Barn Notes

Steve Asmussen has won the last five training titles at Churchill Downs and will wrap up another successful meet at the home of the Kentucky Derby when its fall racing session concludes on Sunday. Entering the final day of the 21-day Fall Meet, Asmussen had saddled 14 winners from 63 starters and trailed Mike Maker by a single victory in his bid to add another “leading trainer” title to his collection.

“We were very fortunate to get a couple of wins at the Breeders’ Cup and we’ve had some really nice 2-year-olds this meet,” Asmussen said via phone Sunday morning. “The meet was everything we could have hoped for.”

Asmussen, the fifth all-time leading trainer at Churchill Downs with 426 wins, saddled two winners at the 2011 Breeders’ Cup World Championships when the event was held beneath the Twin Spires for a record eighth time on Nov. 4-5. The first came on Breeders’ Cup Friday with Stonestreet Stables and George Bolton’s unbeaten My Miss Aurelia in the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (Grade I). The following day, the Asmussen-trained Regally Ready took the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (GII) for Vinery Stables.

“The highlight of the meet was My Miss Aurelia,” Asmussen said. “She won so impressively and you couldn’t be higher on a horse than we are on her.”

Well-known for his success with young horses, Asmussen saddled six 2-year-old winners aside from My Miss Aurelia to lead all trainers with seven wins in so-called “baby races.” Eddie Kenneally has the second-highest 2-year-old victory total with four.

“We had success with 2-year-olds this meet, with Unbridled’s Note and Hierro looking like the standouts,” Asmussen said. “They physically look like the kind of horses that will appreciate more distance. The plan is to bring them to Santa Anita this winter and get them ready for next year.”

Mike McCarthy’s Unbridled’s Note was a debut winner on the undercard of the Stars of Tomorrow I program on opening day of the Fall Meet on Oct. 30. The 2-year-old son of Unbridled’s Song won by 4 ½ lengths under leading rider Julien Leparoux.

Stonestreet Stables LLC’s Hierro broke his maiden on Nov. 9 in his third career start with an eye-catching 5 ¼-length romp as am odds-on favorite. The chestnut son of Hard Spun was also ridden by Leparoux.

COURT BECOMES 17^TH RIDER TO REACH 400-WIN MILESTONE AT CD – Jockey Jon Court became the latest rider to record a career milestone at Churchill Downs when a Saturday victory aboard Bluegrass Hall LLC’s Red Jack in the sixth race made him just the 17^th rider to record 400 wins under the Louisville track’s venerable Twin Spires.

“It’s nice to get the 400^th win at Churchill Downs,” Court said. “I’ve always loved riding here. It’s been a great meet and I hope I can keep it going. I knew Churchill had that (400-win) sign. I was just hoping they wouldn’t have to use it next spring. At 51-years-old I think I can still ride with the youngest and the best and I’m very thankful to be healthy and have the opportunity to do what I do.”

Court, who has over 3,600 wins in his riding career, has won 14 stakes beneath the Twin Spires, including the 2011 Firecracker Handicap (Grade II) aboard Wise Dan, who captured the 137^th running of the Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GI) on Friday. Other notable winners at Churchill Downs include With Anticipation in the 2001 Louisville Handicap, Belterra in the 2001 Golden Rod (GII) and Softly in the 2002 Churchill Downs Distaff Handicap (GII).

His number of Churchill Downs victories would have certainly been higher had Court not left the Kentucky-circuit in 2004 to ride in Southern California for trainer Doug O’Neill. He returned to his Midwest-roots in 2009.

“A few of the trainers gave me a hard time, saying if I hadn’t gone to California to ride I could have doubled that and beyond, but that’s fine,” Court said. “It’s all in the name of racing and that’s good.”

Court began his riding career in 1980 and recorded his first victory aboard Nevada’s Hope at the now defunct Centennial Park in Colorado. He has won riding titles at Oaklawn, Ellis Park, Hoosier Park, Turfway and Birmingham and has recorded six top-five finishes at Churchill Downs, including a trio of thirds: 1999 Fall Meet, 2001 Fall Meet and 2002 Spring Meet.

The victory aboard Red Jack was Court’s second victory of the day and 13^th of the Fall Meet. He is poised for another top-five finish in the jockey standings as he is currently in fourth behind Julien Leparoux, Corey Lanerie and Calvin Borel.

STARS OF TOMORROW II WINNERS EXIT RACES IN GOOD ORDER – WinStar Farm LLC’s Gemologist exited his 1 ¾-length victory in Saturday’s 85^th running of the Kentucky Jockey Club (Grade II) in good order, according to Michael McCarthy, assistant trainer to Todd Pletcher.

“He came out of the race well,” McCarthy said. “He’ll go to WinStar Farm on Monday for a brief freshening and then make his way down to Palm Meadows.”

            A 2-year-old son of Tiznow, Gemologist improved his record to a perfect 3-for-3 and increased his earnings to $145,855 in the Kentucky Jockey Club. There are currently no plans for his next start.

The Kentucky Jockey Club was the co-featured event on Saturday’s Stars of Tomorrow II program with the 68^th running of the Golden Rod (GII), which was won by Anita Cauley’s homebred On Fire Baby. A 2-year-old gray/roan daughter of Smoke Glacken, On Fire Baby won the Golden Rod in gate-to-wire fashion by 6 ¼ lengths.

“It was an excellent performance and she’s doing well this morning,” trainer Gary Hartlage said. “She’ll head to Oaklawn Park on Thursday morning and the goal is to be back here (at Churchill Downs) in the spring (for either the Kentucky Derby or Kentucky Oaks).”

On Fire Baby became just the seventh 2-year-old filly to sweep the Pocahontas (GII) and Golden Rod and improved her record to 3-0-0 from four career starts with earnings of $227,329.

Another impressive winner on Saturday’s card was John Gunther and Eurowest Bloodstock’s Indian Ambush, who won the seventh race by two lengths at the 3-2 favorite for trainer Bill Mott. A 2-year-old son of Indian Charlie, Indian Ambush was doing well Sunday morning will be sent to Florida on Monday. He will be stabled at Mott’s barn at Gulfstream Park or Payson Park.

Other winners Saturday who will be shipped to Gulfstream Park this week include Elm Tree Farm’s Callmenancy, winner of the second race on the Matt Winn Turf Course for trainer Ken McPeek, and McKee Stables Inc.’s King Kid, who took the finale by two lengths for trainer Dale Romans. Both 2-year-olds exited their races in fine order.

BARN TALK – Entering the final day of the 21-day Fall Meet, the race for leading trainer is still wide open with Mike Maker holding a 15-14 lead over Steve Asmussen. Maker, who won only training title at the Louisville track in the 2008 Fall Meet, has two horses entered Sunday: Chyhyryn (Race 1, 3-1 on morning-line) and Twinspired (Race 10, 8-1). Asmussen will be seeking his 11^th training title at Churchill Downs with his previous titles coming in 2001 Fall, 2004 Spring, 2004 Fall, 2007 Spring, 2007 Fall, 2009 Spring, 2009 Fall, 2010 Spring, 2010 Fall and 2011 Spring. He has four horses entered Sunday: Miss Chloe H. (Race 6, 9-2), Eyeseeyou (Race 8, 5-1), Hunterwood Point (Race 8, 6-1) and Joes Blazing Aaron (Race 10, 5-1). …

In the race for leading jockey, Julien Leparoux held a 32-27 advantage over Corey Lanerie heading into Sunday’s closing day program. Leparoux is seeking his ninth Churchill Downs riding title with his previous titles coming in 2006 Spring, 2007 Spring, 2007 Fall, 2008 Fall, 2009 Spring, 2010 Fall and 2011 Spring. Lanerie is seeking his first riding title at the Downs. …

Ken and Sarah Ramsey, the track’s all-time leading owners, wrapped up their record 18^th Churchill Downs title as leading owner and 10^th in the Fall, including five in a row. They enter closing day with a 12-5 lead over Billy, Donna and Justin Hays. The Ramseys’ local titles: 2000 Spring, 2000 Fall, 2001 Spring, 2001 Fall, 2002 Spring, 2002 Fall, 2003 Spring, 2003 Fall, 2004 Spring, 2005 Fall, 2006 Spring, 2007 Fall, 2008 Spring, 2008 Fall, 2009 Spring, 2009 Fall, 2010 Fall and 2011 Fall.

WORKTAB – Barry Butzow and Westrock Stables LLC’s Hamazing Destiny, second in the Sentient Jet Breeders Cup Sprint (GI) in 2010 and fifth in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint, breezed four furlongs in :48.60 on a sloppy main track at Churchill Downs on Sunday morning for trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

WISE DAN IN PERFECT SHAPE MORNING AFTER CLARK ‘CAP VICTORY – Mort Fink’s Wise Dan had an easy morning after his impressive 3 ¾-length victory in the 137^th running of Churchill Downs’ $572,500 Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (Grade I). The 4-year-old gelded son of Wiseman’s Ferry walked the shedrow and then grazed for an hour outside trainer Charlie Lopresti’s barn at Keeneland.

“He came out of the race in perfect shape,” Lopresti said. “He’s 100%.”

The Clark Handicap victory caps a phenomenal year for Wise Dan, who recorded stakes victories on turf, dirt and synthetic surfaces. Other than the Clark, he was also victorious in the Firecracker Handicap (GII), Presque Isle Mile and Fayette (GII), with the latter two on synthetic surfaces, Lopresti said Wise Dan would now get some well-deserved time off.

"We’ll let him wind down (at Keeneland) and then take him to our farm in Lexington,” Lopresti said. “He’ll have the whole month of December off and some of January and then we’ll start getting him ready for a 5-year-old campaign.”

While plans for Wise Dan’s first start next year are not definite, Lopresti does have a race in mind.

“He can run on any surface at different distances, so we have a lot of options with him,” Lopresti said. “Most likely we will bring him back in the Commonwealth (GII) at Keeneland like we did this year.”

Wise Dan won’t be the only talented horse racing from the Lopresti barn next year. Turallure, winner of the Woodbine Mile (GI) and second by a nose to Court Vision in the TVG Breeders’ Cup Mile (GI), is expected to race next year, as is Successful Dan, Wise Dan’s older half-brother who missed 2011 with a tendon injury. Successful Dan was disqualified from first and placed third in last year’s Clark.

“Successful Dan is at our farm and gallops about five days a week,” Lopresti said. “We’ll keep doing that for awhile and then get more serious with him in January or February. Look for him in the spring.”

With so many top horses in the barn, Lopresti will be faced with the tough task of keeping them apart from each other during their 2012 campaigns; however, he is unsure if that will even be possible.

“I was able to keep Turallure and Wise Dan apart this year, but I don’t know if I can keep them all apart next year,” Lopresti said. “It’ll be tough and a couple of them may have to go in the same race. But this is a good problem to have. It’s been a dream year and if next year is half as good as this one, then I’ll be thrilled.”

LEPAROUX, MAKER LOOK TO HOLD MEET LEADS ENTERING FINAL DAYS – With just two days remaining in the Fall Meet, the races for leading jockey and leading trainer are still wide open. Entering Saturday’s action, Julien Leparoux, seeking his ninth riding title at the Louisville track, holds a 31-to-26 lead over Corey Lanerie, who is seeking his first Churchill Downs riding title, and Mike Maker, the leading trainer at the 2008 Fall Meet, is leading Steve Asmussen, a 10-time leading trainer at Churchill Downs, 15 to 12. Below is a rundown of entries for the top two in the jockey and trainer standings for the final two days of the 2011 Fall Meet.

Julien Leparoux, Saturday, Nov. 26

• Race 1, Casa de Cambio (5-1 on morning-line)
• Race 2, La Capella (6-1)
• Race 3, Brando (8-1)
• Race 4, Soft Whisper (3-1)
• Race 5, Swaythisway (3-1)
• Race 6, Wayward Sailor (3-1)
• Race 7, Tito (8-1)
• Race 8, Voodoo Daddy (2-1)
• Race 9, Customer Base (7-2)
• Race 10, Daddy Nose Best (5-2)
• Race 11, Ever So Lucky (5-2)
• Race 12, Big John B (3-1)

Julien Leparoux, Sunday, Nov. 27

• Race 1, Chyhyryn, (3-1)
• Race 2, Romans Reward (4-1)
• Race 3, Bluegrass Summer (5-2)
• Race 4, Biogio’s Gift (5-1)
• Race 6, Hillary D (5-1)
• Race 7, Woodford Lady (7-2)
• Race 8, Eyeseeyou (5-1)
• Race 10, Gutsy Call (7-2)

Corey Lanerie, Saturday, Nov. 26

• Race 1, Mr Saturday (12-1)
• Race 2, Audington (10-1)
• Race 3, Charlie in Charge (6-1)
• Race 4, Yorona (15-1)
• Race 5, Bluegrass Rumor (12-1)
• Race 6, Burning Fire (12-1)
• Race 7, Battle Hardened (8-1)
• Race 9, Glinda the Good (5-1)
• Race 10, Salvatore G (15-1)
• Race 11, Africanist (10-1)
• Race 12, King Kid (8-1)

Corey Lanerie, Sunday, Nov. 27

• Race 1, Minestone (5-2)
• Race 2, Winkatdawat (8-1)
• Race 4, Preach Easy (3-1)
• Race 5, Tend (5-1)
• Race 6, Four Point (12-1)
• Race 7, Miz Ida (5-1)
• Race 8, Paladin’s Fury (12-1)
• Race 9, Accesorize (12-1)
• Race 10, Joes Blazing Aaron (5-1)
• Race 11, Ocean Bertie (2-1)

Mike Maker, Saturday, Nov. 26

• Race 3, Stevie Jones (8-1)
• Race 6, Tizanexpense (15-1) and Wayward Sailor (3-1)
• Race 10, Magical Season (8-1)
• Race 11, Mr. Prankster (10-1)
• Race 12, Big John B (3-1)

Mike Maker, Sunday, Nov. 27

• Race 1, Chyhyryn (3-1)
• Race 4, Biogio’s Gift (5-1)
• Race 10, Twinspired (8-1)

Steve Asmussen, Saturday, Nov. 26

• Race 1, Goingoingone (6-1) and Casa de Cambio (5-1)
• Race 2, La Capella (6-1)
• Race 3, Brando (8-1)
• Race 5, Tapajo (4-1)
• Race 6, Power Emblem (7-2)
• Race 7, Tito (8-1)
• Race 8, Voodoo Dancer (2-1)
• Race 9, Glinda the Good (5-1)
• Race 10, Daddy Nose Best (5-2)

Steve Asmussen, Sunday, Nov. 27

• Race 6, Miss Chloe H. (9-2)
• Race 8, Eyeseeyou (5-1) and Hunterwood Point (6-1)
• Race 10, Joes Blazing Aaron (5-1)

CHURCHILL JOCKEYS MAKE PLANS FOLLOWING SPRING MEET – With the conclusion of the Fall Meet at Churchill Downs coming on Sunday, the leading jockeys at the Louisville track are preparing to move their tack elsewhere for the winter and most are heading for warmer climates.

Jockeys expected to ride at Fair Grounds: Corey Lanerie, Brian Hernandez Jr., Shaun Bridgmohan, Robby Albarado and Miguel Mena.

Jockeys expected to ride at Gulfstream Park: Julien Leparoux, Calvin Borel, Jesus Castanon, Edgar Prado and Kent Desormeaux.

Members of the Churchill Downs jockey colony who will not be riding at either Gulfstream Park or Fair Grounds include Jon Court (Oaklawn Park), Leandro Goncalves (Tampa Bay Downs) and Roberto Morales (Turfway Park).

WHO’S HOT – The hottest jockey over the last five racing days (Nov. 19-25) is Corey Lanerie (11-for-43). Eddie Kenneally (4-for-6) and Mike Maker (4-for-17) are the hottest trainers over the same period. Ken and Sarah Ramsey (3-for-11) are the hottest owners.

BARN TALK – Twin Creeks Racing Stable LLC’s Mission Impazible came back from his runner-up effort to Wise Dan in Friday’s Clark Handicap (GI) in good order, according to assistant trainer Michael McCarthy. No definitive plans have been made regarding his next start. …

Clark Handicap favorite Flat Out, who finished third behind Wise Dan and Mission Impazible, also exited the race in good order, according to trainer Scooter Dickey. Preston Stables LLC’s Flat Out, who won the Jockey Club Gold Cup (GI) at Belmont Park in October, will ship to Dickey’s barn at Gulfstream Park on Monday afternoon and will be given a few weeks rest before being prepared for a 2012 campaign.

“I’ll work him on the turf at Gulfstream and if he works well then he could start the year in the Fort Lauderdale (GIII at 1 1/16 miles on the turf on Jan. 14),” Dickey said. If he doesn’t work well on the turf, then we’ll probably point to the Donn Handicap (GI at 1 1/8 miles on the dirt on Feb. 11).” …

Churchill Downs will offer free general admission to all fans on Sunday, Nov. 27, the closing-day of the 2011 Fall Meet. Also, be sure to bring the kids out to see Santa Claus, who will be in the Paddock Pavilion on Sunday.

WORKTAB – Stoneway Farm LLC’s Exfactor, winner of the Bashford Manor (GIII) at Churchill Downs in July, breezed five furlongs on the fast main track beneath the Twin Spires on Saturday morning in 1:01 for trainer Bernie Flint. The work was the fourth fastest of 34 at the distance. …

Stonestreet Stables LLC’s Hierro, who turned heads when he broke his maiden by 5 ¼ lengths in his most recent start at Churchill Downs, breezed five furlongs on the main track in 1:02.80 for trainer Steve Asmussen. The work was the 22^nd fastest of 34 at the distance. …

Kirk and Judy Robison’s Wine Police, third in the Hopeful (GI) as a 2-year-old and second in the Jimmy V “Don’t Give Up…Don’t Ever Give Up!” in his most recent start, breezed five furlongs in 1:03.20 for Steve Asmussen. It was the 25^th fastest half-mile work Saturday morning.

WINSTAR’S UNBEATEN GEMOLOGIST HOPES TO FOLLOW SUPER SAVER’S FOOTSTEPS IN JOCKEY CLUB – WinStar Farm LLC and trainer Todd Pletcher teamed up to win the 2009 running of the Kentucky Jockey Club (Grade II) with Super Saver, and returned to Churchill Downs with the colt the following spring to capture the $2 million-guaranteed Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI).

Those connections hope for similar good fortune with Gemologist, their latest juvenile star who puts an unbeaten record on the line in Saturday’s 85^th running of the $150,000-added Kentucky Jockey Club for 2-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles on the main track beneath the Twin Spires.

“Certainly we’ve had luck in this race before and have had horses run well and then go on to bigger and better things as 3-year-olds,” assistant trainer Michael McCarthy said. “I’m sure we’ll start thinking about it (the Kentucky Derby) after the race Saturday. But you’re always thinking about it – especially in this operation.”

A big, handsome son of Tiznow, Gemologist still has plenty of upside and McCarthy believes he could be able to follow in Super Saver’s footsteps and develop into a 3-year-old of Derby and Triple Crown quality.

“He’s a lot of horse and a fantastic looking animal,” McCarthy said. “I think he’ll get better with racing and I see no reason why he won’t develop into a nice 3-year-old. He’s still got a lot of maturing to do; not so much physically, but mentally.”

Gemologist, purchased as a weanling for $310,000 at the 2009 Keeneland November Sale, cruised to a five-length victory in his career debut over Turfway Park’s Polytrack surface.  He followed that with a two-length allowance victory at the Kentucky Jockey Club distance on Churchill Downs’ Stars of Tomorrow I card.

"He’s two-for-two and has a little bit of a buzz around him,” McCarthy said. “Anytime a horse has won going a distance of ground at this stage of their career it’s good, and to have a win over the racetrack is a feather in your cap.”

Gemologist will break from post nine under Javier Castellano when he faces 10 rivals in the Kentucky Jockey Club. His main competition could come from Augustin Stable’s Ever So Lucky, a flashy 3 ¼-length maiden winner for steeplechase training legend Jonathan Sheppard at Churchill Downs on Nov. 11.  Ever So Lucky, a bay son of Indian Charlie, was supplemented to the Kentucky Jockey Club for a fee of $7,500.

"There are a lot of horses in the race that look like they have a lot of upside,” McCarthy said. “Certainly Jonathan Sheppard’s horse is one of them. He did nothing wrong in his debut and anytime you see Sheppard do something like bring a horse back on short rest, then you definitely need to pay attention.”

Ever So Lucky will break from the rail and is expected to challenge for the early lead, a development McCarthy would welcome.

“I think Gemologist will be fairly forwardly placed,” McCarthy said. “It’d be nice if someone would go to the lead and we could sit off him and have Gemologist learn a little something.”

Named in honor of the holding company that operated Churchill Downs at the time of the race’s inaugural running in 1920, the Kentucky Jockey Club is the co-featured event with the $150,000-added Golden Rod (GII) for 2-year-old fillies on the Stars of Tomorrow II program,.  It will be run as race 11 with a scheduled post time 5:42 p.m. (all times EST).  Post time for the day’s first race is 12:40 p.m.

FLASHY DEBUT WINNER EVER SO LUCKY RETURNS IN KENTUCKY JOCKEY CLUB – Those who watched the impressive 3 ¼-length debut victory by Augustin Stable’s Ever So Lucky at Churchill Downs on Nov. 11 might have been surprised to learn the Indian Charlie colt is trained by Jonathan Sheppard.

Sheppard, who last year became the first trainer to saddle 1,000 steeplechase winners in the United States, is not known for having precocious juveniles in his barn, but finds himself with one of the Fall Meet’s most-discussed horses the colt owned by George Strawbridge’s Augustin Stable. The $600,000 sales topper at Fasig-Tipton’s Mid-Atlantic Selected 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale at Maryland’s Timonium, Ever So Lucky was installed by Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia as the 5-2 morning-line favorite for the Kentucky Jockey Club.

“I was absolutely delighted with his first race,” Sheppard said. “He broke a step slowly and (jockey Julien) Leparoux asked him to move up and it seemed like he took the lead in just a few jumps. He was under pressure on the lead and when Julien asked him to run, he responded and won with a lot left. He ran like an old pro.”

Ever So Lucky’s flashy debut so impressed his connections that they paid $7,500 to make him a supplemental nominee to the Kentucky Jockey Club.

“It was a mutual decision between myself and Mr. Strawbridge,” Sheppard said. “We were trying to decide what to do with him and we decided to give him a second race at the track he was at and seems to like. This also gives him a race going two turns and sets him up nicely to get a breather and then get him ready for the big 3-year-old races next spring.”

One of those “big 3-year-old races” Sheppard was referring to is the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI). Sheppard, who will turn 71 on Dec. 2, has never saddled a starter in the Run for the Roses.

“I’m not going to push them and make them do something they’re not ready for,” Sheppard said. “We usually stick to the theory that you can have a good young horse or a good older horse, but you can’t have both. However, I think he (Ever So Lucky) has the disposition to be a good horse next year. He has a very good mind and is a really nice horse. I don’t want to jinx myself though because you really never know.”

Ever So Lucky will break from the rail post in the Kentucky Jockey Club. Some would be nervous about a 2-year-old breaking the inside gate, but Sheppard does not see the post as an issue for Ever So Lucky.

“The rail is not a bad spot if you have a horse with some speed,” Sheppard said. “I think Leparoux will be able to get him out of there fine.”

KENTUCKY OAKS TRAIL FOR CUSTOMER BASE BEGINS WITH THE GOLDEN ROD – Glen Hill Farm’s Customer Base is unbeaten on synthetic surfaces in her young career, but she moves to traditional dirt for Saturday’s 68^th running of the $150,000-added Golden Rod (Grade II) at Churchill Downs in hope that the race will be a first step on a trail to next spring’s $1 million Kentucky Oaks (GI).

“If she can get lucky and win Saturday then she’ll be nominated to the Kentucky Oaks, which is what I want because if she runs well then we’ll definitely point that way with her,” trainer Tom Proctor said.

Customer Base was a winner on debut over synthetic Polytrack footing at Del Mar and improved her record to a perfect two-for-two with a 1 ½-length victory over Keeneland’s Polytrack surface. The only poor effort in her career came Customer Base drew post 13 in a bid for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (GII) on Nov. 4.  She finished 11^th of 14 fillies that day behind the victorious Stephanie’s Kitten.

“She ran so well over the Polytrack that I decided to put her in the Juvenile Fillies Turf,” Proctor said. “I wasn’t sure if she’d like the turf or not, but honestly I still don’t know because she lost all chance with a bad trip. Her pedigree says she can run on the turf or the dirt.”

A 2-year-old daughter of Lemon Drop Kid, Customer Base was installed as the 7-2 second choice for the Golden Rod by Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia.

“If she likes the dirt then she’ll be tough in there,” Proctor said. “I don’t know why she wouldn’t. She’s trained well over it and is doing really good.”

While the Kentucky Oaks is the primary long-term goal for Customer Base, Proctor has a backup plan for his filly if things don’t go as planned Saturday.

“If she doesn’t run well then I’ll take her to Tampa Bay and get her ready for the Florida Oaks (at 1 1/16 miles on turf on Feb.4),” Proctor said.

Customer Base will break from post eight in the field of 11 under leading-rider Julien Leparoux. Post time for the Golden Rod, the co-featured event on the Stars of Tomorrow II program, is 4:42 p.m.

WHO’S HOT – The hottest jockeys over the last five racing days (Nov. 17-23) are Corey Lanerie (8-for-44) and Julien Leparoux (7-for-29). Nick Zito (3-for-4), Eddie Kenneally (3-for-6), Ken McPeek (3-for-9) and Mike Maker (3-for-13) are the hottest trainers over the same period. Carolyn Wilson (2-for-2) and Ken and Sarah Ramsey (2-for-8) are the hottest owners.

BARN TALK – Arena Elvira, winner of Thursday’s Falls City Handicap (GII) at Churchill Downs, exited the race in good order, according to assistant trainer Kenny McCarthy. The 4-year-old daughter of Ghostzapper will be given some time off before she begins a 5-year-old campaign. …

The second and third-place finishers in the Falls City, Afleeting Lady and It’s Tea Time, also came out of the race well.  No firm plans are in place for either filly, but both are expected to run next year. …

A reminder that a memorial service for the late trainer Robert Holthus will be held Saturday, Nov. 26 at 10:30 a.m. (EST) at Christ Chapel on the Churchill Downs backside. 

Churchill Downs will host a “Stache Bash” on Saturday during the races to honor and celebrate all of the Mo Bros and Mo Sistas who participated in Movember. Churchill Downs will donate $1 per attendee who is sporting a mustache to the Movember Foundation with a minimum guaranteed pledge of $5,000 given through the Churchill Downs Foundation. The day’s festivities will include between-race live music by popular Cincinnati-based My Sister Sarah in the paddock area and Happy Hour drink specials from 3-5 p.m. …

Churchill Downs will offer free admission to all fans on Sunday, Nov. 27, the closing-day of the 2011 Fall Meet. Also, be sure to bring the kids out to see Santa Claus, who will be in the Paddock Pavilion on Sunday.

WORKTAB – Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC’s Tapizar, winner of the Sham (GIII) in January and fifth to Caleb’s Posse in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (GI) in his most recent start, breezed five furlongs on the fast main track at Churchill Downs on Friday morning in 1:03.20 for trainer Steve Asmussen. The work was the 11^th fastest of 17 at the distance. …

Also working for Asmussen on Friday morning was Thiskyhasnolimit, winner of the Texas Mile (GIII) in April. Owned by Mark Wagner and Bob and Cathy Zollars, the 4-year-old son of Sky Mesa breezed five furlongs in 1:05.40.

A year after experiencing the heartbreak inflicted by the disqualification of Successful Dan from an apparent victory in the $500,000-added Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (Grade I), owner Morton Fink and trainer Charles Lopresti are back to take another shot at winning the premier race of Churchill Downs’ Fall Meet with another talented “Dan.”

Wise Dan is this year’s Clark hope for the Fink-Lopresti team and the 3-year-old son of Wiseman’s Ferry is a major player in a strong and competitive 13-horse field for the 1 1/8-mile race for older horses.  Like the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) and the Kentucky Oaks, the Clark has been run annually without interruption since the 1875 debut racing meet of the track then known as the Louisville Jockey Club.

“I don’t think we could have him any better than he is right now,” Lopresti said Thursday morning by telephone from his training base at Keeneland.  “We had him out grazing this morning and he was such a handful we had to put him in.  He’s really good.”

Wise Dan will break from post 11 as the 4-1 third choice in the Clark behind Jockey Club Gold Cup (GI) winner Flat Out and Belmont Stakes (GI) winner Ruler On Ice, who ran fifth and third, respectively, behind WinStar Farm’s Drosselmeyer in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs on Nov. 5.  While that high-powered duo will attempt to keep their names in the discussion for Eclipse Awards in their respective division, Lopresti is anxious to see how Wise Dan will handle his newest challenge.

The Clark will be the 4-year-old gelding’s first attempt to win a major stakes race over traditional dirt at a two-turn distance.  He ran a respectable sixth over the Louisville track in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint (GI), where he finished just 2 ½ lengths behind the victorious Big Drama.  He has two wins in four dirt starts at Churchill Downs, both victories coming last year in allowance races on sloppy tracks at six furlongs and a mile.

Wise Dan comes into this year’s Clark in exactly the same manner as the last two first-place finishers in the Clark.  He romped to a four-length victory over Polytrack at the Clark distance of 1 1/8 miles in Keeneland’s Fayette (GII), just as Adele Dilschneider and Claiborne Farm’s future Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Blame did in 2009 and Successful Dan accomplished a year ago. 

Prior to the Fayette, Wise Dan enjoyed significant success at shorter distances, including 2011 wins in the one-mile Firecracker Handicap (GII) in his turf debut at Churchill Downs and an impressive win from an outside post in the $250,000 Presque Isle Downs Mile over the Pennsylvania track’s synthetic Tapeta surface.

Wise Dan tuned-up for his Clark bid with a sharp six-furlong work in 1:!2 on Nov. 15 at Keeneland.  That move encouraged Lopresti, but he believes Wise Dan has questions to answer in Friday’s race.

"I feel pretty confident, but I still have a question about the mile and an eighth on the dirt,” Lopresti said.  “That’s my big concern.  He got it on the ‘Poly’ and it looked like he was running away from them at the end, but this is a lot tougher field, too.  I’m realistic about it – the Fayette was a lot lighter bunch than he’s running against here.”

Lopresti points to the presence of Breeders Cup Classic contenders Flat Out and Ruler On Ice as primary Clark contenders, and said the efforts of both in the 1 ¼-mile Classic merit respect.

“Flat Out only got beat three lengths in the Breeders’ Cup and Ruler On Ice got beat two lengths,” Lopresti said.  “If those horses had finished up the racetrack, I wouldn’t have as much respect for them.  But they didn’t run bad races.”

Wise Dan’s resume of three wins in seven 2011 races, which also includes a close third fourth-place run on the Keeneland turf behind three-time Eclipse Award champion Gio Ponti in the Grade I Shadwell Mile, provides ample fuel for Lopresti’s optimism.  But that impressive six-furlong work at Keeneland strengthened Lopresti’s confidence that Wise Dan will run well in Friday’s race, and possibly ease the painful memory of the stewards’ decision that deprived Successful Dan of a victory in last year’s Clark.

“He worked three-quarters in (a minute) twelve and he was in the middle of the racetrack when he did it,” Lopresti said.  “If we had put him down on the fence, there’s no telling what he would have done.  We were talking him out of it.”

Lopresti’s star will have a new rider for the Clark as John Velazquez will travel from New York to substitute for Julien Leparoux.  The leading rider of the Churchill Downs Fall Meet will be in California on Friday to pilot Vinery First Lady (GI) winner Never Retreat in the Grade I Matriarch at Hollywood Park.

“He’s a good strong rider,” Lopresti said of Velazquez.  “I know he’s talked to Julien about him (Wise Dan).  I know when I called him, it didn’t take two minutes to tell me he would come to ride him.  It’s a compliment when a guy like Velazquez comes in to ride him.  I know he’s watched his races and he knows him.”

Wise Dan brings career record of 7-0-0 in 13 races and earnings of $593,047 into Friday’s 137^th Clark.

DICKEY PLEASED WITH POST DRAW FOR CLARK FAVORITE FLAT OUT – Trainer Scooter Dickey entered Tuesday’s post position draw for the Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (Grade I) with hopes that Preston Stables LLC’s favored Flat Out would not draw the rail.  His wish was granted when the Jockey Club Gold Cup (GI) winner drew post six in the field of 13 for Friday’s race at Churchill Downs.

“I like the post and it should be good for him,” Dickey said. “He’s gotten beat three times this year when leaving from the one-hole. The post might not have had anything to do with him losing, but maybe it did. I’d rather not take the chance.”

In his most recent start, the Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI), Flat Out drew post two, but still broke further inside than all other horses after Prayer for Relief, who had drawn post one, scratched out of the race. Post position one was left open in the Classic, where Flat Out finished fifth behind Drosselmeyer.

Now that Dickey is happy with his post position, he is hoping to get the type of track that best suits the 5-year-old son of Flatter: fast and dry.

“I want the sun to come out and dry this track out some more,” Dickey said. “The track had a little water in it for the Breeders’ Cup and the Stephen Foster (GI) and he doesn’t seem to like it when there’s only a little water. He’d rather run over a muddy track than a “good” track or a fast track with some water. I don’t really know why that is, though.”

Flat Out, whose two off-the-board finishes this year have come on the main track beneath the Twin Spires, has been installed as the 5-2 morning-line favorite by Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia. Flat Out was also the post-time favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

“Being the favorite makes you worry more because you don’t want to let people down,” Dickey said. “But the horse is doing really well. He went out early (Thursday) morning and galloped down the stretch. We’re ready for tomorrow.”

Flat Out will be guided in the Clark by Alex Solis, who has been aboard him for his last five starts. Solis is scheduled to arrive in Louisville on Thursday night.

OXLEY, CASSE TAKE TWO SHOTS AT SATURDAY’S $150,000 GOLDEN ROD – Owner John Oxley and trainer Mark Casse will take two shots in Saturday’s $150,000-added Golden Rod (GII) with 2-year-old fillies Golden History and Spirited Miss, and hope that one of those rising stars will land them in the winner’s circle following the 68^th running the 1 1/16-mile race for juvenile fillies on the main track.

The Golden Rod will be the co-feature with the $150,000-added Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) on Churchill Downs’ Stars of Tomorrow II program devoted exclusively to races for 2-year-olds. The Golden Rod will be run as race nine with a scheduled post time of 4:42 p.m. (all times EST).

"It looks like a real competitive field and there doesn’t appear to be a standout, with maybe the exception of the horse that won the Pocahontas (On Fire Baby),” assistant trainer Norman Casse said. “I like both of our horses’ chances.”

Golden History, a $450,000 purchase earlier this year at Florida’s Ocala Breeders’ Sales Selected 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, has been pointed to the Golden Rod since she won her career debut by 2 ¾ lengths on the synthetic Polytrack surface at Toronto’s Woodbine. The daughter of Medaglia d’Oro arrived at Churchill Downs in mid-October and made her second career start over the main track in a fifth-place run in the one-mile Pocahontas (GII), where she finished three lengths behind On Fire Baby.

“We were hoping to run her in an allowance race here but the race didn’t go, so our hands were tied and we had to go in the Pocahontas,” Casse said. “The Golden Rod has been the target all along.”

Golden History will break from post nine under Shaun Bridgmohan in the Golden Rod.

Unlike her stablemate, Spirited Miss did not have a Golden Rod bid on her long-range radar.  The Oxley homebred broke her maiden on the Woodbine turf in August, and then finished fourth on turf to Northern Passion in the Natalma (GIII).  She moved to the Polytrack course at the Toronto track for a runner-up finish to Blue Heart in the Mazarine before the daughter of Sky Mesa was pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (GII).  Mark Casse ultimately decided against entering the filly in that race.

The Golden Rod will be the first race on traditional dirt for Spirited Miss, who will break from post three under Javier Castellano.

“She’s always been one of the horses that we’ve really liked,” Casse said. “The Juvenile (Fillies) Turf just came up too tough and we didn’t want to put her in there. She’s been at Churchill Downs for several weeks and has had four good works over the (main) track. With the Golden Rod coming up the way it has and her working so well over the dirt, we decided to give it a shot.”

The Casse barn experienced success this year with a horse trying dirt for the first time when 36-1 shot  Pool Play won Churchill Downs’ $500,000-added Stephen Foster Handicap Presented by Abu Dhabi (GI) in June after running on synthetic and turf courses in 27 previous starts.

WHO’S HOT – The hottest jockeys over the last five racing days (Nov. 17-23) are Corey Lanerie (7-for-40), Julien Leparoux (6-for-24) and Jesus Castanon (6-for-25). Wayne Catalano (3-for-5) and Mike Maker (3-for-12) are the hottest trainers over the same period. Ken and Sarah Ramsey (2-for-11) are the hottest owners.

BARN TALK – A local memorial service for the late trainer Robert Holthus is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 26 at 10:30 a.m. (EST) at Christ Chapel on the Churchill Downs backside. Holthus saddled 211 winners beneath the Twin Spires, including 11 stakes wins.  Holthus, who died in Louisville on Nov. 22 at the age of 78, started five horses in the Kentucky Derby.

Churchill Downs will host a “Stache Bash” on Saturday during the races to honor and celebrate all of the Mo Bros and Mo Sistas who participated in Movember. Churchill Downs will donate $1 per attendee who is sporting a mustache to the Movember Foundation with a minimum guaranteed pledge of $5,000 given through the Churchill Downs Foundation. The day’s festivities will include between-race live music by popular Cincinnati-based My Sister Sarah in the paddock area and Happy Hour drink specials from 3-5 p.m.

SUPER ESPRESSO LOOKS TO END RACING CAREER WITH FALLS CITY VICTORY – Celebrity chef Bobby Flay’s Super Espresso will look to end her racing career in style on Thursday when she makes her final start in the 96^th running of the $175,000-added Falls City Handicap (Grade II) for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on the main track at Churchill Downs.

“This will be her last race,” said Michael McCarthy, assistant to trainer Todd Pletcher. “We’re looking to get her some more black type before she enters her second career (as a broodmare).”

Super Espresso, a $1.1 million Keeneland September Yearling purchase, will face nine rivals in the Falls City, the featured event on the Thanksgiving Day racing program.

She captured the DuPont Distaff (GIII) at Pimlico in May and then competed in five consecutive Grade I events. She hit the board in her first two starts at the highest level, running third to Awesome Maria in the Ogden Phipps Handicap (GI) and second to Ask the Moon in the Ruffian Handicap (GI).

The 4-year-old daughter of Medaglia D’Oro then finished fifth to Ask the Moon in the Personal Ensign, 10^th to Aruna in the Spinster (GI) over the synthetic Polytrack surface at Keeneland and enters the Falls City off a seventh-place finish to Royal Delta in the Nov. 4 Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (GI) at Churchill Downs.

The Ladies’ Classic was a bit of a reach,” McCarthy said. “This is a logical spot for her. She’s getting a bit of a class break and her numbers are as good as or better than everyone else in the field.”

In preparation for the Falls City, Super Espresso breezed a sharp four furlongs over the fast main track in company with Giant Sensation in :47.80, the third fastest of 47 at the distance. The duo recorded fractions of :12.20, :24.20, :35.80 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:00.60 and six furlongs in 1:14.20.

“She had a nice work over the track a few days ago and she’ll enter the race with good energy and a good attitude,” McCarthy said.

Super Espresso has a career record of 4-2-4 from 17 starts and earnings of $270,788. She will break from post eight in the field of ten under Javier Castellano.

The Falls City is the featured event on Thursday’s 12-race holiday program.  It will go as race 11 with a post time of 4:24 p.m. EST.

CHAMBERLAIN BRIDGE GETS CLASS BREAK, BETTER DRAW ON THURSDSAY – Carl R. Moore Management LLC’s Chamberlain Bridge, winner of the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (GII) at Churchill Downs, returns to his favorite track on Thursday in an attempt to snap a five-race losing streak.

The 7-year-old War Chant gelding is entered in Thursday’s sixth race, an allowance optional-claiming event at five furlongs on the Matt Winn Turf Course.

Chamberlain Bridge attempted to defend his title in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint in his most recent start, but fell well short of that goal.  He broke from the outside post in a field of 14 on the Churchill Downs grass and finished eighth to the victorious Regally Ready.

"Hopefully that race is just a throw out,” said Dennis “Peaches” Geier, assistant to trainer Bret Calhoun. “He was coming into the Turf Sprint really well and his two works before the race (:59 on a wet-fast main track at Churchill Downs on Oct. 19 and :50.60 on a firm Matt Winn Turf Course on Oct. 29) were probably two of the best works of the entire Breeders’ Cup. He really had no chance whatsoever breaking from the 14-hole. It’s a tough gig out there.”

Chamberlain Bridge, who was made the 7-5 morning-line favorite by Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia, will break from post two in Thursday’s race under Brian Hernandez Jr. It will be the first time since October of 2009 that Chamberlain Bridge has been ridden by a jockey other than Jamie Theriot.

Jamie is already in New Orleans (for the Fair Grounds meet), so we got Brian to ride,” Geier said. “Brian has definitely been hot this meet and I hope he (Chamberlain Bridge) runs well for him.”

Hernandez has experience aboard Charmberlain Bridge.  He rode the veteran turf sprint star to a  5 ½-length claiming victory at Keeneland in October of 2007.  And Hernandez has been on a roll during the Fall Meet and entered Wednesday’s racing with 11 wins from 55 mounts at the meet.  That’s good for third in the jockey standings behind Julien Leparoux and Corey Lanerie.

Thursday’s race is also notable for Chamberlain Bridget in that it will be his first outing in more than three years in which he has dropped out of the ranks of stakes horses to face allowance foes.

“It’s a break, but it’s not going to be an easy race,” Geier said. “There are several horses in there that are running really well. I think they’ll be enough speed in there for him to run at, though, and if he’s anything like he was last year then he should win.”

Future plans for Chamberlain Bridge, whose 17 career wins include four victories over the Matt Winn Turf Course, have not been decided.  But he is expected to race as an 8-year-old.

“We’ll bring him to Fair Grounds with us, but I’m not sure what we’ll do with him,” Geier said. “There aren’t too many races down there for him, though. We didn’t go too hard on him this year, so he might stay in training, but he could also get some time off before next year. A lot will depend on Thursday’s race.”

FALL MEET LEADERS ENTERING FINAL WEEK – Through 16 days of the 21-day Fall Meet, jockey Julien Leparoux, and owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey had clear leads in their respective divisional races at Churchill Downs.  But trainers Steve Asmussen and Mike Maker were locked in a tight battle for “leading trainer” honors.  Below is a look at the leaders entering the final week of the Fall Meet:

Top Jockeys

1. Julien Leparoux (28-for-106, 26% win-percentage, $1,441,452 in earnings)

2. Corey Lanerie (20-for-103, 19%, $511,772)

3. Brian Hernandez Jr. (11-for-55, 20%, $285,115)

4. Jesus Castanon (9-for-55, 16%, $415,003)

5. Jon Court (8-for-51, 16%, $185,269)

Top Trainers

1. Steve Asmussen (11-for-49, 22%, $2,013,337)

1. Mike Maker (11-for-42, 26%, $1,374,178)

3. Dale Romans (8-for-43, 19%, $1,583,459)

4. Eddie Kenneally (6-for-25, 24%, $297,652)

4. Ken McPeek (6-for-30, 20%, $250,988)

4. Bill Mott (6-for-18, 33%, $4,027,702)

Top Owners

1. Ken and Sarah Ramsey (9-for-33, 27%, $735,718)

2. Billy, Donna and Justin Hays (5-for-20, 25%, $98,805)

3. Richard and Karen Papiese’s Midwest Thoroughbreds Inc. (3-for-10, 30%, $34,053)

4. 14 owners are tied for fourth with two wins each

BARN TALK – Veteran trainer Robert Holthus, a regular on racing circuits in Kentucky, Arkansas and the Midwest for nearly 60 years, died Tuesday morning in Louisville, Ky. at the age of 77. A local memorial service for Holthus has been scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 26 at 10:30 a.m. (EST) at Christ Chapel on the Churchill Downs backside. Holthus saddled 211 winners beneath the Twin Spires, including 11 stakes wins. …

For the second year in-a-row, jockey Corey Lanerie was named a finalist for Santa Anita's George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award. The other finalists are Ramon Dominguez, Martin Pedroza, DeShawn Parker and Scott Stevens. The winner, to be determined by a nationwide vote of jockeys, will be announced in January. The Woolf Award has been presented annually by Santa Anita since 1950 and is regarded as one of the most prestigious honors in all of racing.  It recognizes those riders whose careers and personal character earn esteem for the individual and the sport of Thoroughbred racing. …

Leading-rider Julien Leparoux will travel to Hollywood Park on Friday to ride Team Block's Never Retreat in the Matriarch (GI). Leparoux enters Wednesday with a 28-20 lead in the jockey standings over Corey Lanerie. He will return to beneath the Twin Spires on Saturday and is named to ride in all 12 races on that day’s Stars of Tomorrow II program.  ...

Churchill Downs will host a “Stache Bash” on Saturday during the races to honor and celebrate all of the Mo Bros and Mo Sistas who participated in Movember. Churchill Downs will donate $1 per attendee who is sporting a mustache to the Movember Foundation with a minimum guaranteed pledge of $5,000 given through the Churchill Downs Foundation. The day’s festivities will include between-race live music by popular Cincinnati-based My Sister Sarah in the paddock area and Happy Hour drink specials from 3-5 p.m. …

Trainer Angel Montano Sr. recorded his 334^th victory at Churchill Downs with Autumn Eyes in Sunday’s sixth race. Montano ranks ninth in career victories at Churchill Downs and his next victory will pull him into a tie for eighth with Jack Van Berg. …

Jockey Jon Court is five wins away from the 400-win milestone at Churchill Downs. Court has mounts in eight races Wednesday, six races Thursday and nine races Friday.

RAVI’S SONG RETURNS TO DIRT IN THURSDAY’S FALLS CITY – Ravi’s Song, runner-up to Deluxe in the Cardinal Handicap (Grade III) on the Matt Winn Turf Course, will switch back to the dirt for $175,000-added Falls City Handicap (GII), the Thanksgiving Day racing centerpiece at Churchill Downs.

“I think she’s going to run well,” trainer Carl Bowman said. “She’s a three-time stakes winner on the dirt, so she’ll have no problem with the surface. I think she’ll show she can switch back-and-forth (between turf and dirt).”

A 5-year-old gray/roan daughter of Unbridled’s Song, Ravi’s Song has raced six times on the main track at Churchill Downs and sports a record of 2-1-1 with earnings of $93,683.  She has an assigned weight of 117 pounds for Thursday’s 96^th running of the 1 1/8-mile race for fillies and mares ages 3 and up.

“She’s run really well here (at Churchill Downs),” Bowman said. “The only bad race she ran was in the La Troienne (GII) on (Kentucky) Oaks Day, but she faced some pretty nice fillies that day in Blind Luck and Unrivaled Belle.”

Ravi’s Song, who was fourth to Dundalk Dust in last year’s Falls City, competed on turf for the first time in her runner-up finish to My Baby Baby in the Mint Julep Handicap (GIII) at Churchill Downs in June. She followed that strong grass debut with second-place finish to Romacaca in the Matchmaker (GIII) at Monmouth Park and was then given some time off before her run in the Cardinal.

“There was no scientific reason for putting her on the turf,” Bowman said. “She had trained well over it and there wasn’t a stake on dirt that really fit her. After she ran so well (in the Mint Julep), we decided to keep her on the grass for her next couple of starts. The purse money is better on the dirt and she will probably make her following start on the dirt at Fair Grounds, so that’s why she’s back on the main track.”

Mrs. Yoshio Fujita’s Ravi’s Song will remain in training following the Falls City; however, Friday will mark the end of her 5-year-old campaign.

“She’s definitely going to run as a 6-year-old,” Bowman said. “She’ll remain in training, but won’t make a start until next year. I gave her some time off after the Matchmaker, so she’s already had her break. We’ll find something for her at Fair Grounds in January or February.”

CASUAL TRICK HAS ZITO THINKING OF FIRST SATURDAY IN MAY – Flash back to a year ago and many Churchill Downs racing fans will easily recall an impressive racing debut by Robert LaPenta’s Dialed In, who overcame a poor start and significant traffic woes to win his first outing and immediately established himself as a horse to watch on the road to the 2011 Kentucky Derby.

Dialed In lived up to his strong early reviews and entered the starting gate as the betting favorite for Derby 137, but he finished eighth behind Team Valor International’s victorious Animal Kingdom.

So it should be no surprise that there was a tinge of déjà vu in the air during Friday’s “Downs After Dark” racing card when the Zito-trained Casual Trick carried LaPenta’s racing colors to an emphatic 2 ½-length win under jockey Jesus Castanon in a one-mile maiden race for juveniles.  It was the second career start for Casual Trick, who finished fifth after pressing the pace in his six-furlong debut at Saratoga on Aug. 27.

With two wins in the Kentucky Derby to his credit, Zito’s mind never wanders far from thoughts of Churchill Downs and the first Saturday in May.  So it was easy for the New York-born Hall of Fame trainer to connect the early fortunes of Dialed In and Casual Trick after the latter’s stylish win on Nov. 18.

“He was doing really well and we were looking for a shorter race, but the mile race came up and we decided to go in there,” Zito said.  “He ran a really good race and the fact that he won at a mile kind of puts us ahead of where we might have been with him.”

Casual Trick has a pedigree that suggests the Kentucky Derby could be right down the bay ridgling’s alley.  He’s by 2006 Preakness winner Bernardini out of Casual Look, a Red Ransom mare who took the 2003 renewal of Britain’s Group I Vodaphone Epsom Oaks for breeder William S. Farish.  Casual Look’s victory for the master of Kentucky’s Lane’s End Farm in the 1 ½-mile race for 3-year-old fillies came during Farish’s service in London as U.S. Ambassador to England.

“Bernardini is one of the hottest sires out there, and being out of one of Mr. Farish’s mares, you know there’s quality there,” Zito said.  “We like to bring our horses to Churchill Downs in the fall and it’s worked well for us.  Dialed In is a good example of why we like to come here.”

Dialed In’s Nov. 12 debut last year was the only race of his 2-year-old season.  He launched his 3-year-old campaign with a stretch-running victory in the Jan. 11 Holy Bull (GIII) at Gulfstream Park, and later won the Florida Derby (GI) over that track.  The son of Mineshaft went to the sidelines with an injury after a fourth-place finish to behind Shackleford and Animal Kingdom in the Preakness (GI).

Zito said Casual Trick would probably have a racing timetable similar to his campaign with Dialed In, with a first outing against winners likely sometime in January at Gulfstream.

Another Kentucky Derby hope for Zito could emerge in Saturday’s $150,000-added Kentucky Jockey Club (GII), the co-feature on the Nov. 26 Stars of Tomorrow II program devoted exclusively to 2-year-olds.  He plans to saddle Tracy Farmer’s homebred Saint Honore in the 1 1/16-mile Kentucky Jockey Club.

A son of Farmer’s Sun King, who finished 15^th to Giacomo as one of five Zito-trained runners in the 2005 Kentucky Derby, Saint Honore rallied to score a narrow maiden victory on Oct. 10 at Belmont Park.  Saint Honore’s win came at the Kentucky Jockey Club distance in the third start of his young career.

MCGEE HOPES FOR BIG WEDNESDAY AS HE NEARS 300 HOMETOWN WINS – Louisville-native Paul McGee has saddled 295 winners at Churchill Downs and could make substantial progress in his bid to reach a personal milestone of 300 wins at his hometown track when he saddles a strong group of starters beneath the historic Twin Spires on Wednesday.

McGee has six horses entered in five Wednesday races, including heavy hitters Infrattini, Worldly and Dubious Miss.  All have turned in strong performances at Churchill Downs during their careers.

Z Thoroughbreds LLC’s Infrattini could be McGee’s strongest chance on Wednesday.  The runner-up to Scotus in Churchill Downs’ Matt Winn (GIII), Infrattini enters a 1 1/16-mile allowance race on the main track off a fifth-place finish to Redeemed in the $400,000 Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park.  The 3-year-old son of Include is the 3-5 favorite in Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia’s morning line for the race.

“He’s a nice horse and he’s doing well,” McGee said. “After the Matt Winn, I sat on him for six weeks and then ran him in the West Virginia Derby (GII), and then waited again and ran in the Oklahoma Derby. There’s no reason for giving him a lot of time in-between races other than that we’ve just tried to pick our spots with him.”

Infrattini will break from post four under Corey Lanerie in Wednesday’s seventh race.

Two races later, McGee will saddle Jay Em Ess Stable’s Worldly for Wednesday’s featured ninth, a one-mile allowance race on the Matt Winn Turf Course. Worldly, a 4-year-old son of A.P. Indy and full-brother to multiple graded-stakes winner Suave, will be making his first start on turf since running second in an allowance on the Matt Winn Turf Course in May of 2010.  Worldly comes into Wednesday’s race off a disappointing ninth-place finish behind Headache in last month’s Hawthorne Gold Cup (GII) and a third-place run before that in the $100,000 Governor’s Cup at Remington Park.

“I was at the mercy of the condition book,” McGee said. “He’s still eligible for three other-than (allowances) and coming off his last two defeats I wanted to put him back in the allowance ranks to give him some confidence. The only three other-than on dirt (at Churchill Downs) is a one-turn mile and I don’t think that fits him. Also, he’s run well on the grass.”

If the race should be taken off the Matt Winn Turf Course, McGee would have another starter in the race with Dubious Miss, who is entered for the main track only. A 7-year-old gelded son of E Dubai, Dubious Miss has won eight races during a career that includes four wins on the main track beneath the Twin Spires.

“If the race comes off (the turf) then I would run both of them,” McGee said.

McGee’s other entries Wednesday include Pandering (Race 1, 4-1 morning-line), Even Forest (Race 6, 6-1) and High Quality (Race 8, 4-1).

The 49-year-old trainer, who does not have any horses entered Sunday, is confident in his entries on Wednesday and can see a 300^th win beneath the Twin Spires coming rather soon.

“I’ve got a good shot to do it before the meet ends,” McGee said. “We have about ten horses left to run and they all have a chance to win.”

WHO’S HOT – The hottest jockey over the last five racing days (Nov. 12-18) is Julien Leparoux (8-for-23). Dale Romans (4-for-11) and Ken McPeek (4-for-12) are the hottest trainers over the same period. No owner has more than one win in the last five racing days.

WORKTAB – John Oxley’s Golden History breezed four furlongs in :47.80 on a “good” Churchill Downs main track Sunday morning for trainer Mark Casse. The work was the sixth fastest of 38 at the distance. Golden History, fifth in the Pocahontas (GII) in her most recent start, is being pointed to Saturday’s Golden Rod (GII) at Churchill Downs. …

Pattons Creek Farm’s Will’s Wildcat, winner of the Jimmy V “Don’t Give Up…Don’t Ever Give Up!” at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4, breezed five furlongs in 1:00.80 for trainer Jimmy Baker. It was the seventh fastest work of 32 at the distance. …

Team Block’s Never Retreat, winner of the First Lady (GI) at Keeneland in her most recent start, breezed four furlongs in :48.20, the ninth-fastest half-mile breeze of the morning. Never Retreat will make her next start in Friday’s Matriarch (GI) at Hollywood Park.

RAVI’S SONG RETURNS TO DIRT IN THURSDAY’S FALLS CITY – Ravi’s Song, runner-up to Deluxe in the Cardinal Handicap (Grade III) on the Matt Winn Turf Course, will switch back to the dirt for $175,000-added Falls City Handicap (GII), the Thanksgiving Day racing centerpiece at Churchill Downs.

“I think she’s going to run well,” trainer Carl Bowman said. “She’s a three-time stakes winner on the dirt, so she’ll have no problem with the surface. I think she’ll show she can switch back-and-forth (between turf and dirt).”

A 5-year-old gray/roan daughter of Unbridled’s Song, Ravi’s Song has raced six times on the main track at Churchill Downs and sports a record of 2-1-1 with earnings of $93,683.  She has an assigned weight of 117 pounds for Thursday’s 96^th running of the 1 1/8-mile race for fillies and mares ages 3 and up.

“She’s run really well here (at Churchill Downs),” Bowman said. “The only bad race she ran was in the La Troienne (GII) on (Kentucky) Oaks Day, but she faced some pretty nice fillies that day in Blind Luck and Unrivaled Belle.”

Ravi’s Song, who was fourth to Dundalk Dust in last year’s Falls City, competed on turf for the first time in her runner-up finish to My Baby Baby in the Mint Julep Handicap (GIII) at Churchill Downs in June. She followed that strong grass debut with second-place finish to Romacaca in the Matchmaker (GIII) at Monmouth Park and was then given some time off before her run in the Cardinal.

“There was no scientific reason for putting her on the turf,” Bowman said. “She had trained well over it and there wasn’t a stake on dirt that really fit her. After she ran so well (in the Mint Julep), we decided to keep her on the grass for her next couple of starts. The purse money is better on the dirt and she will probably make her following start on the dirt at Fair Grounds, so that’s why she’s back on the main track.”

Mrs. Yoshio Fujita’s Ravi’s Song will remain in training following the Falls City; however, Friday will mark the end of her 5-year-old campaign.

“She’s definitely going to run as a 6-year-old,” Bowman said. “She’ll remain in training, but won’t make a start until next year. I gave her some time off after the Matchmaker, so she’s already had her break. We’ll find something for her at Fair Grounds in January or February.”

CASUAL TRICK HAS ZITO THINKING OF FIRST SATURDAY IN MAY – Flash back to a year ago and many Churchill Downs racing fans will easily recall an impressive racing debut by Robert LaPenta’s Dialed In, who overcame a poor start and significant traffic woes to win his first outing and immediately established himself as a horse to watch on the road to the 2011 Kentucky Derby.

Dialed In lived up to his strong early reviews and entered the starting gate as the betting favorite for Derby 137, but he finished eighth behind Team Valor International’s victorious Animal Kingdom.

So it should be no surprise that there was a tinge of déjà vu in the air during Friday’s “Downs After Dark” racing card when the Zito-trained Casual Trick carried LaPenta’s racing colors to an emphatic 2 ½-length win under jockey Jesus Castanon in a one-mile maiden race for juveniles.  It was the second career start for Casual Trick, who finished fifth after pressing the pace in his six-furlong debut at Saratoga on Aug. 27.

With two wins in the Kentucky Derby to his credit, Zito’s mind never wanders far from thoughts of Churchill Downs and the first Saturday in May.  So it was easy for the New York-born Hall of Fame trainer to connect the early fortunes of Dialed In and Casual Trick after the latter’s stylish win on Nov. 18.

“He was doing really well and we were looking for a shorter race, but the mile race came up and we decided to go in there,” Zito said.  “He ran a really good race and the fact that he won at a mile kind of puts us ahead of where we might have been with him.”

Casual Trick has a pedigree that suggests the Kentucky Derby could be right down the bay ridgling’s alley.  He’s by 2006 Preakness winner Bernardini out of Casual Look, a Red Ransom mare who took the 2003 renewal of Britain’s Group I Vodaphone Epsom Oaks for breeder William S. Farish.  Casual Look’s victory for the master of Kentucky’s Lane’s End Farm in the 1 ½-mile race for 3-year-old fillies came during Farish’s service in London as U.S. Ambassador to England.

“Bernardini is one of the hottest sires out there, and being out of one of Mr. Farish’s mares, you know there’s quality there,” Zito said.  “We like to bring our horses to Churchill Downs in the fall and it’s worked well for us.  Dialed In is a good example of why we like to come here.”

Dialed In’s Nov. 12 debut last year was the only race of his 2-year-old season.  He launched his 3-year-old campaign with a stretch-running victory in the Jan. 11 Holy Bull (GIII) at Gulfstream Park, and later won the Florida Derby (GI) over that track.  The son of Mineshaft went to the sidelines with an injury after a fourth-place finish to behind Shackleford and Animal Kingdom in the Preakness (GI).

Zito said Casual Trick would probably have a racing timetable similar to his campaign with Dialed In, with a first outing against winners likely sometime in January at Gulfstream.

Another Kentucky Derby hope for Zito could emerge in Saturday’s $150,000-added Kentucky Jockey Club (GII), the co-feature on the Nov. 26 Stars of Tomorrow II program devoted exclusively to 2-year-olds.  He plans to saddle Tracy Farmer’s homebred Saint Honore in the 1 1/16-mile Kentucky Jockey Club.

A son of Farmer’s Sun King, who finished 15^th to Giacomo as one of five Zito-trained runners in the 2005 Kentucky Derby, Saint Honore rallied to score a narrow maiden victory on Oct. 10 at Belmont Park.  Saint Honore’s win came at the Kentucky Jockey Club distance in the third start of his young career.

MCGEE HOPES FOR BIG WEDNESDAY AS HE NEARS 300 HOMETOWN WINS – Louisville-native Paul McGee has saddled 295 winners at Churchill Downs and could make substantial progress in his bid to reach a personal milestone of 300 wins at his hometown track when he saddles a strong group of starters beneath the historic Twin Spires on Wednesday.

McGee has six horses entered in five Wednesday races, including heavy hitters Infrattini, Worldly and Dubious Miss.  All have turned in strong performances at Churchill Downs during their careers.

Z Thoroughbreds LLC’s Infrattini could be McGee’s strongest chance on Wednesday.  The runner-up to Scotus in Churchill Downs’ Matt Winn (GIII), Infrattini enters a 1 1/16-mile allowance race on the main track off a fifth-place finish to Redeemed in the $400,000 Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park.  The 3-year-old son of Include is the 3-5 favorite in Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia’s morning line for the race.

“He’s a nice horse and he’s doing well,” McGee said. “After the Matt Winn, I sat on him for six weeks and then ran him in the West Virginia Derby (GII), and then waited again and ran in the Oklahoma Derby. There’s no reason for giving him a lot of time in-between races other than that we’ve just tried to pick our spots with him.”

Infrattini will break from post four under Corey Lanerie in Wednesday’s seventh race.

Two races later, McGee will saddle Jay Em Ess Stable’s Worldly for Wednesday’s featured ninth, a one-mile allowance race on the Matt Winn Turf Course. Worldly, a 4-year-old son of A.P. Indy and full-brother to multiple graded-stakes winner Suave, will be making his first start on turf since running second in an allowance on the Matt Winn Turf Course in May of 2010.  Worldly comes into Wednesday’s race off a disappointing ninth-place finish behind Headache in last month’s Hawthorne Gold Cup (GII) and a third-place run before that in the $100,000 Governor’s Cup at Remington Park.

“I was at the mercy of the condition book,” McGee said. “He’s still eligible for three other-than (allowances) and coming off his last two defeats I wanted to put him back in the allowance ranks to give him some confidence. The only three other-than on dirt (at Churchill Downs) is a one-turn mile and I don’t think that fits him. Also, he’s run well on the grass.”

If the race should be taken off the Matt Winn Turf Course, McGee would have another starter in the race with Dubious Miss, who is entered for the main track only. A 7-year-old gelded son of E Dubai, Dubious Miss has won eight races during a career that includes four wins on the main track beneath the Twin Spires.

“If the race comes off (the turf) then I would run both of them,” McGee said.

McGee’s other entries Wednesday include Pandering (Race 1, 4-1 morning-line), Even Forest (Race 6, 6-1) and High Quality (Race 8, 4-1).

The 49-year-old trainer, who does not have any horses entered Sunday, is confident in his entries on Wednesday and can see a 300^th win beneath the Twin Spires coming rather soon.

“I’ve got a good shot to do it before the meet ends,” McGee said. “We have about ten horses left to run and they all have a chance to win.”

WHO’S HOT – The hottest jockey over the last five racing days (Nov. 12-18) is Julien Leparoux (8-for-23). Dale Romans (4-for-11) and Ken McPeek (4-for-12) are the hottest trainers over the same period. No owner has more than one win in the last five racing days.

WORKTAB – John Oxley’s Golden History breezed four furlongs in :47.80 on a “good” Churchill Downs main track Sunday morning for trainer Mark Casse. The work was the sixth fastest of 38 at the distance. Golden History, fifth in the Pocahontas (GII) in her most recent start, is being pointed to Saturday’s Golden Rod (GII) at Churchill Downs. …

Pattons Creek Farm’s Will’s Wildcat, winner of the Jimmy V “Don’t Give Up…Don’t Ever Give Up!” at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4, breezed five furlongs in 1:00.80 for trainer Jimmy Baker. It was the seventh fastest work of 32 at the distance. …

Team Block’s Never Retreat, winner of the First Lady (GI) at Keeneland in her most recent start, breezed four furlongs in :48.20, the ninth-fastest half-mile breeze of the morning. Never Retreat will make her next start in Friday’s Matriarch (GI) at Hollywood Park.

FLAT OUT PREPS FOR CLARK; DICKEY HOPES FOR BETTER DRAW – Jockey Club Gold Cup (Grade I) winner Flat Out impressed his connections Saturday morning with a four-furlong breeze in :48 on the main track at Churchill Downs in preparation for Friday’s 137^th running of the $500,000-added Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GI).

Under jockey Greta Kuntzweiler, Flat Out recorded fractions of :12.60, :24.40 and :36 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:01. The four-furlong time was the eighth fastest of 91 at the distance on a very busy morning beneath the Twin Spires.

“The horse worked perfectly,” trainer Scooter Dickey said. “The owners were here to watch him and we were all really happy. He’s doing great.”

Flat Out was doing so great Saturday morning that Dickey noted Kuntzweiler had to restrain him more than usual to keep the 5-year-old son of Flatter from working too quickly.

“We didn’t want her (Kuntzweiler) to really pull on him and make him throw his head, but she had a better hold of him than she usually does and he still worked pretty fast,” Dickey said. “We wanted him to do it all by himself and that’s how he did it. He loves to work.”

Flat Out returned to Dickey’s barn in good order following the breeze.

“He cooled out great,” Dickey said. “He was acting like he didn’t even work this morning.”

Owned by Preston Stables LLC, Flat Out has raced twice at Churchill Downs this year, finishing sixth to Pool Play in the Stephen Foster Handicap Presented by Abu Dhabi (GI) and fifth to Drosselmeyer in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI).

In both races, Flat Out broke from an inside post – breaking from the rail in the Stephen Foster and post position two in the Classic. With the scratch of Prayer for Relief, who had drawn the rail, in the Classic, Flat Out once again drew further inside than any other starter. (Note: Post one was left open following the scratch of Prayer for Relief.)

“It wouldn’t exactly make me mad if we drew further outside,” Dickey said with a grin. “We’ve been inside both times he’s gotten beat here this year. We’re hoping to not draw the one, but that’s out of our hands.”

ON FIRE BABY BREEZES SEVEN-EIGHTHS IN PREP FOR GOLDEN ROD – Anita Cauley’s On Fire Baby, winner of the Oct. 30 Pocahontas (GII) at Churchill Downs, breezed seven furlongs in 1:27.20 on the main track beneath the Twin Spires on Saturday and it appears that all systems are “go” for run the $150,000-added Golden Rod next Saturday.

“She worked super,” trainer Gary Hartlage said. “She did everything exactly how we wanted her to do it. It was a nice, cruising seven-eighths and she galloped out a good mile. She’s doing great and we’re set to go for the Golden Rod.”

On Fire Baby recorded fractions of :13, :25.40, :37.80, :50.40, 1:02.60, 1:14.80 and galloped out a mile in 1:41.40.

On Fire Baby, a half-sister to High Heels, who was finished third in the 2006 Golden Rod and was also third to eventual Belmont Stakes (GI) winner Rags to Riches the following spring in the Kentucky Oaks (GI), has carried high hopes since the day she stepped into the Hartlage barn.

“A lot of times you think you have a good one, but you never know for sure until they prove it,” Hartlage said. “I think she proved how good she is in the Pocahontas.”

While Hartlage is hopeful that On Fire Baby will run well in the Golden Rod, the ultimate goal for this daughter of Smoke Glacken is another six months away.

“We’re hoping to have her back here in the spring for the big one (the Kentucky Oaks),” Hartlage said.

The 68^th running of the Golden Rod will be the co-feature with the 85^th running of the Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) on Stars of Tomorrow II at Churchill Downs on Nov. 26.

FLAT OUT NAMED HIGH WEIGHT FOR 137^TH CLARK HANDICAP – Flat Out, winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup (Grade I) and beaten favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI), has been assigned the high weight of 123 pounds by Churchill Downs racing secretary Ben Huffman for Friday’s 137^th running of the $500,000-added Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GI) for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles on the main track.

Preston Stables LLC’s Flat Out is expected to make his third start beneath the Twin Spires this year in the Clark. Trained by Scooter Dickey, Flat Out finished sixth to Pool Play in the Stephen Foster Handicap Presented by Abu Dhabi (GI) in June and ran fifth to WinStar Farm’s Drosselmeyer in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs on Nov. 5.

In between runs at Churchill Downs, Flat Out experienced a great deal of success in New York. In his four races in the Empire State, Flat Out recorded wins in the Suburban Handicap (GII) and Jockey Club Gold Cup and was second in both the Whitney Handicap (GI) and Woodward (GI).

Next on the roster of Clark Handicap weight assignments at 120 pounds is Morton Fink’s Wise Dan, who won the Fayette (GII) at Keeneland by four lengths in his most recent start. A 4-year-old gelded son of Wiseman’s Ferry, Wise Dan also has stakes victories this year in the Firecracker Handicap (GII) on grass at Churchill Downs and the Presque Isle Downs Mile over a synthetic Tapeta surface at the Pennsylvania track.

Six 3-year-olds were nominated to the Clark, led by Belmont Stakes (GI) winner Ruler On Ice, who has been assigned 118 pounds. A 3-year-old gelded son of Roman Ruler, the Kelly Breen-trained Ruler On Ice finished third behind Drosselmeyer and Game On Dude in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Horses expected to be entered in the Clark on Tuesday include Flat Out (weighted at 123 pounds), Wise Dan (120), Ruler On Ice (118), Mister Marti Gras (117), Prayer for Relief (117), General Quarters (116), Mission Impazible (116), Headache (115), Stately Victor (115) Demarcation (114), Equestrio (114) and Pleasant Prince (114).

Weights for the 96^th running of the Falls City Handicap (GII) were also released Friday and Arena Elvira and Super Espresso have been named co-high weights at 121 pounds. The Falls City Handicap for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on the main track at Churchill Downs will be run on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 24.

Carolyn Wilson’s Arena Elvira currently sports a three-race wining streak and most recently took the Turnback the Alarm Handicap (GIII) at Aqueduct by 6 ¾ lengths. Trained by Bill Mott, Arena Elvira has never been off the board in 11 career starts.

Super Espresso, owned by celebrity chef Bobby Flay, captured the Allaire DuPont Distaff (GIII) at Pimlico in May. A $1.1 million Keeneland September Yearling, Super Espresso finished seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (GI) at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4 in her most recent start.

Entries for the Falls City will be taken Sunday and horses expected to be entered include Super Espresso (weighted at 121 pounds), Ravi’s Song (117), It’s Tea Time (116), Masked Maiden (115), Secret File (115), Spring Party (114) and Brushed by a Star (111).

BARN TALK – Trainer Steve Asmussen became the fifth trainer to reach the 6,000-win plateau when Basalt won the first race at Remington Park on Friday night. Asmussen, who turned 46 Friday, is fifth in the all-time trainer standings at Churchill Downs with 422 victories. …

It is “Pony Up for Charity” weekend beneath the Twin Spires. Patrons attending Churchill Downs during the weekend’s races will have the opportunity at all food and beverage points of sale to add $1 or more to their tab to benefit the day’s designated charitable organization. Saturday’s proceeds will be donated to The Lord’s Kitchen and Sunday’s donations will benefit Horses and Hope.

WHO’S HOT – The hottest jockey over the last five racing days (Nov. 12-18) is Julien Leparoux (11-for-33). Mike Maker (4-for-12), Ken McPeek (4-for-12) and Dale Romans (4-for-13) are the hottest trainers over the same period and Ken and Sarah Ramsey (3-for-11) are the hottest owners.

WORKTAB – Twin Creeks Racing Stables LLC’s Mission Impazible and Bourque Goldstein Thoroughbreds LLC’s Alma d’Oro breezed four furlongs in company on a fast main track at Churchill Downs on Saturday morning in :47.60 for trainer Todd Pletcher. The works were the third fastest of 91 at the distance.  Mission Impazible is expected to make his next start in the Clark Handicap. …

Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Pleasant Prince, fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Marathon (GII) in his most recent start, breezed five furlongs in 1:01 for trainer Wesley Ward. It was the fifth fastest five-furlong breeze Saturday morning. Pleasant Prince is expected to make his next start in the Clark Handicap.

Bluegrass Hall LLC’s Optimizer, eighth in the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (GI) in his most recent start, breezed five furlongs in 1:00.80 for trainer D. Wayne Lukas. The work was the fourth fastest of 50 at the distance. Optimizer is expected to make his next start in the Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) on Nov. 26 at Churchill Downs…

WinStar Farm LLC’s Gemologist, winner of an allowance at Churchill Downs on Oct. 30 as part of Stars of Tomorrow I, breezed five furlongs in company with Dancing Solo in 1:01.40 and the duo recorded fractions of :13.20, :26, :37.80, :49.60 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.60. Gemologist is expected to make his next start in the Kentucky Jockey Club.

Mrs. Yoshio Fujita’s Ravi’s Song breezed three furlongs in :37 for trainer Carl Bowman. The work was the second fastest of eight at the distance. Ravi’s Song is expected to be entered in Thursday’s $175,000-added Falls City Handicap for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on the main track at Churchill Downs. …

Richard, Bertram and Elaine Klein’s Country Day, second in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (GII) in his most recent start, breezed a “bullet” four furlongs in :47 for trainer Steve Margolis. …

Stoneway Farm LLC’s Exfactor, winner of the Bashford Manor (GIII) at Churchill Downs in July, breezed four furlongs in :48.80 for trainer Bernie Flint. It was the 14^th fastest half-mile breeze Saturday morning.

CORRECTION: Friday’s Barn Notes listed Belmont Stakes winner Ruler On Ice as a colt.  The Clark Handicap contender is a gelding.

RULER ON ICE BREEZES HALF-MILE IN PREP FOR CLARK HANDICAP – Ruler On Ice, winner of the Belmont Stakes (Grade I), has joined the roster of horses that will compete in the 137^th running of the $500,000-added Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GI) on Friday, Nov. 25 at Churchill Downs.

Ruler On Ice breezed five furlongs on Friday in :48.60 for trainer Kelly Breen  over a fast main track at Churchill Downs.  It was his first breeze since the Classic and his only major training move prior to the Clark.

Starting two lengths behind stablemate Nacho Friend and finishing even with his workmate at the wire, the Kelly Breen-trained Ruler On Ice recorded fractions of :24.60 and :36.60 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:02. The four-furlong time was the 12^th fastest of 47 at the distance.

“It was excellent,” Breen said. “It was a textbook work and he seems to really like this track.”

George and Lori Hall’s will be entered in the Clark off a third-place finish behind Drosselmeyer and Game On Dude in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) at Churchill Downs on Nov. 5. It was the first start against older horses for the 3-year-old son of Roman Ruler.

“I’m very happy to report that he came out of the race in good order and he’s currently in great shape,” Breen said. “He’s eating well and training well. He’s a lean, mean fighting machine.”

Breen said Ruler On Ice came out of his Classic run in great condition, and the gelding's well-being and the uncertain nature of this year’s Eclipse Awards races were the major factors in the decision to run in the Clark.

“We’re thinking that if he wins this race then he is in the running for champion 3-year-old,” Breen said. “That would give us two Grade I wins and he would be beating older horses (in the Clark).”

Other horses working at Churchill Downs on Friday morning included Clark Handicap candidates General Quarters and Equestrio.

Tom McCarthy’s General Quarters, a multiple Grade I-winner with over $1.2 million in earnings, breezed five furlongs on the main track in 1:01.80.  He covered the distance in fractional splits of :12.60, :25, :37.20 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:15.40.  The work was the 11^th fastest of 41 at the distance.

Thoroughbred Legends Racing Stable’s Equestrio, third by a head to First Dude in the Alysheba (GIII) on Kentucky Oaks Day, breezed a “bullet” four furlongs in :47 for trainer Nick Zito. A 4-year-old son of Elusive Quality, Equestrio recorded fractions of :12.20 and :24 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:00.60.

STIDHAM HOPES GLEAM OF HOPE MAINTAINS FOCUS IN RIVER CITY – Gleam of Hope hasn’t been the most consistent or focused horse since he joined Mike Stidham’s barn earlier this year, but the 53-year-old trainer hopes that will change in Saturday’s 34^th running of the $100,000-added River City Handicap (GIII) at 1 1/8 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course.

“He came under our care this summer and we gelded him shortly after his win in the allowance at Arlington Park,” Stidham said. “He ran well as a first-time gelding (a runner-up finish to Princeville Condo in the Robert F. Carey Memorial at Hawthorne) and we’re hoping that gelding him will keep him focused and make him a more consistent horse.”

Gleam of Hope, a 4-year-old son of City Zip who won last year’s Jefferson Cup (GIII) at Churchill Downs, will break from post three under jockey Corey Lanerie as he returns to familiar surroundings at the Louisville track.

“I looked at the race and it is a very competitive field,” Stidham said. “There doesn’t appear to be any standouts.”

Since his runner-up effort in the Robert F. Carey Memorial, Gleam of Hope has worked twice over the Polytrack at Keeneland. In his most recent work on Nov. 12, he went five furlongs handily in :59, which was the fastest work of 30 at the distance.

“Both of his works since his last race have been very good,” Stidham said. “I know our horse is doing well and training well and I think he has a good shot.”

The River City is the ninth of 10 races on Saturday with a scheduled post time of 4:37 p.m. EST.

ASMUSSEN EYES 6,000^TH WIN ON 46^TH BIRTHDAY – Trainer Steve Asmussen has the chance to give himself a rare birthday present on Friday: a 6,000^th career training victory.

Asmussen, who turns 46 on Friday, recorded his first victory at age 20 at New Mexico’s Ruidoso Downs.  He entered Friday’s racing with 5,998 career wins and had 10 horses entered throughout the day at two racetracks: Churchill Downs and Remington Park. Below is a chronological listing of the 10 horses entered for Asmussen on Friday. All times listed are Eastern.

• Churchill Downs, Race 1, 4:30 p.m., #3 Banded (5-2 morning line)
• Churchill Downs, Race 3, 5:27 p.m., #3 Grinning Gang (3-1)
• Churchill Downs, Race 6, 7:00 p.m., #2 Beer Garden (5-1) and #9 Quiet Command (12-1)
• Remington Park, Race 1, 7:30 p.m., #1 Lucky Gold Coin (8-1) and #9 Basalt (10-1)
• Remington Park, Race 4, 8:54 p.m., #13 La Belle Bear (also-eligible, 7-2)
• Remington Park, Race 5, 9:22 p.m., #4 Letsgetitonmon (7-2)
• Remington Park, Race 8, 10:46 p.m., #3 Pleasantly Blessed (6-5) and #6 Acanella (5-1)

Asmussen, who has won 10 leading-trainer titles at Churchill Downs and is currently second in the trainer standings behind Mike Maker with nine wins at the Fall Meet, would be just the fifth trainer to reach the 6,000 victory milestone. A two-time Eclipse Award winner for Outstanding Trainer, he recorded his 5,000^th victory with Passion Rules at Woodbine on Sept. 11, 2009.

BARN TALK – Preston Stables LLC’s Clark Handicap-hopeful Flat Out is scheduled to breeze at Churchill Downs between 6-7 a.m. Saturday morning for trainer Scooter Dickey. Greta Kuntzweiler will be in the irons for the work, but Alex Solis will have the mount in the Clark. …

Summer Tremor, a half-sister to 2005 2-year-old champion colt Stevie Wonderboy, will make her second start in Saturday’s fifth race at Churchill Downs. Trained by Rusty Arnold, Summer Tremor is the 9-5 morning-line favorite in the field of 10. …

It is “Pony Up for Charity” weekend beneath the Twin Spires. Patrons attending Churchill Downs during the weekend’s races will have the opportunity at all food and beverage points of sale to add $1 or more to their tab to benefit the day’s designated charitable organization. Proceeds from Friday will be donated to the New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program, Saturday’s proceeds will be donated to The Lord’s Kitchen and Sunday’s donations will benefit Horses and Hope.  

WHO’S HOT – The hottest jockey over the last five racing days (Nov. 11-17) is Julien Leparoux (9-for-31). Dale Romans (4-for-11) and Mike Maker (4-for-12) are the hottest trainers over the same period and Ken and Sarah Ramsey (4-for-10) are the hottest owners.

WORKTAB – Bobby Flay’s Super Espresso, seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic (Grade I) in her most recent start, breezed four furlongs in company with Giant Sensation on a fast main track at Churchill Downs on Friday morning in :47.80 for trainer Todd Pletcher. Super Espresso recorded fractions of :12.20,, :24.20, :35.80 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:00.60 and six furlongs in 1:14.20.  She is nominated to the $175,000-added Falls City Handicap for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on the main track on Thanksgiving Day. …

Wayne Sanders and Larry Hirsch’s Gran Lioness breezed four furlongs on the main track in :49.80 for trainer Bret Calhoun. The work was the 28^th fastest of 47 at the distance. Gran Lioness has not raced since finishing third to Salty Strike in the Dogwood (GIII) at Churchill Downs in June.

PEITZ SEES TAJAAWEED AS ‘HORSE TO BEAT’ IN SATURDAY’S RIVER CITY – Shadwell Stable’s Tajaaweed, winner of the Arlington Handicap (Grade III) in July, faces eight rivals as the 119-pound high weight in Saturday’s 34^th running of the River City Handicap (GIII) at Churchill Downs, but trainer Dan Peitz sees the 6-year-old son of Dynaformer as the one to beat.

“I haven’t really analyzed the race too much, but I looked it over and we’re the high weight and look to be the horse to beat,” Peitz said.

Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia believes the public will also see Tajaaweed as the horse to beat and made him the 9-5 morning-line favorite for the River City, which will be contested at 1 1/8 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course.

Tajaaweed, who will break from post eight under Jesus Castanon, will enter the River City off a sixth-place finish in Keeneland’s Shadwell Turf Mile (GI), a race in which he faced such accomplished runners as three-time Eclipse Award-winner Gio Ponti, Get Stormy, Sidney’s Candy – all contenders in the TVG Breeders’ Cup Mile (GI) – and Wise Dan, winner of the Firecracker Handicap (GII) at Churchill Downs.

“We were taking a shot in the Shadwell (Turf Mile) and were hoping to get third or fourth,” Peitz said. “It might have been a little short for him and he really didn’t get the kind of pace he needed to close.

“The River City distance is more what he wants and the competition is softer.  He’s had two really good works at Trackside and is coming into the race in good shape.”

The River City will be the third start on the Matt Winn Turf Course for Tajaaweed. He finished fifth in an allowance race in June of 2010 and this spring he was second to Turallure in the Opening Verse.

“Both of his races on the turf at Churchill have been pretty good,” Peitz said. “I know he was fifth in the allowance, but he was very wide throughout. Then he only lost by a length to Turallure in the stake. If he runs the same race he did in the Opening Verse then I think it might make him a winner.”

Since the Opening Verse, Turallure has recorded wins in the Bernard Baruch (GII) and Ricoh Woodbine Mile (GI) and finished second by a nose to Court Vision in the TVG Breeders’ Cup Mile.

“I wish Tajaaweed would have moved up after the Opening Verse as much as Turallure did,” Peitz said.

The River City is the ninth of 10 races on Saturday with a scheduled post time of 4:37 p.m. EST.

LEPAROUX EYES FIFTH STRAIGHT FALL MEET TITLE – Julien Leparoux recorded his 23^rd win of the meet aboard Cozzetti in Wednesday’s eighth race and entered Thursday’s action with a 23-to-15 lead over Corey Lanerie in his pursuit of a fifth consecutive Fall Meet riding title at Churchill Downs.

“Things are going really well again this meet,” Leparoux said. “I’ve had good momentum and have been getting on some good horses. It’s going great.”

Leparoux, who has won eight riding titles overall beneath the Twin Spires, has collected 526 career victories at Churchill Downs and already ranks tenth among all-time leading riders as the historic track.  Despite his rapid and sustained success, the 28-year-old native of Senlis, France is still hungry for more.

“Winning never gets old and I’m always trying to win,” Leparoux said. “I’m always trying to ride the best horses.”

Leparoux has definitely collected a lot of hardware as he counts 36 stakes victories at Churchill Downs during his relatively brief career at the Louisville track, but one race is conspicuously missing from his resumé.

“I want to win a Kentucky Derby,” Leparoux said. “That is the ultimate goal. Every year we are looking for a horse that might be the one to get me there.”

Leparoux has ridden in five Kentucky Derbys with his best effort being a fifth-place  finish aboard Sedgefield in the 2007 renewal. This year Leparoux rode favored Dialed In to an eighth-place finish.

At the conclusion of the Fall Meet, Leparoux will move his tack to Miami to ride at Gulfstream Park.

MORALES RECORDS HIS SECOND RIDING DOUBLE OF FALL MEET – Leading apprentice-rider Roberto Morales recorded his second riding double of the 2011 Fall Meet on Wednesday at Churchill Downs with wins aboard Sympathy Act in the third race and Killin Time in the finale. The two wins brought Morales’ total to four for the meet, which ties him for sixth in the overall jockey standings.

“The meet is going great,” said agent Julio Espinoza, the ninth all-time leading rider at Churchill Downs with 642 victories. “He’s got a lot of talent and always gives 100%. He’s also versatile and can ride speed horses or come from the back.”

Morales, a 21-year-old native of Aibonito, Puerto Rico, has made a lot of noise on the Kentucky-circuit since he moved his tack to the Bluegrass State in May. He recorded one victory from a handful of mounts at the end of the Churchill Downs Spring Meet, but then second in the Ellis Park jockey standings to three-time Kentucky Derby winner Calvin Borel.

Morales followed the strong effort at the Henderson track by capturing his first career riding title in the Fall Meet at Turfway Park, where he rode 32 winners from 121 mounts.

“He rode great throughout the whole meet at Turfway,” Espinoza said. “If we had another day or two, we would have broken (Julien) Leparoux’s Fall Meet record (36 wins).”

Espinoza attributes Morales’ success to his work ethic and eagerness to learn.

“He works hard in the morning and exercises a lot of horses,” Espinoza said. “I try to teach him as much as I can and it’s helping.”

At the conclusion of the Churchill Downs Fall Meet, Morales will move his tack to Turfway Park for the Holiday Meet, which begins Dec. 1.

BARN TALK – The Virginia Tarra Trust’s Giant Oak will attempt to defend his title in the $500,000-added Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (Grade I) on Friday, Nov. 25.  The son of Giant’s Causeway will ship to the Louisville track Tuesday, according to Drew Coontz, assistant trainer to Chris Block. Giant Oak will enter the Clark off a third-place finish the Breeders’ Cup Marathon (GII). …

In other news at the Chris Block barn, Never Retreat, who breezed six furlongs in 1:14.40 at Churchill Downs on Sunday, will ship to Hollywood Park on Monday for a start in the Matriarch (Grade I) on Nov. 25. Never Retreat won the First Lady (GI) at Keeneland in her most recent start. …

Ready’s Rocket, winner of 10 races beneath the Twin Spires, came out of his most recent race at Churchill Downs last Thursday with a displaced palate, according to trainer Tim Glyshaw. An 8-year-old gelded son of More Than Ready, Ready’s Rocket will be pointed to a starter-allowance race at Churchill Downs on closing day of the 21-day Fall Meet on Nov. 27.

WHO’S HOT – The hottest jockey over the last five racing days (Nov. 10-16) is Julien Leparoux (9-for-30). Mike Maker (5-for-11) is the hottest trainer over the same period and Ken and Sarah Ramsey (4-for-7) are the hottest owners.

WORKTAB – Jay Em Ess Stable’s Worldly breezed five furlongs in 1:03.20 on a good main track at Churchill Downs on Thursday morning for trainer Paul McGee. The work was the ninth fastest of 13 at the distance. …

Charles Cella’s Uncle Brent, winner of the Northern Spur at Oaklawn Park, breezed five furlongs Thursday morning in 1:02.80 for trainer Lynn Whiting. The work was the eighth fastest of 13 at the distance.