Colonial Downs in New Kent, Va., opens its traditional summer season Wednesday after a successful first-time spring boutique meet back in March that provided the late D. Wayne Lukas with the second-to-last stakes win of a legendary career when his colt American Promise won the Virginia Derby.

Now, Colonial starts its summer meet with a four-day run this week featuring the turf racing this track is known for but also some high-quality dirt races, including Saturday’s Star de Naskra Stakes. Named after 1979’s champion sprinter bred in Maryland, the stakes is restricted to 3-year-olds bred in either Virginia or Maryland or by sires standing in those states. A competitive field of nine sophomore runners is lined up, making for a good betting race.

The Colonial main dirt track was speed-favoring during the brief March meet which held no turf racing, and that dirt trend been the case especially for sprints in recent summer meets as well. The Star de Naskra Stakes is held at seven furlongs (or seven-eighths of a mile), though. That’s a “tweener” distance and often exposes sprinters that don’t want to go longer than three-fourths of a mile (or six furlongs). I tend to favor horses cutting back in distance to seven furlongs when entered in a field that contains enough front-runners to ensure a solid early pace, and I’ll plan my bets around just such a horse in the Star de Naskra: #5 Barbadian Runner.

Barbadian Runner (Julia Sebastianelli/EQUI-PHOTO)

A Maryland-bred gelding by the unheralded sire Barbados, Barbadian Runner has been very consistent through 14 career starts, finishing worse than fourth only once. His only recent start worse than third came three starts back on turf in the James W. Murphy Stakes, when he was fourth, and since then he’s romped by 7 ¼ lengths in the Jersey Derby held at one mile (originally scheduled for turf) and then ran a solid second behind Admiral Dennis in the 1 1/16-mile Delaware Derby. Admiral Dennis was briefly on the Kentucky Derby trail back in the spring and ran fourth in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, so Barbadian Runner’s runner-up finish behind him at Delaware Park is an indication of quality.

Now, the gelding will compete in this restricted stakes and also cut back to seven furlongs, which means that jockey Forest Boyce will need to time his off-the-pace rally for a one-turn race. Boyce rode him in the Delaware Derby, however, and overall is 2-for-6 on Barbadian Runner, the two wins coming in Laurel Park stakes held at seven furlongs and one mile.

Limited to a $30 budget, I’ll bet $10 to win on Barbadian Runner hoping he goes off in the 3-1 range, and then key him first in a $1 trifecta over five horses that can finish in second and third, totaling $20. The five I’ll use underneath are #1 Saxton, who enters off of a good sprint win at Laurel Park and could be the pacesetter; #2 Re Markably, a stalk-and-pounce sprinter who recently moved to Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott’s barn; #3 Studlydoright, who has been racing against tougher competition recently at longer distances and should do better in this spot; #7 Sacred Thunder, who was fourth in the Delaware Derby; and #8 Slam Notion, who should also be part of the pace and has run very well in races when he avoided trouble.

Here's what to say at the betting window or to enter in your ADW platform:

Colonial Downs, Race 9, $10 to win on #5 ($10)

Colonial Downs, Race 9, $1 trifecta, key #5 over #1,#2,#3,#7,#8 over #1,#2,#3,#7,#8 ($20)

Good luck in the Star de Naskra and this summer at Colonial!