One of Four Stakes on Saturday Card

LAUREL, MD., 03/18/15 - Trainer Gary Contessa is very optimistic about the future of Combat Diver.

Contessa, who will saddle the 3-year-old son of Line of David in Saturday's $100,000 Private Term Stakes at Laurel, admits he has a game plan going into the 1 1/8-mile event.

"We look at Saturday's race this way," Contessa said, "if he wins, we have eight weeks to get enough points to get into the [Kentucky] Derby.

Contessa believes Combat Diver could be a classic horse and thinks the Private Terms is "a great opportunity to try your 3-year-old this time of year around two turns." A field of six will go to post in the Private Terms.

"I'd love to see the Derby give points for the Private Terms," he added.

Contessa isn't the only horseman to use the Private Terms as a starting point to bigger and better things.

Kid Cruz, a former $50,000 claimer who won his stakes debut in last year's Private Terms, went on to win the Dwyer (G3), Tesio Stakes and Easy Goer Stakes before finishing third in the Jim Dandy (G2) and fourth in the Travers (G1). After winning the Private Terms in 2005, Malibu Moonshine went on to win three stakes races, including the Stymie at Aqueduct. Maryland Juvenile winner Magic Weisner, winner of the 2002 Private Terms, would go on to finish second in the Preakness Stakes (G1) and Haskell (G1) and win the Ohio Derby (G2), while Oliver's Twist, second in the 1995 Private Terms, would also go on to finish second in the Preakness.

For Combat Diver, beaten a nose Feb. 16 at Laurel in the Miracle Wood and ninth after a horrible trip March 7 in the Gotham (G3), the Private Terms is the perfect opportunity to regain his confidence.

"He's doing great," said Contessa of Combat Diver, who broke his maiden at Belmont last October before finishing off the board in the Remsen (G2) in November. "He ran lights out at Laurel last time and should have won. Then we went to the Gotham and he didn't have the best of trips. I think coming back to Laurel will very much be the best to our advantage."

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, who saddled Mr Palmer to victory in the 2013 Private Terms, will send WinStar Farm's Net Gain from Belmont for Saturday's race. A son of former Maryland-bred Horse of the Year and Pimlico Special (G1) winner Include, Net Gain broke his maiden Feb. 22 at Aqueduct at a mile in his fifth career start. In his previous two starts the colt was forced wide.

"He's doing well," said Mott from Florida. "He was a bit unlucky two back."

Bodhisattva, trained by Jose Corrales, comes into the Private Terms off a fourth-place finish in the Miracle Wood but beaten only a half length. Now We Are Free, Slick William and Bridget's Big Luvy round out the field.

Maryland Juvenile Winner Ghost Bay Sits Out Private Terms

Howard Bender's Ghost Bay, who broke his maiden while winning the $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Futurity Dec. 27, will not run Saturday in the Private Terms, said trainer Lawrence Murray.

"We've missed so much time because of the weather that I don't think we'll make this one," Murray said. "It's no one's fault. It's just been a very unusual winter."

Murray said Ghost Bay, a son of Ghostzapper out of the Smart Strike mare Hope Bay, could run next April 18 in the Federico Tesio Stakes at Pimlico or that same day in the Illinois Derby at Hawthorne Race Course. "And it still remains to be seen if he's that kind of horse," Murray said. "But so far he acts like he's a nice horse."