Ben Ali

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

ALUMNI HALL (A.P. Indy) will seek to give trainer Neil Howard and jockey Robby Albarado
a third straight victory in Thursday’s Ben Ali S. (G3) at Keeneland. The
connections of the six-year-old have been represented by 2003 Horse of the Year
Mineshaft and Midway Road in the winner’s circle over the past two years, and
Alumni Hall easily rates our top
selection given his human connections and more importantly his current form.

Last out, the multiple stakes winner caught fellow Ben Ali contender BEST
MINISTER (Deputy Minister) inside the final furlong to win an allowance over the
Lexington, Kentucky, surface going 1 1/16 miles, and it appears that the
six-year-old is undoubtedly a “horse for the course,” recording two wins and one
third from three Keeneland starts. The chestnut also relishes 1 1/8 miles, visiting the
winner’s circle four times from six tries at the distance. He recorded a
career-best BRIS Speed Rating of 111 in that allowance last time and looked like
he could run forever, leading us to believe he won’t mind the extra sixteenth
here.

The Nick Zito-conditioned PIES PROSPECT (Crafty Prospector) is a classy colt,
having run his last nine races at the graded stakes level before finishing fifth
last out in the same allowance won by Alumni Hall. It is hard to go against the
four-year-old given his past performances, but we’ll have him near the top of
the exactas and trifectas.

Best Minister led the entire way through that April 9 allowance before our
top choice ran him down in the final eighth. The Kenny McPeek trainee also
enjoys Keeneland (4-2-2-0), but he may not be talented enough to beat such a classy
field. We’ll still use the five-year-old bay in the exotics.

OLE FAUNTY (Quiet American) won an allowance over this surface last fall but
appears a class below these. Still, this time last year the six-year-old placed
second in the Oaklawn H. (G2) and we’ll use the bay on the bottom of some gimmicks.

Zito’s other uncoupled entry, GO NOW (Go for Gin), rates our longshot special
as he enters off an allowance win here at Keeneland on April 15. The four-year-old
last missed the board in October’s Discovery H. (G3), and
he appears in good form for another try against graded company.

Queen’s Plate S. winner NIIGON (Unbridled) tried the grass in his last two
outings and has been smartly switched back to the dirt. Another possible
longshot for the exotics, the four-year-old finished fourth and was placed third
in the Jim Dandy S. (G2) as well as a good fourth in the Pennsylvania Derby (G2)
last year before trying the grass when he came back this year.

Dallas Stewart will saddle COLONIAL COLONY (Pleasant Colony) for the Ben Ali, but the seven-year-old doesn’t seem to be the same horse that won the Stephen
Foster H. (G1) last year. We’ll have to go against. FORMAL ATTIRE (Formal
Gold) has been in poor form recently and we don’t think he will factor in this
one.