Win-machine Greeley and Ben could be in line for a class hike following the 8-year-old gelding's latest victory at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark., his owner/trainer, Karl Broberg, said Wednesday afternoon.
Under Reylu Gutierrez, Greeley and Ben was a 1 ¾-length winner of a starter-allowance sprint for older horses last Monday, the gelding's 12th victory in his last 13 starts. Greeley and Ben covered six furlongs in a sharp 1:09.60 and paid $3 as the heavy 1-2 favorite.
“He really surprised me,” said Broberg, the country's winningest trainer in 2014-'19. “I don't know. I'm probably going to screw it up by putting him in the Whitmore. He just deserves the chance. He always tries.”
Broberg was referring to the $200,000 Whitmore Stakes (G3) for older sprinters March 19. Greeley and Ben had been based at Delta Downs, but Broberg said the gelding will remain at Oaklawn to prepare for a possible start in the Whitmore, which is the final major local prep for the $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) April 16. Broberg's Oaklawn division is overseen by assistant Kevin Martin.
Broberg won a four-way shake, or blind draw, to claim Greeley and Ben for $10,000 last March at Oaklawn. The son of Greeley's Conquest captured 11 races in 2021, including 10 for Broberg, and was North America's co-second-winningest horse (at least one start in the United States, Canada or Puerto Rico), according to Equibase, racing's official data gathering organization.
Greeley and Ben had a nine-race winning streak snapped with a runner-up finish behind Just Might in the $150,000 Thanksgiving Day Classic Stakes Nov. 25 at Fair Grounds. Greeley and Ben returned to win the $75,000 Sam's Town Stakes Jan. 8 at Delta Downs and the $75,000 Stonerside Stakes Jan. 30 at Sam Houston in his other two starts this year.
“That's the dream,” Broberg said, referring to the Whitmore. “That's actually why I sent him up there in that starter. If he did it the right way, I told myself I would consider it. He did it the right way.”
Overall, Greeley and Ben has a 19-5-1 record from 30 lifetime starts and earnings of $592,998.
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