Despeardo Alibi, the grey gelding who paced up a storm at Maywood Park in the last few months of 2014 before heading to New York, is back home.
The now 5-year-old pacer looks well placed for his local season debut in Friday’s tenth race, a mid-level conditioned pace for non-winners of $4,000 in their last five starts.
Desperado Alibi rattled off victories in his last 4 starts of 2014 at Maywood and 7 of his last 8 on the half-miler with Brian Carpenter at his lines. The son of Gunthatwonthewest is owned by Brian’s wife Lydia and trained by Merl P’Pool.
Desperado Alibi made only three starts at Younkers during his six weeks in New York, earning $2,000.
“We just couldn’t get the horses started there,” said Brian. “The east coast kept getting clobbered with snow and it seemed most times when he was scheduled to race the Yonkers card had to be canceled because of bad weather, so we brought him back home.”
Desperado Alibi arrived in Illinois last week.
“I‘ve trained him since he got back and he’s trained well, said the 55-year-old Indiana native. “He looks like he’s in a good spot Friday and should do okay.”
What’s ahead for Desperado Alibi?
“We’ll just play it by ear for now,” replied Brian.
One of Desperado Alibi’s foes in Friday’s 10th race is the Merv Chupp Stable’s Master Of Desire, who landed the one-slot in his first start in seven months. The 8-year-old Real Desire gelding breezed with a 1:53 clocking last June for Chupp in his only career start at Maywood Park.
Master Of Desire won 4 of 5 starts from the middle of last May to mid-June for Chupp, including a 1:50.4 mile in a non-winners of $15,000 last 5 event where he beat the likes of Holdingallthecards and Major Monet. That win earned him a couple of unsuccessful starts in Balmoral’s Invites.
Master Of Desire tailed in July and health issues kept him on the sideline ever since. Friday night he’ll open as the 7-2 third choice behind Desperado Alibi (5-2) and Fox Valley Norman (3-1, Todd Warren)
They’ll be opposed by CS Eye (programmed 6-1, Kyle Wilfong), Cotton Eyed Joe (12-1, Bobby Smolin), Gypsy Leather (10-1, Dale Hiteman), Donald Himself (15-1, Casey Leonard) and Powerful Pilot (8-1, Mike Oosting).
Horse Shortage: No less than 16 of the horses competing on tonight’s (Thursday) Maywood card are back in to go Sunday night at Balmoral. A total of 63 horses are scheduled to race Sunday so that means 25% of them will do so on three day’s rest.
By Mike Paradise