Back-at-it Legacy Isle should take Hall of Fame Stakes

LEGACY ISLE’s destruction of CHOCOMO, WALL STREET TRADER, DIGITAL ONE, and MAHOGANY, taking out the quartet in respective races to close consecutive victories on June 21, signals that the Mouttet Mile runner-up is back to his best.

Caught at the wire by FUNCAANDUN on his local debut in December’s Mouttet Mile, LEGACY ISLE has three wins from six starts, his résumé completed by a did-not-finish on New Year’s Day and fourth-place run behind fellow American PACK PLAYS at six and a half furlongs in April.

Hunting a hat-trick of wins in Saturday’s Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame Stakes, the five-year-old American has no match on the lead despite PACK PLAYS putting one over him in April.

Since making all to surprisingly turn back LEGACY ISLE in April, PACK PLAYS was beaten in his follow-up race by run-on sprinter CHAMPION BUBBLER at five furlongs straight, an event the four-year-old was expected to dominate, though giving up 14lb to a fellow American.

It has been two months and ample races offered at the level since PACK PLAYS’ half-length loss to CHAMPION BUBBLER, suggesting all’s not well with the Stay Thirsty-Standard Deal colt, whose lone speed gallop at exercise, ahead of tackling race-fit LEGACY ISLE, was a half-mile in 48.2 last Sunday morning.

After losing to PACK PLAYS, LEGACY ISLE returned a gleaming picture of the foreign invader, who almost pulled off a Mouttet Mile coup a few days out of quarantine.

Clocking 57.2 out the straight on May 31, LEGACY ISLE returned to blast 1:06.0 at five and a half furlongs on June 21, running into headwinds on both occasions. Were it not for heavy winds, the track record, certainly out the straight, could have been erased.