth pole as the professional Attfield cut the corner to the inside of Brooklyn Styles and gained steadily to earn the neck victory in a final time of 1:03.31.

“The instructions in the paddock were very easy - forget about Wesley's horse, just make sure we get a good debut under our belts, and it just sort of fell into our laps at the end,” Morley said. “He was very brave. He went through a tight hole between the rail and another horse. I thought that was very professional of him.”

Morley said he has been impressed with how Attfield has trained since the debut win, including a half-mile breeze in 51 seconds flat September 25 over the Belmont Park dirt training track.

“I think he's improved a good bit from his first run. He seems more professional in his work in the morning, not that he wasn't beforehand, but he just seems laser-focused at the moment. He's definitely physically and mentally come on from the run,” Morley said.

Morley indicated that he preferred to stay sprinting with Attfield for the moment rather than stretch out for the 1 1/16-mile Pilgrim.

“I didn't like the idea of going from 5 1/2-furlongs to a two-turn race. I'd rather do it incrementally,” Morley said. “He obviously sprinted very well on debut, and the Futurity is a very big race in its own right - I’d rather try and win that before we go longer and more likely try dirt. This horse has a big dirt pedigree and his works on dirt have been very good, so that's in his future as well.”

Attfield, bred in Kentucky by Jose Martin Ramirez, was purchased for $220,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He is out of the Street Boss mare Graceful Witch, a half-sister to Listed stakes-winner Ray’s Away.

Intricate Spirit [post 3, Joel Rosario] will look to make a winning stakes debut following a close runner-up effort in a lucrative restricted allowance sprint on August 1 at Kentucky Downs.

Trained by Miguel Clement for West Point Thoroughbreds, Madaket Stables, Kenneth Beitz and Gail Beitz, the Complexity colt graduated in his August 1 debut at the Spa, pressing the pace of favored Freestate before taking control at the stretch call and drawing clear to a 3 1/2-length score over next-out winner Turf Star.

The $185,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase shipped to Kentucky Downs last out for a 6 1/2-furlong sprint restricted to 2-year-olds sold or RNA’d at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. There, he set the pace while under pressure from Street Beast with the pair dueling through the upper stretch en route to a three-quarter length second. The runner-up effort, under returning Hall of Fame jockey Joel Rosario, earned a 77 Beyer Speed Figure and the winner, Street Beast, exited that effort to win the Listed Juvenile Mile at Kentucky Downs.

“He ran great the other day. His form was flattered by the winner coming back and winning the big race at Kentucky Downs,” Clement said. “I do anticipate that the six furlongs on a flat course would be more of his running style. I’m expecting him to run well.

“He has a tremendous amount of speed,” Clement added. “It is just a question of how much does Joel want to use early and how he will harness it for the later stages. He is probably one of the quickest horses in the barn. He is very, very fast.”

Intricate Spirit, a half-brother to dual graded stakes-placed stablemate Spirit Prince, is out of the winning Curlin mare Dottie’s Spirit – a half-sister to Grade 3-placed Lecturing Lynn. His third dam, A Chance of Storm, is a full-sister to 1992 Grade 1 Alabama-winner November Snow.

Lindy Farms’ Irish homebred No Pressure [post 8, Ricardo Santana, Jr.] will look to graduate in style for trainer Philip Antonacci, who secured his first career stakes win here September 20 when Ready for Candy captured the Grade 3 Winter Memories.

No Pressure debuted on September 13 over course and distance as the 5-2 second choice, hitting the gate at the break before rating in fifth position. He was steadied approaching the quarter-pole but advanced well once shook loose in upper stretch to finish with a flourish and miss by a neck to the more prominent returning rival Expressway, who scored at odds of 9-1.

The regally-bred No Pressure, by No Nay Never, is out of the First Defence mare Compression. His second dam is multiple Group 1-winning millionaire Special Duty.

Stone Farm’s Kentucky homebred Expressway [post 5, Junior Alvarado] was hustled out of the gate in the aforementioned maiden win and tracked the speed of B Raging On, who marked the half-mile in 45.73 over the firm turf. Expressway made a three-wide move into the lane and took over control approaching the sixteenth pole, while staving off the onrushing No Pressure.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the Hard Spun colt is out of the winning Stroll mare Leeway, a full-sister to Grade 3-placed Traipsing and a half-sister to dual stakes-placed Script and stakes-placed Dazzling Chic.

Rounding out a talented field are main-track maiden winners Belgian [post 7, Javier Castellano] for trainer George Weaver and the Jorge Duarte, Jr.-trained Channel the Music [post 2, Samuel Marin], who exits a third-place finish in the Sapling at Monmouth Park.

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