Brendan Walsh targets the Kentucky Downs meeting. He hit the mark during the 2023 season with eight winners, three more than any other trainer, and Walsh wastes no time getting back into heavy action this year. He has entrants in six Thursday’s races, including live contender Irish Aces in the featured $500,000 Tapit Stakes. The Tapit drew an overflow field, a dozen in the main body and three on the also-eligible list. At least one of those also-eligibles will get a chance to run if 9-5 morning-line favorite Funtastic Again is scratched. His trainer, Wesley Ward, said Monday he planned on Tuesday to enter Funtastic Again in the Sept. 1 Tight Spot, at least to take a look at the race, and also is considering the $2 million Mint Millions on Sept. 7. The Tapit, carded for a mile and 70 yards, is restricted to horses who haven’t won a stakes during 2024. Irish Aces, the mount of Tyler Gaffalione, hasn’t won at all this year. He enters Thursday’s contest 0-0-2 from four starts, though that alone is no reason to oppose him. Irish Aces was beaten a half-length last out in a second-level Saratoga allowance. With better luck, he wins. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. “If he had a clear run, he’s probably the best horse,” Walsh said. Irish Aces, in that July 13 outing, raced in traffic much of the homestretch, with eventual second-place finisher Tidal Force closing outside him and hemming in Irish Aces past the furlong grounds. Switched off heels, Irish Aces got outside and into the clear and surged, and while the chart comment reads “mild kick,” the gelding finished fastest, missed second by a whisker, and galloped out in front. Just a 4-year-old with nine starts, the horse has upside. “He really just has to take one more step. He’s shown glimpses of being pretty talented and I think he should handle Kentucky Downs. He’s a nice, athletic horse,” said Walsh.</p> <p>Still, neither Irish Aces nor anyone else in the Tapit will beat Funtastic Again if this colt, a 4-year-old with 10 starts, runs back to his Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile on May 27 at Santa Anita. Shipping there off a two-month break and with no obvious contending form, Funtastic Again led early on a quick pace but was passed on the backstretch by a longshot who upped the tempo. Funtastic Again retook the lead, then battled back when tackled in the homestretch by eventual winner Johannes, his half-length defeat an excellent showing.</p> <p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://shop.drf.com/kentucky-downs?utm_source=drf&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=kdpackage" href="https://shop.drf.com/kentucky-downs?utm_source=drf&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=kdpackage" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><strong>:: Kentucky Downs Package Available Now - Get All Access PPs, Picks, Players Guide for just $20!</strong></a></p> <p>“We gave him a break because our plan was Kentucky Downs and to have a fresh horse hopefully for the Breeders’ Cup, if he’s good enough,” Ward said. “He’d shown flashes of talent all along. I was real confident going into that last race.”</p> <p>Funtastic Again has speed but will rate, Ward said, and can be placed accordingly by jockey Frankie Dettori. Ward was to decide Tuesday afternoon whether to run or scratch.</p> <p>Harlan Estate won the 2023 Tapit as a 37-1 shot while earning a career-best 97 Beyer Speed Figure, making it easy for trainer Whit Beckman to choose a late-summer target for the gelding. Returning from an 11-week layoff, Harlan Estate closed into a moderate pace and was second July 20 in a Saratoga allowance.</p> <p>“He’s been training great at Saratoga and his race up here was the kind of performance we were looking for,” Beckman said. “It looks like a stronger race than last year, but I don’t think he’s lost anything, and I’m pretty sure he’s a horse for that course.”</p> <p>Chasing the Crown also rates a serious chance, and a case can be made for others – a highly competitive feature on the first day of a wildly competitive meet.</p> <p><strong>:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.drf.com/handicapping_101?utm_source=drf&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=handicapping101" href="https://www.drf.com/handicapping_101?utm_source=drf&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=handicapping101" target="_blank">Handicapping 101</a> and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.drf.com/wagering_101?utm_source=drf&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=wagering101" href="https://www.drf.com/wagering_101?utm_source=drf&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=wagering101" target="_blank">Wagering 101</a> pages.</strong></p>