Breeders' Cup Classic

Mort Fink’s homebred Wise Dan achieved Grade I glory when he kicked clear of Mission Impazible in the final furlong to easily win the 137^th running of the $572,500 Clark Handicap presented by Norton Healthcare by 3 ¾ lengths on Friday at Churchill Downs.

Wise Dan gave Fink and trainer Charlie Lopresti a bit of redemption for last year’s Clark in which their Successful Dan was disqualified from an apparent victory. Successful Dan finished a head in front of Giant Oak a year ago, but because of interference with Redding Colliery in the upper stretch, was disqualified and placed third.

There was no doubt about Wise Dan’s sublime performance. Ridden by two-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey John Velazquez, Wise Dan tracked pacesetter Will’s Wildcat and Mission Impazible from clear sailing on the outside in third under a strong hold as the former led the field of 13 three-year-olds and up through fractions of 23.80, :48.24 and 1:12.80.

Midway around the final turn, Will’s Wildcat began to falter and Mission Impazible took the lead. Velazquez slipped Wise Dan some rein and the 4-year-old gelding quickly drew even from the outside. He kicked clear of that rival at the eighth pole and stood head and shoulders above the field in deep stretch while crossing the finish line in 1:48.95 for 1 1/8 miles over a fast track.

The versatile Wise Dan, a graded stakes winner on synthetic tracks and turf who entered the Clark off an impressive four-length romp in Keeneland’s Fayette (GII), is a gelded Kentucky-bred son of Wiseman’s Ferry out of the Wolf Power-SAf mare Lisa Danielle. The huge pot of $326,554 increased his earnings to $919,601. Overall, it was Wise Dan’s eighth victory from 14 starts (14-8-0-0).

Freddie Wirth, who guided Sentiment Sake to victory in the 1945 Clark, and Donna Allen, a vice president with Norton Healthcare, presented the Clark Handicap trophy to the winning connections.

Sent postward as 9-2 third choice, Wise Dan, who carried 120 pounds, returned $11, $6 and $4.20. Mission Impazible, who carried 116 pounds under Javier Castellano at odds of 7-1, paid $7 and $5.40. Flat Out, the 123-pound high weight and 2-1 favorite under Alex Solis, raced in mid-pack early and could only manage third, 2 ¾ lengths behind the runner-up, and paid $3.20 to show.

Mister Marti Gras, 9-2 second choice Ruler On Ice, Headache, Alma d’Oro, Will’s Wildcat, Prayer for Relief, Stately Victor, Demarcation, Pleasant Prince and General Quarters completed the order of finish.

The Clark was Wise Dan’s first stakes triumph on dirt. Before the Clark, he had three races on the Churchill Downs dirt that include maiden and allowance wins, both over sloppy surfaces, and a solid sixth-place finish in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Sprint in which he was beaten just 2 ½ lengths by the champion Big Drama. He won the Firecracker (GII) on the Churchill Downs grass in early July, and added two stakes wins over synthetic surfaces: a victory in the Presque Isle Downs Mile in September and the Oct. 29 Fayette.

The Clark Handicap was run for the first time in 1875 during the first racing meet at Churchill Downs, which was then known as the Louisville Jockey Club. Like the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands (GI) and Kentucky Oaks (GI), the Clark has been renewed annually without interruption since its first running.

Racing at Churchill Downs continues Saturday with a 12-race “Stars of Tomorrow II” program exclusively for 2-year-olds with first post time of 12:40 p.m. (all times Eastern). Highlighting the program are two Grade II stakes: the 68^th running of the $150,000-added Golden Rod for fillies, which goes as the ninth race (4:42 p.m. post time), and the 85^th running of the $150,000-added Kentucky Jockey Club, which goes as the 11^th race (5:42 p.m. post time).

In just six years of existence, Stars of Tomorrow has been the launching pad for numerous graded stakes winners including 24 Grade I winners. Thirteen horses have exited the events and become millionaires: Court Vision ($3,746,658), Rachel Alexandra ($3,506,730), Lawyer Ron ($2,790,008), Pure Clan ($1,987,498), Shackleford ($1,985,803), Super Saver ($1,889,766), Macho Again ($1,825,767), Giant Oak ($1,484,829), First Dude ($1,442,140), Swift Temper ($1,296,688), General Quarters ($1,220,930), Fly Down ($1,187,935) and Any Given Saturday ($1,083,533).

Closing day of the 21-day Fall Meet is Sunday and Churchill Downs will offer free general admission to all patrons.

CLARK HANDICAP QUOTES

Charlie Lopresti, trainer of Wise Dan (winner): “It was perfect and I was pretty confident going into the race, other than about whether he could go the 1 1/8 miles on the dirt. But I thought he was going to run one of his best races today. I would have been disappointed if he didn’t do it. It looked like the Fayette. It was the same kind of race. He’s a pretty good horse. Just stay out of his way and try to take care of him.”

Q. What allows him to be so consistent on multiple surfaces?  “I just think he loves to run. We galloped him two miles the other day and the exercise rider came back and said he could have gone around five more times. He just doesn’t get tired. He just loves to run.”

Q. What are the plans for next year? “We’re going to give him the winter off, just like Turallure. We’ll give him some time to be a horse and then bring him back in the spring.”

Q. What went into the decision to ride John Velazquez for the first time? “Julien (Leparoux) rides all of our horses and he couldn’t ride him a few times and that’s why Jon Court got the mount on him (on thee occasions earlier this year). Jon Court has done a great job on him and it’s nothing he did wrong. Julien is our number one rider and rode him in the Fayette and when he won the Fayette he had already committed to ride in California today (Never Retreat in the Grade I Matriarch). I talked to the owner (Mort Fink) and he asked if we could get John Velazquez to ride him and I said I didn’t know if he would come. I called Angel Cordero (Velazquez’s agent) and he called me back in five minutes and said they were coming. Mr. Fink said any time that you can get John Velazquez on a horse you should try it.”

Q. How does it feel to win this race after being taken down with Successful Dan in last year’s Clark? “I was really disappointed last year. I just didn’t understand why they took his number down, but they saw it that way and I have to respect their opinion. I jokingly said surely we don’t get taken down this year. It’s a dream come true to be back here with this many good horses.”

John Velazquez, jockey on Wise Dan (winner): “I like these pickup mounts. It worked out perfect. I was on the outside and the trainer (Charlie Lopresti) told me he was going to be pulling pretty strong, but to keep him third or fourth. Right from the start I got him back and he settled pretty good. He was strong in hand and when I got to the quarter-pole he took off and moved so smoothly. He was very confident in himself.”

Todd Pletcher (via phone from New York), trainer of Mission Impazible (runner-up): “He’s run two big races, but unfortunately he’s been a bridesmaid twice there this year in the two Grade Is (the Stephen Foster Handicap and Clark Handicap). But it was another big effort from him and we’re proud of him.”

Q: Everything looked possible at the head of the stretch …“I thought at the three-eighths pole you could see Wise Dan was really loaded up, and then I thought we might have snuck away from him for just a half a second, but he (Wise Dan) was just too good on the day and hats off to him. He ran a big race and I’m very proud of our second.”

Q: Assuming he’ll race next year, so what will be the early plan for his 5-year-old campaign? “We might take a look at the (Grade I) Donn (Handicap at Gulfstream Park), and of course he loves the Fair Grounds, so those races there would certainly be possibilities. We feel like he’s a Grade I horse and we’ve been very unlucky not to win one, so that’s our main objective.”

Javier Castellano, rider on Mission Impazible (runner-up): “He loves Churchill. We had a beautiful spot today; we were where I wanted to be in the race. He settled down beautifully and I loved the way he did it. I think we were just second-best today. I’m very satisfied and very happy with the way he did it today. I’m not disappointed at all. I know we got beat and he finished second, but you’ve got to give a lot of credit to the winner. He was very impressive.”

“Scooter” Dickey, trainer of Flat Out (third as the favorite): Q: Jockey Alex Solis said he believed Flat Out just does not care for this racetrack.  What are you thinking? “I think that’s what we’ve got to kind of face. I saw him and he was laying perfect over there and he started his move, and I said ‘Well, if he likes this track he’s going to run good today. But he just looked like he got to fightin’ it, and Alex said when asked him to run he just can’t handle it. He said he had a hold of him and he had a lot of horse, and he was very happy with where he was laying. But when he asked him, it wasn’t there.”

Q: That’s amazing because he works so well over this track … “Yeah, but you know he’s only working five-eighths and all that. He laid right there with ‘em and he looked good, but that was it. He came back and seemed fine. I looked at his legs and they’re fine and everything, but it’s just one of those things, I guess.”

Q: You have talked about trying him on the grass next year. Is that still a thought? “Well, I’m going to Florida and I’m going to work him on it down there and see how he likes that. But we’ve enjoyed him. We’ve had a good time this year.”

Alex Solis, rider on Flat Out (third as the favorite): “He broke really good and I got a good position. He went really nice when he was in hand, but as soon as asked him to drop his head he’d just start swimming around. He struggled over the track too much.”

Q: You think he just doesn’t care for the track at Churchill Downs? “Definitely, because when you see the replay you can see him stumbling and losing his footing and he’s a horse that needs to get in a rhythm.”

Kelly Breen, trainer of Ruler On Ice (fifth): “Just looking back, they say he may not be at his best when he has to take all the dirt in his face and the one-post kind of put us there.  Garrett (jockey Garrett Gomez) didn’t mention anything negative about it, but knowing the horse it didn’t help our cause.”

Preston Stables LLC’s Flat Out and George and Lori Hall’s Ruler On Ice, two major players from the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (Grade I) run at Churchill Downs on Nov. 5, will be searching for Eclipse Award championship momentum when they face 11 rivals on the famed Louisville track in Friday’s 137^th running of the Grade I, $500,000-added Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare.

The 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds and up is the centerpiece of the “Black Friday” racing card that in recent years has been the most heavily-attended racing program of the Fall Meet.  The Clark Handicap is scheduled as the 11^th event on a 12-race Thanksgiving Holiday weekend program that will get underway with the first race 12:40 p.m. (all times EST).  Post time for the Clark is set for 5:42 p.m.

Flat Out, fifth behind WinStar Farm’s victorious Drosselmeyer as the slight favorite in the Classic, is the 5-2 favorite for the Clark in oddsmaker Mike Battaglia’s morning line odds for the 13-horse Clark field.  Co-second choices at 4-1 are Classic winner Ruler On Ice, the upset winner of the Belmont Stakes (GI) and third in the Classic, and Morton Fink’s Wise Dan, a graded stakes winner on synthetic tracks and turf who is coming off an impressive win in Keeneland’s Fayette (GII).

Following two days of upset-laden racing in this year’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships, Eclipse Award championships in several divisions remain uncertain.  The Clark contenders with the most to gain with regard to year-end honors are Flat Out and Ruler On Ice.  The field includes four winners of Grade I stakes races and four horses with career earnings that exceed $1 million.

Flat Out, a 5-year-old son of Flatter with wins in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (GI) and Suburban Handicap (GII) at Belmont Park, could gain an edge in the race for champion older horse with a win over his home track in the Clark.  Although he trains brilliantly at Churchill Downs for veteran conditioner Charles “Scooter” Dickey, he has yet to hit the board in three career starts over the traditional dirt surface at the famed Louisville track.

Veteran jockey Alex Solis, who has been aboard the Clark favorite in his last five starts, will be back in the saddle when Flat Out breaks from post six in the field of 13 horses.  Flat Out was assigned highweight of 123 pounds and will concede from three-to-nine pounds to his rivals.  His career record stands at 5-3-0 in 13 races with earnings of 1,259,713 heading into the Clark.

A victory over a strong field of older rivals in the Clark could push Ruler On Ice, who upset Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom and Preakness winner Shackleford in the Belmont Stakes, into the wide-open race for champion 3-year-old.   The Belmont victory is the only stakes win of the year for trainer Kelly Breen’s gelded son of Roman Ruler, but Ruler On Ice finished third to older rivals in the Breeders’ Cup Classic and has recorded top-four finishes in the Haskell Invitational (GI), Travers (GI) and Pennsylvania Derby (GII) since his Belmont triumph.

Ruler On Ice drew the rail post for the Clark and will have Garrett Gomez in the saddle.  He was assigned 118 pounds and brings a record of 3-3-3 in 11 races and earnings of $1,603,500 into Friday’s race.

Wise Dan will pursue his first victory in a Grade I race and owner Fink and trainer Charles Lopresti will seek a bit of redemption for last year’s Clark in which their Successful Dan was disqualified from his apparent victory.  The versatile Wise Dan has career victories on dirt, grass and synthetic courses, but has yet to win a stakes race on traditional dirt.  He has three races on the Churchill Downs dirt that include maiden and allowance wins, both over sloppy surfaces, and a solid sixth-place finisher in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Sprint in which he was beaten by just 2 ½ lengths by the victorious Big Drama.  He won the Firecracker (GII) on the Churchill Downs grass in early July, and since then two stakes wins over synthetic surfaces: a victory over Tapeta in the Presque Isle Downs Mile and a four-length romp in his most recent start in the Fayette over Keeneland’s Polytrack surface.

John Velazquez will make his debut in the saddle aboard Wise Dan, who drew post 11 and will carry an impost of 120, the second-highest weight in the Clark.

Another 3-year-old hoping to finish 2011 in a big way is Zayat Stables LLC’s Prayer for Relief, who was entered in the Breeders’ Cup Classic but scratched by trainer Bob Baffert the following day.  The son of Jump Start ran off a three-race winning streak during the summer that included the Iowa Derby (GIII), West Virginia Derby (GII) and the Super Derby (GII).  Third to Redeemed in his most recent run in the Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park, Prayer for Relief will break from post 12 under Rafael Bejarano.  The 5-1 fourth choice will carry 117 pounds in the Clark.

Another horse that competed in the Breeders’ Cup Classic and returns for a run in the Clark is Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey’s Headache, who was last of 12 in the Classic after wins in the Hawthorne Gold Cup (GII) and the Prairie Meadows Cornhusker (GIII).  The two remaining Grade I winners in the field are Thomas McCarthy owned-and-trained General Quarters and Thomas and Jack Conway’s Stately Victor.  Both won Keeneland’s Toyota Blue Grass (GI) over Polytrack at three – General Quarters won in 2009 and Stately Victor last year, and the former also won the 2010 renewal of the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (GI) over Churchill Downs’ Matt Winn Turf Course.

The remaining 2011 Clark Handicap contenders include Twin Creeks Racing Stables’ Mission Impazible, a narrow loser for trainer Todd Pletcher in this year’s Stephen Foster Handicap and Alysheba (GIII) at Churchill Downs and winner of Fair Grounds’ 2011 New Orleans Handicap (GII) and the 2010 Louisiana Derby (GII); Pleasant Prince, fourth to Afleet Again in the Breeders’ Cup Marathon (GII) and winner of the 2010 Oklahoma Derby and Ohio Derby (GIII); Lothenbach Stables’ Mister Marti Gras, accomplished on both turf and dirt and winner of the Ack Ack (GIII) at Churchill Downs last time out; Pattons Creek Farm’s Will’s Wildcat, winner of the Jimmy V at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4; Demarcation, winner of the 2009 Ack Ack who will compete in his third consecutive running of the Clark for trainer Paul McGee; and Pletcher’s Alma D’Oro, runner-up in the Ack Ack and winner of the Carpenter Memorial at Delaware Park in July.

The Clark Handicap was run for the first time in 1875 during the first racing meet at Churchill Downs, which was then known as the Louisville Jockey Club.  Like the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) and Kentucky Oaks (GI), the Clark has been renewed annually without interruption since its first running.  Two years ago the race was won by Adele Dilschneider and Claiborne Farm’s 3-year-old Blame, who returned to the track in 2010 to win the Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) and downed previously unbeaten Zenyatta her only defeat in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.   The 2011 renewal featured a rough-and-tumble stretch run in which Successful Dan edged Giant Oak at the finish, but stewards disqualified the former and elevated the latter to the victory.

Other recent winners of note include Saint Liam, who won the 2004 Clark en route to a 2005 campaign that included a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic and an Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year.  Silver Charm, winner of the 2007 Kentucky Derby, returned to Churchill Downs take the Clark the following year.  And the 3-year-old filly Surfside wrapped up an Eclipse Award as the champion of her division with a victory over males in the 2000 Clark.

The field for the 137^th Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (from the rail out with rider, weight and morning line odds) includes: Ruler On Ice, (Gomez, 118, 4-1), Alma D’Oro (Jesus Castanon, 116, 20-1) Demarcation (Corey Lanerie, 114, 15-1), Stately Victor (Victor Lebron, 115, 30-1), Mission Impazible, (Javier Castellano, 116, 12-1), Flat Out (Solis, 123, 5-2), Pleasant Prince, (Julio Garcia, 114, 20-1), Headache (Edgar Prado, 115, 12-1), Mister Marti Gras (Rajiv Maragh, 117, 12-1), Will’s Wildcat (Calvin Borel, 112, 30-1), Wise Dan (Velazquez, 120, 4-1); Prayer for Relief (Bejarano, 117, 5-1) and General Quarters (Jon Court, 116, 20-1).

Another busy morning for the Todd Pletcher barn at Churchill Downs was headlined by two five-furlong workouts Sunday from Mike Repole’s duo of Uncle Mo and Stay Thirsty in preparation for Saturday’s Grade I, $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Working shortly after the renovation break, Uncle Mo breezed five furlongs in 1:01.40 on a fast track and recorded fractions of :12.80, :24.80, :36.60 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.40 under John Velazquez, who was quite impressed with the 3-year-old son of Indian Charlie.

"The key was to get a steady work, finish well and gallop out well,” Velazquez said. “He went very good and it was exactly what we wanted and what we expected.”

Uncle Mo, who missed this year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) with a liver ailment, returned to top form with a narrow defeat in the King’s Bishop (GI) and a dominating performance in the Kelso Handicap (GII). Pletcher was pleased with Uncle Mo’s work and believes he is coming up to another big race.

“The workout was perfect,” Pletcher said. “He went nice and steady and had an excellent gallop out. We have him coming into the race as well as he can be and there isn’t a horse on the grounds that looks as good as he does.”

One major question surrounding Uncle Mo is whether he will handle the 1 ¼-mile distance of the Classic, but Pletcher sees no reason last year’s 2-year-old champion would struggle going longer in Saturday’s race than he has before.

“He’s done nothing to indicate that he can’t get the distance, but until he does it you don’t know for sure,” Pletcher said. “But he’s coming into the race well and he’s the most talented horse in the field coming into the race.”

Working shortly after Uncle Mo was Stay Thirsty, who worked in company with Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (GI) hopeful Rule. Under Javier Castellano, Stay Thirsty breezed five furlongs in 1:00.60 and recorded fractions of :24.20, :35.80 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.20.

“I thought Stay Thirsty also went very well,” Pletcher said. “He went a little bit faster than Uncle Mo, but I thought they both looked excellent.”

Castellano, who rode Stay Thirsty to victory in Jim Dandy (GII) and Travers (GI) at Saratoga this summer, was pleased with the work.

“It was a very good, consistent work,” Castellano said. “He handled the track really well and pulled me the whole way.”

Rule, who started two lengths in front of Stay Thirsty, was credited with a five-furlong time of 1:01.20.

“His (Rule) work was OK,” Pletcher said. “As some horses mature they begin to know the difference between the mornings and the afternoons and he’s getting wise to it. So, the work wasn’t exceptional.”

The first Breeders’ Cup horse to work for Pletcher on Sunday was Dogwood Stable’s Aikenite, who worked in company with Shared Heart prior to the renovation break. Aikenite and Shared Heart started even and finished even through a four-furlong breeze in :47.80 and recorded fractions of :12.20, :23.80, :35.80 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:01.

Aikenite is pre-entered in the Dirt Mile and the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Sprint (GI), with first preference in the Sprint.

The final Breeders’ Cup hopefuls to work from the Pletcher barn Sunday were WinStar Farm and Rubio B. Stable’s Sidney’s Candy and Mrs. John Magnier and Michael Tabor’s Finale, who breezed four furlongs on a firm Matt Winn Turf Course.

Sidney’s Candy, who will enter the TVG Breeders’ Cup Mile (GI), started and finished a length ahead of Finale (GII Juvenile Turf) and both were credited with a time of :49.80. The two recorded fractions of :13.60, :26.80 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:03.20.

“Sidney’s Candy worked exceptionally well,” Pletcher said. “He handled the course well and finished well. He’s coming into the race great, very settled and relaxed.

“Finale worked great and went very well for a 2-year-old working with a horse like Sidney’s Candy.”

FLAT OUT’S BULLET WORK LEAVES DICKEY FLAT-OUT PLEASED – Preston Stables LLC’s Flat Out showed his readiness for next Saturday’s $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) by working a bullet half-mile in :46.60  on Sunday morning with jockey Greta Kuntzweiler aboard.

Fractions for the work accomplished shortly after 7 o’clock over a fast track were :12.20, :23.80, :35.20 and out five furlongs in :58.80 and six furlongs in 1:12.40. The half-mile time was the best of 58 for the morning.

“I’m flat-out pleased,” trainer Scooter Dickey said with a laugh. “I told Greta to let him do what he wants to do, then cluck to him at the eighth pole and have him gallop out strong. We’re ready.”

Dickey said that Flat Out would gallop up to the Classic with jockey Alex Solis slated to get aboard for Friday morning’s activity. Solis has ridden Flat Out in his past four starts resulting in victories in the Suburban (GII) and Jockey Club Gold Cup (GI) and runner-up finishes in the Whitney Invitational Handicap (GI) and Woodward (GI).

Sunday’s work was the second bullet move at Churchill Downs for Flat Out since winning the Jockey Club Gold Cup at the Breeders’ Cup Classic distance of 1 ¼ miles. Flat Out has run twice here, finishing sixth both times.

“He had a bad trip the first time he ran here when he was a 2-year-old,” Dickey said. “In the Stephen Foster (Handicap), that was not a bad race. He was trapped down on the inside and couldn’t get out. All the others (that finished in front of him) came down the middle of the track. He made a good move, but the rail was dead that day.”

HAVRE DE GRACE TO HAVE FINAL CLASSIC WORKOUT MONDAY MORNING – Fox Hill Farms Inc.’s Havre de Grace, who arrived at Churchill Downs from Keeneland on Saturday afternoon, galloped on the main track under trainer Larry Jones after the renovation break Sunday morning and is scheduled for a five-furlong work Monday morning after the break with Gabriel Saez to ride.

Havre de Grace, who was pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic as well as the Classic, will be entered in the Classic on Monday according to Jones.

“We have had time to look at the weather and it doesn’t look like this weekend will be like Belmont yesterday,” Jones said, referring to the heavy snow that forced Belmont to cancel its program after three races Saturday.

Jones and owner Rick Porter had pre-entered the Ladies’ Classic as a backup in case Havre de Grace drew the one hole for the Classic, but Jones is not worried about a possible such draw.

“A lot of emphasis is placed on the (Kentucky) Derby with where the gate is,” Jones said. “With a 20-horse field, they use a second gate and the one and two spots are squeezed in toward the rail. With just one gate (for the Classic), the gate is moved out a bit from the rail and the one hole is more like the three.”

The 4-year-old daughter of Saint Liam has won five of six starts in 2011 with her lone loss coming by a nose in the Delaware Handicap (GII) at 1 ¼ miles. After the Classic, there may be more to come in 2012.

“Rick has every intention of running her in 2012,” Jones said. “At the start of the year, we wanted to get her in position for Horse of the Year because we felt like she had a shot. I have had some fast fillies, but she is just special.”

Winner of the Beldame Invitational (GI) on Oct. 1 by 8 ¼ lengths in her most recent start, Havre de Grace had her last work at Keeneland on Oct. 24, a five-furlong move in :58.60.

"She is doing really well and acting like she is feeling better than she ever has in the past two weeks,” Jones said. “I don’t know if it is the cooler weather, but she is very lively and acts like she is ready to do something.”

MOTT SMILES AS ROYAL DELTA DAZZLES, TO HONOR AND SERVE DRILLS  – Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott’s good weekend continued Sunday with strong works by Breeders’ Cup World Championships contenders Royal Delta (Ladies Classic) and To Honor and Serve (Classic).

Palides Investments’ Royal Delta, winner of the Alabama (GI) and runner-up to Classic contender Havre de Grace in the Beldame (GI), produced Mott’s biggest smile as she worked four furlongs in :47.80 under exercise rider Rudolph Brisset.  The 3-year-old daughter of Empire Maker was caught in fractional splits of 12:80, :25, :36.20 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:00.40 and six furlongs in 1:14.40.

“If you didn’t like that, you don’t like training horses,” Mott said.  “That’s what you’re looking for.  You just dream of getting up in the morning and coming out and seeing something like that.  She went great.”

“The majority of a trainer’s job is to just to try to not do anything foolish and keep the horse out of trouble.  It just makes you feel good when you see them go well and everything went right.  I feel good about it and I feel good about the way she’s doing.”

After his glowing comments about Royal Delta, the Courier-Journal’s Jennie Rees told Mott that trainer J. Larry Jones had confirmed a short time earlier that Fox Hill Farm’s Woodward (GI) and Beldame winner Havre de Grace – a leading candidate for horse of the year – would be entered Monday only for a run against males in Saturday’s $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.

That elicited another grin from the all-time leading trainer at Churchill Downs.

“Hey, I think they made a great move,” Mott said with a chuckle.

The work by Royal Delta ranked tied the fifth-fastest of 58 moves at the distance.

Mott was also very happy with the move by Live Oak Plantation’s To Honor and Serve, who is coming off an impressive victory in the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (GII) at Philadelphia’s Parx Racing.

The son of Bernardini breezed five furlongs under Brisset in 1:00.40.  To Honor and Serve carved out fractions of :12.80, :24.60, :36.80 and :48.40.  He galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.80 and 1:29.20 after his third work since his arrival at Churchill Downs better than three weeks ago.

“It was very smooth,” Mott said.  “It was very professional about everything.  I thought it was a better work than it was last week.  We let him go off a little quicker today, so ultimately it was a little bit of a faster work.  The gallop-out was very good and I thought everything worked out very well.”

The move ranked as the fourth-fastest of 33 at the distance.

To Honor and Serve started 2011 as a major contender for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI), but was knocked off the springtime road to Churchill Downs by disappointing runs in the Fountain of Youth (GII) and Florida Derby (GIII) at Gulfstream Park and a minor physical problem.  The colt returned to competition in early August with a sixth-place run behind Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (GII) candidate Caleb’s Posse in the 6 ½ furlong Amsterdam (GII) at Saratoga, then reeled off  sparkling wins in a Saratoga allowance race and the Pennsylvania Derby, both run at 1 1/8 miles.

“We were just unable to come into the (Kentucky) Derby and train him the way we wanted to,” Mott said.  “I guess it’s to his advantage now that he had the time and it looks like he’s come back well and he’s coming off two real good races.  So hopefully he’s coming into this in good order and the timing is right.”

Royal Delta and To Honor and Serve are members of a group of five horses that make up Mott’s 2011 Breeders’ Cup team.  Drosselmeyer, winner of the 2010 Belmont Stakes and another Classic hope, and Birdrun, who is bound for the Marathon, worked Saturday.

Mott plans to worked Pam and Martin Wygod and William S. Farish’s Courageous Cat, a contender for the TVG Breeders’ Cup Mile, on the Matt Winn Turf Course on Monday.  The son of Storm Cat galloped over the main track early Sunday.

Courageous Cat won this year’s Shoemaker Mile (GI) at Hollywood Park and was runner-up to Goldikova in the 2009 Mile at Santa Anita.

SWITCH WORKS FIVE FURLONGS; CONFIRMED FOR FILLY & MARE SPRINT – C R K Stable’s Switch, who was pre-entered in the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (GI) as well as the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (GI), worked five furlongs in 1:00.20 under exercise rider Edwin Orozco after the renovation break.

Fractions for the work, which was the second fastest of 33 at the distance, were :12, :24, :36 and out six furlongs in 1:14.20.

“I was happy with the work,” trainer John Sadler said of the breeze. “She is probably working better than last year when she ran in the (Filly & Mare) Sprint. That’s the race she will be entered in Monday.”

Switch, who has worked twice here since finishing third in the Thoroughbred Club of America (GII) at Keeneland on Oct. 8, ran second to Dubai Majesty in last year’s Filly & Mare Sprint.

BARN TALK – One of the first workers Sunday morning was Jerry Jamgotchian’s Satans Quick Chick, who covered a half-mile in :49, the 20^th fastest of 58 at the distance. Pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic (GI), Satans Quick Chick reeled off fractions of :12, :23.80, :36.60 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:03.

“I didn’t want her to do too much, just stretch her legs,” trainer Eric Reed said.

In the saddle for the work was jockey Rosemary Homeister Jr. Homeister, who was the fourth-leading rider at Churchill Downs last fall with 16 victories, gave birth to a baby girl, Victoria Rose, on Aug. 21.

“I was in the gym the following week and hired a trainer,” said Homeister, who began getting on horses for Reed at the Thoroughbred Training Center and Keeneland in Lexington about a month ago. “It’s great to be fit again.”

Homeister will ride her first race back for Reed on Thursday at Woodbine and plans to ride horses for Reed during the 21-day Fall Meet that begins this afternoon and then go to Tampa Bay Downs for the winter.

WORK TAB – Other Breeders’ Cup pre-entrants working before the break were Silverton Hill’s Havelock (Turf Sprint): four furlongs in :49.60 (32^nd best of 58 at the distance) under Chase Miller with fractions of :12.80, :25.40 and out five furlongs in 1:02.60; Myron Miller’s Ask the Moon (Ladies’ Classic): four furlongs in :50.20 (44^th fastest of 58) with fractions of :12.40, :24.40 and out five furlongs in 1:04; and Cathy and Bob Zollars’ Daddy Nose Best (Juvenile Turf): four furlongs in :50.20 (44^th of 58) with fractions of :13, :25.40, :37.80 and out five furlongs in 1:05.20. …

Working after the break were Chuck and Maribeth Sandford and Secure Investment’s Take Charge Indy (Grey Goose Juvenile): four furlongs in :48.20 (ninth of 58) with fractions of :11.80 and :35.20 with James Graham up; Kaleem Shah’s Irrefutable (Dirt Mile): four furlongs in :47.60 (third of 58) with fractions of :12, :23.80 and out five furlongs in 1:00.80 with Dana Barnes up; Don McNeill and Everett Dobson’s Caleb’s Posse (Sentient Jet Sprint or Dirt Mile): four furlongs in :48.20 (ninth of 58) with fractions of :12.60, :24.40, :36.20 and out five furlongs in 1:02.60; and William Cox’s Ann of the Dance (Juvenile Fillies Turf): four furlongs in :50.80 (53^rd of 58) with fractions of :13.20, :25.60, :38 and out five furlongs in 1:04.20 and six furlongs in 1:18.20.

Working on a firm Matt Winn Turf Course were George Schmitt, Jason Cline and Charles Cline’s  Cambina (IRE) (Emirates Airline Filly & Mare Turf): four furlongs in :51.60 under Julien Leparoux with fractions of :13.80, :27.60 and out five furlongs in 1:05.80; Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Coalport (Juvenile Turf): five furlongs in 1:02.20 with fractions of :12.20, :24.40, :37.80 and out six furlongs in 1:18; Mark Samuel’s Grand Adventure (Turf Sprint): four furlongs in :50.20 with fractions of :13.40, :26.60, :38.40 and out five furlongs in 1:04; Richard and Elaine Klein’s Country Day (Turf Sprint): four furlongs in :49.80 with James Graham up with fractions of :13, :26.40, :38.20 and out five furlongs in 1:04.60; and, Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Holiday for Kitten (Turf Sprint): five furlongs in 1:03 with fractions of :13, :26.40, :39.40, :51.20 and out six furlongs in 1:17.80.

At the nearby Trackside Training Center, trainer Mike Maker worked five of his Breeders’ Cup pre-entrants over a fast track: Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Headache (Classic, five furlongs in 1:00.60, fourth best of 20 at the distance); Jack and Tom Conway’s Stately Victor (Marathon, five furlongs in 1:00.40, second best); Connie Apostelos’ Baryshnikov (Marathon, five furlongs in 1:00.60, fourth best); Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Gung Ho (Juvenile Turf, five furlongs in 1:00.20, best of 20); and Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Dean’s Kitten (Turf, five furlongs in 1:03.60, 17^th best).

Preston Stables’ Flat Out headed for the main track at Churchill Downs Sunday morning a little after 7 o’clock for “a strong gallop to put air in his lungs,” according to trainer Scooter Dickey.

With jockey Greta Kuntzweiler up, Flat Out was given credit for a mile work in 1:43.60 by Churchill Downs clockers. Fractions for the move were :13.80, :27, :39.60, :52.20, 1:04.80, 1:18, 1:31.20 and out a mile and an eighth in 1:58.40.

“I got him in 1:43 and it was just what we wanted,” Dickey said. “Greta handled it perfectly. If it had been a real work, no telling what he would have done, maybe 1:39 or 1:40, by himself.

“I have done this before. At Monmouth, it probably would have been 1:39, but I know that track is faster. I have another week to figure out what I want to do next, but it will be nothing like this. This is what he does. He loves to train.”

Winner of the Grade I Jockey Club Gold Cup in his most recent start, Flat Out figures to be one of the main contenders for the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (Grade I) to be run Nov 5.

A victory in the Classic would cap off what has been a year of good fortune for Dickey, who has five horses in his care at Churchill Downs.

“I’ve been thinking about this a lot, that this has to be my year,” Dickey said. “I survived the tornado when it hit here in June, survived the hurricane (Irene) at Monmouth Park and I was sitting in the airport with (Tampa Bay Downs racing secretary) Allison De Luca when the earthquake hit the East Coast and it knocked us off our chairs.

“This is exciting. It is building. More people are coming in and more people are calling. I’ve got five good horses I get to come out to every morning and I like that.”

ROYAL DELTA, TO HONOR AND SERVE WORK FOR MOTT – Pailides Investments N.V. Inc’s Grade I, $2 million Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic hopeful Royal Delta and the Live Oak Plantation’s Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) prospect To Honor and Serve worked early Sunday morning on the main track for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.

Working first was Royal Delta, with exercise rider Rodolphe Brisset up. Winner of the Alabama (GI) and runner-up in the Beldame Invitational (GI) in her most recent start, Royal Delta covered five furlongs in 1:02.60 with fractions of :14, :27, :38.60, :50.40, out six furlongs in 1:15.20 and seven-eighths in 1:29.80. The five-furlong move was the 23^rd fastest of 47 at the distance over a fast track.

Brisset then came out with To Honor and Serve and the Pennsylvania Derby (GII) winner covered five furlongs in 1:02, the 14^th fastest of 47 at the distance. Fractions for the work were :13.40, :25.40, :37.80 and :49.60 with out times of 1:15.60 for six furlongs and 1:31 for seven-eighths.

Mott, who has saddled six Breeders’ Cup winners including Unrivaled Belle in last year’s Ladies’ Classic here, liked the works.

“Royal Delta finished up well and galloped out good. She progressed as the work went on and her last three-eighths was in 35 and change. She moves well over the track,” Mott said. “To Honor and Serve worked very well. He has had two nice works here and it looks like he moves well over the track.”

Mott has five likely Breeders’ Cup runners here in Barn 19 and two of them worked Saturday: Drosselmeyer (Classic) and Birdrun (Marathon) in 1:01.20 for five furlongs. Courageous Cat, runner-up to Goldikova in the 2009 TVG Breeders’ Cup Mile (GI) and a neck away from being unbeaten in three 2011 starts, is scheduled to work on the grass Monday.

"This is where I want to be,” said Mott, who has been at Churchill Downs nearly two weeks and away from his main base at Belmont Park. “All the horses are doing well, but then they have to do it in the afternoon. I have a good feeling. They are all eating well and moving well over the track.”

WORKMATES MISSION IMPAZIBLE AND AIKENITE BREEZE HALF-MILE – The Todd Pletcher-trained duo of Mission Impazible and Aikenite breezed a half-mile together over a fast Churchill Downs track Sunday morning. Mission Impazible stopped the clock in :48.20 and Aikenite finished about a length behind in :48.40.

The two 4-year-old colts ran evenly through fractions of :12.20 and :24 and then Mission Impazible, on the outside, slowly edged away from his workmate during the final quarter-mile. Mission Impazible galloped out five furlongs in 1:01.60 with Aikenite about four lengths behind in 1:02.40.

“We’re happy with the way both horses worked and they were certainly on their toes,” assistant trainer Michael McCarthy said. “Mission Impazible is a tremendous workhorse and definitely has an affinity for this racetrack. Aikenite likes this track as well, but he’s not a great worker. We expected Mission Impazible to finish a little better and Aikenite tends to come off the bridle when he’s inside of another horse.”

The plans for Dogwood Stable’s Aikenite are still undecided, while the schedule for Twin Creeks Racing Stables LLC’s Mission Impazible this fall is clear.

The next start for Aikenite, who won this year’s running of the Grade II Churchill Downs by a nose over Apriority on the Kentucky Derby Day undercard, remains uncertain. The dark bay or brown son of Yes It’s True will run in the $1.5 million Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Sprint (GI) or the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (GI).

“He could run in either race, but I believe we are leaning toward running in the Sprint,” McCarthy said. “It’s a possibility that he will be pre-entered in both races.”

Pre-entries for the Breeders’ Cup World Championship races close Monday.

“Mission Impazible is going to the Fayette (GII),” McCarthy said. “It should set him up nicely for the Clark.”

The Fayette at 1 1/8 miles on Polytrack will be the feature race on Keeneland’s closing-day program Oct. 29, while the $500,000 Clark Handicap (GI) will be run beneath the Twin Spires for the 137^th consecutive year on Friday, Nov. 25.

HAVELOCK HAS FIRST WORK SINCE WOODFORD WIN – Silverton Hill LLC’s Havelock, winner of the Woodford (GIII) at Keeneland in his most recent start, worked five furlongs in 1:05.80 shortly after the track opened at 6 o’clock Sunday morning.

The work was the 44^th fastest of 47 at the distance but trainer Darrin Miller was not looking for any bullet effort.

“That comes in a couple of weeks,” Miller said with a laugh referring to the 4-year-old gelding’s anticipated start in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (GII). “He got across the ground good and relaxed. It was his first work back from the Woodford and he was comfortable out there and looked relaxed.”

Miller’s 17-year-old son Chase was aboard for the work and is expected to be in the saddle next Sunday when Havelock has his final work for the Breeders’ Cup.

Havelock has won his past three sprints on grass at 5 ½ furlongs, but the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint is run at five furlongs, which is a concern to Miller for his late-running star.

“He has won at five-eighths before, but not against the kind of field he’ll face here,” Miller said. “He has improved this year and I feel better about him after his last two sprint races.”

Havelock is following in the footsteps of another Silverton Hill runner, St. Joe, who turned into a solid turf sprinter in 2009 as a 4-year-old when he won two five-furlong dashes on the grass at Churchill Downs and ran third in the Arlington Sprint Handicap, a race that Havelock won this summer.

St. Joe has won 8 of 29 career starts and earned $267,652, but is not in Havelock’s league according to Miller.

“This horse has a little more class than St. Joe,” Miller said.

PRIORESS WINNER HER SMILE HEADS LIST OF CHILUKKI NOMINATIONS – Bobby Flay’s Grade I-winning filly Her Smile leads a group of 26 nominees for the 26^th running of the $150,000-added Chilukki (GII) for fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up at one mile on the main track at Churchill Downs scheduled to be run as part of the Breeders’ Cup Saturday undercard Nov. 5.

Previously owned by her breeder William Backer, Her Smile was purchased by Flay shortly after finishing second in the Comely (GIII) at Aqueduct with the goal of competing in the Kentucky Oaks (GI). The dark bay or brown daughter of Include would run in the Oaks, but was never a factor and finished 11^th in the field of 13.

Her Smile would prove herself to be a smart purchase shortly after the Oaks with two impressive performances at Belmont Park, a third in the Acorn (GI) and a victory in the Prioress (GI). After disappointing efforts in her previous two starts, the Todd Pletcher-trained Her Smile is on schedule to attempt to rebound in the Chilukki and she breezed a half-mile Sunday morning at Churchill Downs in :48.20 in preparation for the race.

The eighth running of the $100,000-added Commonwealth Turf (GIII) is scheduled to kick off Breeders’ Cup World Championships weekend on Thursday, Nov. 3. The list of 24 nominations for the 1 1/16 mile race for 3-year-olds to be run on the Matt Winn Turf Course is highlighted by a duo of Grade I winners: Santa Anita Derby winner Midnight Interlude and last year’s Dixiana Breeders’ Futurity winner J. B.’s Thunder.

Arnold Zetcher LLC’s Midnight Interlude has a record of 1-1-0 in four starts on turf including a win in the Tsunami Stakes at Hollywood Park and a narrow defeat to Banned in the Del Mar Derby (GII). Midnight Interlude was fourth as the favorite in his most recent start, the Oak Tree Derby (GII).

J. B.’s Thunder returned from a near 10-month layoff with a fourth place finish in an allowance over the turf at Saratoga. The bay son of Thunder Gulch, who races under the colors of Columbine Stable, was third in a 1 1/16 mile allowance race at Keeneland in his most recent start.

The 19^th running of the $100,000-added Ack Ack Handicap (GIII) for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles on the main track to be run as part of the Breeders’ Cup Friday undercard Nov. 4 closed with 27 nominations led by dual Grade I winner Giant Oak. The Virginia H. Tarra Trust’s Giant Oak, who was promoted to first place in the Clark Handicap (GI) beneath the Twin Spires during the 2010 Fall Meet, captured the Donn Handicap (GI) this year. The Donn Handicap is the lone victory of the year for the 5-year-old chestnut son of Giant’s Causeway.

Weights for the Ack Ack Handicap will be announced Friday.

Closing out Breeders’ Cup weekend on Sunday, Nov. 6 is the 38^th running of the $100,000-added Cardinal Handicap (GIII). The list of 29 nominations for the 1 1/8 mile race for fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up to be run on the Matt Winn Turf Course is headed by Just a Game (GI) winner C. S. Silk. Owned by William Pacella, George Bonomo and Fred Barbara, the 5-year-old daughter of Medaglia d’Oro boasts a record of 2-1-1 in five lifetime starts over the Matt Winn Turf Course including a third in the 2010 Locust Grove (GIII).

Weights for the Cardinal Handicap will be announced next Sunday, Oct. 30.

BARN TALK – Several horses trained by Todd Pletcher, including Mike Repole’s $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) hopefuls Uncle Mo and Stay Thirsty, are scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs on Monday at approximately 10 a.m. EDT and be stabled in Barn 34. …

Making the rounds on the backstretch Sunday morning was jockey Shaun Bridgmohan. Bridgmohan, who sustained a broken collarbone in a spill at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 10, is planning to ride on the opening-day card here next Sunday.

WORK TAB – Cathy and Bob Zollars’ Daddy Nose Best, a candidate for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (GII), worked five furlongs on the main track in 1:02.20 for trainer Steve Asmussen. The work was the 18^th fastest of 47 at the distance. …

At the nearby Trackside Training Center, trainer Mike Maker worked three possible Breeders’ Cup runners. Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Headache (Classic) covered five furlongs in 1:01.20 over a fast track, the fifth fastest of 24 at the distance. Also working were Marathon hopefuls Baryshnikov, owned by Jeffrey Columbro and Connie Apostelos, and Tom and Jack Conway’s Stately Victor. Baryshnikov worked in 1:00.80 (third fastest of 24) and Stately Victor in 1:01.40 (seventh fastest of 24). Maker also worked Tracy Farmer’s La Gran Bailadora, a nominee for the Nov. 6 Cardinal Handicap (GIII). Third in the Juddmonte Spinster (GI) in her most recent start, La Gran Bailadora worked five furlongs in 1:03.40.

Preston Stables’ Flat Out, winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup (Grade I) and a leading contender for the $5 million Breeder’ Cup Classic (GI) on Nov. 5 at Churchill Downs, displayed continued sharpness Saturday in a ‘bullet’ five-furlong work over his home track.

The 5-year-old son of Flatter stepped onto the “fast” one-mile oval at the home of the Kentucky Derby (GI) just after 7 a.m. (EDT) and then zipped five-eighths of a mile under jockey Greta Kuntzweiler in :59.80.  The work was the fastest of 46 moves at the distance on the crisp autumn morning at Churchill Downs.

Trained by veteran Charles “Scooter” Dickey, Flat Out completed the work in fractional times of :12, :24, :35.80 and :47.60.  He galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.80 and seven-eighths in 1:28.80.

“We broke him off at five-eighths and he finished real strong up the stretch,” Dickey said.  “He cooled out good and he’s doing great right now.  I hope we can keep him going.”

Plagued by quarter cracks through most of his career, Flat Out has overcome those foot woes this year in what is easily the most successful campaign of his racing career.  He has run six times with a record of 2-3-0 and earnings of $992,613.  His career mark stands at 5-3-0 in 12 races with earnings of $1,109,713.

Along with victories in the Jockey Club Gold Cup and Suburban (GII) at Belmont Park, he ran second to the 4-year-old filly Havre de Grace, the current future betting favorite for her expected run against males in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, in the Woodward (GI) and was runner-up to expected Classic competitor Tizway in the Whitney (GI).  Both of those races were run at Saratoga.

Dickey plans two more works for Flat Out prior to the 1 ¼-mile Classic.

“There’ll probably be one more light work, and more kind of serious work,” Dickey said.  “But he’s fit and ready to go.”

If all goes well over the next three weeks, Flat Out will be the first Breeders’ Cup starter for the 70-year-old Dickey, whose training career spans 48 years.

“You can’t imagine how much fun it’s been,” Dickey said.  “It just keeps getting better.  We’ve waited on the horse and he’s rewarding us now and taking good care of us.  He’s just something to be around.”

Other possible Breeders’ Cup contenders to work on Saturday at Churchill Downs included Grade I winner Court Vision (possible for Mile), who breezed five furlongs in 1:02 under exercise rider Tammy Fox.  Spendthrift Farm’s 6-year-old son of Gulch, now trained by Dale Romans, ran fourth and fifth, respectively, to Goldikova in the last two renewals of the Breeders’ Cup Mile.

Preston Stables’ Brooklyn (GII) winner Birdrun (Marathon) worked four furlongs in :48.80 for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, the all-time training leader at Churchill Downs.  The move was sixth fastest of 54 at the distance.

STEP ONE OF MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, CASSE AIMS FOR BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC WITH FOSTER WINNER POOL PLAY – Mark Casse’s decision to run William Farish Jr.’s Pool Play in Saturday’s 30^th running of the $500,000-added Stephen Foster Handicap Presented by Abu Dhabi (Grade I) was not a wild stab or a whim, as racing fans across the country discovered when the 6-year-old son of Silver Deputy stormed through the stretch to edge Mission Impazible by a neck at 36-1 odds.

A three-time winner of the Sovereign Award that annually honors Canada’s top trainer, Casse sent Pool Play to the Foster with a specific mission: to determine if the distance-loving horse, after 27 races on synthetic and turf courses, would fare on a dirt course.  If he ran as well over the Churchill Downs dirt as Casse hoped, step two would be a bid for the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) at the Louisville track on Nov. 5.

Pool Play handled Saturday’s initial test with aplomb when he posted the third-largest upset in the three-decade history of the Stephen Foster.  On Sunday, Casse was working up a plan to get him to the next step.

“It’s nice when things work, when you have a plan and it works,” Casse said on the morning after his most important win at Churchill Downs.  “I understood him being that big a price.  Here’s a horse running against some of the best older horses and they all had proven form on the dirt.  Well, here we had a horse who had never ran on it, so could understand.”

Along with watching Pool Play blossom from an unknown factor to Breeders’ Cup Classic contender in the Foster, the Stephen Fsoter upset was special to Casse for personal reasons.  The Indianapolis native spent his early years as a trainer beneath the historic Twin Spires, and has a 1988 Spring Meet training title so show for it.

"It was a real proud moment for a lot of reasons,” Casse said. “One is when you do something that’s a little unorthodox, that’s always nice.  And Churchill is where I started.  Churchill is special and always has been.  To win a race like that at Churchill Downs means a lot.”

Casse believed that the Breeders’ Cup Classic’s 1 ¼-mile distance fits Pool Play perfectly, but the horse’s dirt prowess was a question mark.  If Pool Play would handle any dirt course, Casse felt it would be the one-mile main track at Churchill Downs. Casse believes the course is extraordinarily kind to horses that run well on turf and synthetic courses.  While Pool Play’s home base at Toronto’s Woodbine is a synthetic Polytrack surface, Casse sees difference in Woodbine’s manufactured footing and Mother Nature’s dirt at Churchill.

“I was out there (on the Churchill dirt) this morning watching horses train and you can see they get into the ground only about two inches, at most,” Casse said.  “If you walk across Churchill Downs and you walk across Woodbine’s racetrack, that’s how much they penetrate the surface.  It’s almost identical.”

It’s Casse’s opinion that the clay that is an important part of the make-up of Churchill Downs’ sandy loam surface is the key ingredient that makes the Louisville surface is comfortable to horses that do their best running on synthetic or turf courses, or possess pedigrees that point toward those surfaces.

Whatever the case, Casse’s plan worked well for Pool Play in the Stephen Foster.  Now he’s looking to formulate a plant over the coming weeks that will get his veteran back to Churchill Downs and ready to offer his best effort against an expected international field the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

“We’ve been planning to go to Saratoga with a string, so what I think I’ll do is take him to Saratoga and see how he trains over the dirt,” Casse said.  “Just because you like the dirt at Churchill Downs doesn’t mean you’re going to like it at Saratoga.  We’ll train him there and if he trains all right we’ll think about the Whitney (GI on Aug. 6 at Saratoga).  Our number one goal will be the Breeders’ Cup.  How we get there is kind of secondary, really.  So everything we do from now on will be that kind of plan.  I wouldn’t even be shocked if he ran on the grass again.”

The $327,127 winner’s share of the Stephen Foster purse boosted Pool Play’s career earnings to $909,556 with a record of 6-6-5 from 28 starts.  His only other graded stakes win came in the 2009 Durham Cup (GIII) on Polytrack at Woodbine. In his previous start, Pool Play finished second on turf in the Grade II Elkhorn at Keeneland, where he was beaten by 1 ¼ lengths by Musketier-GER.

So Pool Play’s victory is clearly the high point of the career of his racing career to date, but all that could change on Nov. 5 when, if all has gone well, Casse’s horse gets a chance to shine again on the Churchill Downs dirt in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

“What I’m trying to do is get there with a happy horse in the fall,” Casse said.  “He showed what we needed him to show yesterday, and that is that he belongs.  I’ve said all the along the mile and a quarter will be right up his alley.  So he may go to Toronto and run on the grass, he may run in the Whitney – I’m not sure yet.  Obviously you always like to win, but our number one goal is to be the best he can be on Breeders’ Cup Day.”

STEPHEN FOSTER DAY UNDERCARD WINNERS EXIT RACES IN GOOD ORDER – Stephen Foster Day Presented by Abu Dhabi was highlighted by the Grade I Stephen Foster, but also featured four other exciting graded stakes races, including the first Arabian horserace in the history of Churchill Downs. The winners of the three undercard stakes for Thoroughbreds all came out of their respective races in good order and their connections are looking forward to the rest of their 2011 campaigns.

Glen Hill Farm’s Banned captured the Grade III Jefferson Cup Presented by Abu Dhabi to complete the American Turf – Jefferson Cup double and improve his record to 4-0-1 from seven starts with earnings of $299,076. “He came out of the race good and we’re ready to rock and roll,” trainer Tom Proctor said. “We’re going to the Virginia Derby (Grade II at Colonial Downs on July 16).”

The two other graded stakes races for Thoroughbreds were won by horses from the Ken McPeek barn; giving the 48-year-old trainer wins in five consecutive graded stakes races he has entered at Churchill Downs. Peter Callahan’s Scotus notched McPeek’s first graded stakes winner of the afternoon in the Grade III Matt Winn Presented by Emirates Equestrian Federation. A 3-year-old son of Successful Appeal made a successful stakes debut in the Matt Winn and improved his record to 2-1-2 from five starts with earnings of $121,054.

“He (Scotus) is doing fine,” assistant trainer Philip Bauer said. “He ate all his feed and walked well this morning. We aren’t sure where we will go with him from here. There are a lot of different options and, at this time, no decision has been made.”

The other graded stakes winner for McPeek came with Catesby Clay’s Bizzy Caroline in the Grade III Regret Presented by Etihad Airways. The victory, which gave Bizzy Caroline, a 3-year-old daughter of Afleet Alex, her third win in a row and first stakes triumph, improved her record to 3-0-1 from six starts with earnings of $148,497.

“No decision has been made for Bizzy Caroline either,” Bauer said. “She came out of the race well. She shipped back to Keeneland with Sassy’s Dream and she’ll be trained there for her next start.”

Livin the Dream Racing 2009, LLC’s Sassy’s Dream, a 3-year-old daughter of Flower Alley, won the fourth race Saturday for McPeek under Alan Garcia.

MCPEEK’S CHURCHILL STAKES STREAK CONTINUES, BUT DONE FOR SPRING – While Stephen Foster Day Presented by Abu Dhabi was notable for the upset by 36-1 shot Pool Play in the day’s main event; the win by T M Fred Texas in the first race for Arabians in the 137-year history of Churchill Downs and another dazzling run by Glen Hill Farm’s rising 3-year-old turf star Banned, the big day cannot be discussed seriously without the mention of the continuation of trainer Ken McPeek’s remarkable stakes streak.

The Lexington native secured two stakes wins to extend his streak of graded stakes wins at the historic track to five.  Numbers four and five in the streak were wins by Peter J. Callahan’s Scotus in the Matt Winn (GIII) for 3-year-olds and Catesby W. Clay’s Bizzy Caroline in the Regret (GIII) for 3-year-old fillies on turf.

Previous winners in the streak were Noble’s Promise in the Aristides (GIII) for older horses at six furlongs, Salty Strike in the Dogwood (GIII) for 3-year-old fillies at a mile, and My Baby Baby in last week’s Early Times Mint Julep (GIII) for older fillies and mares on turf.

“I’m proud of it, but we’re not going to dwell on it,” McPeek by telephone from Lexington when asked about the streak on Sunday.  “We’re going to keep going.”

McPeek clearly appreciates the unusual string of good fortune in stakes competition and is quick to credit his team for its work in getting those horses into the winner’s circle in those races.   But McPeek also believes it was past time for his stable to enjoy a good run.

"The truth is that we were very due,” McPeek said.  “Over the last year or year and a half, we had a rash of seconds and thirds in so many nice races – Breeders’ Cup races and Derby preps.  It just seemed like every time we were second, third, second, third.  We were hitting, numbers wise, in our normal percentages in-the-money, but we weren’t winning.  We were just due, and they came in a flourish.”

After his latest win by Bizzy Caroline, McPeek’s Churchill Downs stakes run appears to have ended until the Oct. 30-Nov. 27 Fall Meet.  He has no candidates for the three races that close out the Spring Meet stakes schedule: the $100,000 Bashford Manor (GIII) for 2-year-olds, the $100,000 Debutante (GIII) for 2-year-old fillies and the $175,000 Firecracker (GII) for older horses at a mile on turf.

As special as a string of five consecutive stakes wins with horses hailing from five different divisions of competition is, McPeek takes and extra measure of satisfaction in the fact that all of those winners are pure products of his operation.

“What I’m most proud of is that we developed them all from scratch,” McPeek said. “They all started in our system as yearlings – every one of them.  That’s what I do.”

BARN TALK – Jockey Robby Albarado, who has 922 career wins at Churchill Downs, is just three victories away from tying Hall of Famer Don Brumfield for third all-time in wins beneath the Twin Spires. Albarado has six mounts Sunday (Races 4-7, 9-10). …

With two wins on Saturday’s Stephen Foster Day Presented by Abu Dhabi card and 11 wins in the last week, jockey Julien Leparoux, who has won seven riding titles beneath the Twin Spires, is quickly closing the gap between him and leading rider Corey Lanerie. Leparoux will enter Sunday’s 10-race program with 34 victories, three behind Lanerie. …

Nominations for the final two graded stakes races of the 39-day Spring Meet at Churchill Downs closed Saturday. The nominations for the Grade III, $100,000-added Bashford Manor to be run July 2 and the Grade II, $175,000-added Firecracker Handicap to be run July 4 will be announced Sunday. …

Sunday’s 10-race program will feature a Pick 6 carryover of $19,254 and a Super High 5 carryover of $13,407. The Pick 6 will begin with Race 5 at 2:51 p.m. EDT and the Super High 5 will take place on Race 10 at 5:25 p.m. …

WHO’S HOT – The hottest jockeys over the last five racing days (June 11-18) are Julien Leparoux (11-for-22) and Manny Cruz (9-for-34). Ken McPeek (4-for-9) and Tom Amoss (3-for-8) are the hottest trainers over the same period. No owner has won more than one race during the past week.

WORKTAB – Robert Baker and William Mack’s Dublin worked five furlongs in 1:00.20 on a fast main track at Churchill Downs on Sunday morning for trainer D. Wayne Lukas in preparation for his return to competition in the $76,600-added Kelly’s Landing overnight stakes on Friday’s “Downs After Dark” program.   Dublin, a 4-year-old son of Afleet Alex who won Saratoga’s Hopeful (GI) at two, has not raced since a fifth-place finish in the 2010 Preakness (GI).

Dublin drew the rail in a strong field of eight for the seven furlong race that also attracted Forego (GI) winner and defending Kelly’s Landing winner Here Comes Ben; Captain Cherokee, the runner-up in the Portero Grande (GII), San Carlos (GII) and Palos Verde GII) at Santa Anita; and Cool Bullet, runner-up to Churchill Downs (GII) winner Aikenite in Keeneland’s Commonwealth (GII).

WEATHER – Sunday: partly sunny with a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 86. Monday: partly sunny and hot with a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 95. Tuesday: mostly sunny and hot with a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 95. Wednesday: mostly cloudy with a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 88. Thursday: partly sunny with a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 84. Friday: partly sunny, 83. Saturday: mostly sunny, 85.    

Adele Dilschneider’s Apart wore down defending champion Demarcation in the final 100 yards to win Friday’s 18th running of the $108,600 Ack Ack Handicap (Grade III) by three-quarters of a length at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Al Stall Jr. and ridden by Garrett Gomez, Apart made a four-wide move at the head of the stretch and gradually wore down Demarcation, who was ridden by Calvin Borel.  The victory provided a good start to the two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships for Dilschneider, Stall and Gomez, who will team to send Dilschneider and Claiborne Farm's Blame into the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic (GI) against the unbeaten favorite Zenyatta on Saturday.

Apart, a 3-year-old homebred son of Flatter out of the Unbridled mare Detach, covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.79, the first time the race has been run at that distance.

The victory was worth $67,332 and increased Apart’s earnings to $469,878 with a record of 7-4-1-0 that includes a victory in the Super Derby (GII) in his race prior to the Ack Ack.

Sent off as the favorite in the field of five, Apart returned $4.80, $3 and $2.10. Demarcation paid $3.40 and $2.20 with Colizeo, ridden by Ramon Dominguez, finishing two lengths back in third and paying $2.20 to show. Jackson Bend finished fourth, followed by Silver Edition.

The race prior to the Ack Ack, Chasing Dreams Racing 2008’s Noble’s Promise won the $87,700 Jimmy V. “Don’t Give Up … Don’t Ever Give Up!” overnight stake for 3-year-olds by 2 ¼ lengths over Backtalk.

Trained by Ken McPeek and ridden by Julien Leparoux, Noble’s Promise covered the six furlongs on the main track in 1:08.92 and increased his bankroll by $53,287 to boost his career earnings to $946,703 with four victories in 11 starts.

Noble’s Promise, the fifth-place finisher in the 2010 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI), returned $6, $3.40 and $2.80. Backtalk, ridden by Rafael Bejarano, returned $4.80 and $3.80 with Don Tito, Joel Rosario up, finishing a half-length back in third and returned $4.80 to show.

An 11-race program, highlighted by the Breeders’ Cup Classic, is scheduled for Saturday with first post time of 12:05 p.m. (all times Eastern). Eight Breeders’ Cup races dot the card that also features the 25th running of the $150,000-added Chilukki (GII) for fillies and mares running a mile on the main track and the $85,000 Dream Supreme overnight stake for 3-year-old fillies sprinting six furlongs.

 POST RACE QUOTES

Al Stall Jr. (trainer, Apart, 1st) – “In Louisiana, he ran off on us a couple of times.  Garrett was waiting around a little because sometimes this horse grabs the bit.  Garrett wanted to put him to sleep, and obviously he did a very good job.  He was a big gangly colt, starting to fill in and he’ll be a nice 4-year-old for us.”

Garrett Gomez (jockey, Apart, 1st) - “This colt's a nice colt. He's a colt that certainly figures things out as we go along. I can't wait until next year with him. He's moving in the right direction and today he got to see some different kind of competition than he's been facing and he passed that test. This is the first time I've ridden him. I watched his Super Derby run and when they picked up the pace a little, I thought I'd just move up on top of them and he stayed on well.”

Regarding coming back from yesterday's fall to ride today: “I'm fine. Just watch me ride. I'm a little achy, that's to be expected, I had a 1,200-pound animal fall on top of me yesterday. All in all my hand's a little swollen, but it doesn't really hurt. My shoulder's a little sore, but all you've gotta do is see me come down the lane.”

Paul McGee (trainer, Demarcation, 2nd) – “He was up a little closer than I thought he’d be, but he hung in there and ran a good race.”

Calvin Borel (jockey, Demarcation, 2nd) – “He ran a bang-up race, but we got outrun late. We have no excuses.”

Mike McCarthy (assistant trainer to Todd Pletcher, Colizeo, 3rd) – “It was an oddly run race. They all seemed to be jockeying for position at the half-mile pole and Ramon (Dominguez) didn’t have any choice but to keep his position. In the end it was OK. Better to run third than fourth.”

Ramon Dominguez, (jockey, Colizeo, 3rd) – “He ran well. Everybody took a shot at my horse and the other two just outran me.”

Jockey Garrett Gomez was shaken up in a spill Thursday afternoon at Churchill Downs when he was thrown from his mount, Indy Bouquet, in the sixth race, a one-mile event for maiden fillies and mares on the grass.

Gomez, who is named to ride in eight of the 14 Breeders’ Cup World Championship races at Churchill Downs this Friday and Saturday, including Adele Dilschneider and Claiborne Farm’s Blame in the $5 million Classic on Saturday, was conscious after the mishap and transported to Norton Audubon Hospital for observation.

Ron Anderson, Gomez’s agent, said the rider complained of discomfort in his right shoulder.

“They took an x-ray and the results came back negative,” Anderson said. “We are in the process of heading home now. Garrett is fine and in good spirits and he will ride Friday.

“Garrett said the filly warmed up good and everything looked fine. She just took a bad step. He said it had nothing to do with the course. It was just an unfortunate accident.”

Indy Bouquet, a 3-year-old filly who had two previous starts for WinStar Farm, sustained a compound fracture of the left front cannon bone and was euthanized.

ESPOIR CITY HAS FIRST CHURCHILL DOWNS WORK FOR BC CLASSIC – Espoir City (JPN), Japan’s hope for the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) to be run at Churchill Downs on Nov. 6, had the first of his planned two works beneath the Twin Spires on Sunday morning, covering six furlongs over a fast track in 1:18.20 under jockey Tetsuzo Sato.

Espoir City spent about 20 minutes loosening up in the mile chute before beginning his work that consisted of fractions in :14.20, :28.40, :41.60, :54.20, 1:06.40 and out seven furlongs in 1:33.60. After the work, Espoir City walked around outside Barn 42 in the grassy area of the quarantine section for another 20 minutes under exercise rider Toshiyuki Abematsu.

“We are coming to this race with the image of a mile and a quarter race and today was a step in that direction,” Sato said through an interpreter. “The work this morning went as planned. We are not here to pursue speed, just conditioning.”

Espoir City switched leads several times in the stretch, but Sato was not concerned.

“He is up front in most of his races and sometimes he loses a little focus and fools around a bit because he knows he has no competition,” Sato said.

Espoir City arrived at Churchill Downs on Tuesday and Sato was asked how he felt the 5-year-old horse handled the shipping.

“Much better than I had imagined,” Sato said. “He has shipped within Japan and become accustomed to it. He was a little tired when he got here, but he is over it now.”

Trainer Akio Adachi is scheduled to return to Louisville from Japan for Espoir City’s final work, the day of which has not been determined. Sato, who also has been getting on horses for trainers Dale Romans and Todd Pletcher, was scheduled to return to Japan on Monday but would return for the final work.

SPINSTER WINNER ACOMA WORKS FIVE FURLONGS IN 1:01.60 FOR BC LADIES’ CLASSIC – Helen Alexander and Helen Groves’ Acoma had her first work since winning the Juddmonte Spinster (GI) at Keeneland on Oct. 10, covering five furlongs in 1:01.60, the 11th fastest of 32 at the distance.

Working on her own before the renovation break under jockey Tony Farina, Acoma carved out fractions of :12.60, :24.80, :37.20 and out six furlongs in 1:15.40.

“It was a nice work and she did it well within herself,” trainer David Carroll said. “I was going to work her a half, but she went five-eighths to get the edge off. Tony knows her and will give me good feedback.”

The Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (GI) will be the final race for Acoma, who has spent the majority of her three-year career at Churchill Downs. She has raced here seven times, going two-for-two on the dirt and winning three graded stakes on the grass.

“It’s huge,” Carroll said of what amounts to Acoma’s home-field advantage in the Breeders’ Cup. “If it were anywhere else, we would not be running. She has trained here, had a lot of success here and is very happy here. She has never had a bad race here. She was fourth once (in this summer’s Locust Grove), but she was right there at the wire.”

Robby Albarado, who has ridden Acoma three times, will have the mount in the Ladies’ Classic and Carroll said Albarado may work Acoma in her next work, scheduled for next Sunday.

“She had an extremely good week last week,” Carroll said. “I am confident she can run well. It is just a question of being good enough.”

SWITCH TUNES UP FOR BREEDERS’ CUP FILLY & MARE SPRINT – The first time C R K Stable’s Switch ran against older fillies and mares, she turned in a performance that was nearly one for the record books.

In the Lady’s Secret (GI) at Hollywood Park on Oct. 2, the 3-year-old Switch cut the corner at the top of the stretch, opening a daylight lead on a field of five that included the undefeated Zenyatta.

“It is etched in my mind,” trainer John Sadler said with a laugh Sunday morning. “The thing about it was the place went quiet for a few seconds when Switch spurted clear.  And then Zenyatta came on and the place erupted.”

Zenyatta is scheduled to come to Churchill Downs on Tuesday, Nov. 2, in a bid to complete her career 20-for-20 with a run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, a race she won last year against males on a synthetic surface at Santa Anita.

Meanwhile, Switch continued to get ready for the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (GI) by working five furlongs in 1:00.20 on Sunday morning at Churchill Downs under exercise rider Lupillo Alferez.

Working on her own after the renovation break, Switch recorded fractions of :12.20, :23.80, :35.40, :47.40 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.80. The five-furlong time was the second fastest of 32 at the distance and comes on the heels of a bullet half-mile move in :47 on Oct. 17.

“It was nice and smooth and she looked good doing it,” Sadler said. “I told him to go in a minute, so that was fine.”

The Lady’s Secret was run at 1 1/16 miles, but Sadler opted to cut back to the seven-furlong Filly & Mare Sprint rather than 1 1/8-mile Ladies’ Classic.

“I am not sure she wants a mile and eighth as a 3-year-old,” Sadler said. “If the Sprint was six furlongs, she would not run but it is not really a ‘sprint’ sprint. Seven-eighths to a mile is her best distance. Next year we can come back in the (Ladies’) Classic at a mile and an eighth. She was fourth earlier in the year at a mile and eighth when she shipped to Gulfstream Park, but she didn’t get the right trip that day.”

BARN TALK – Turtle Bird Stable’s Haynesfield, winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup (GI) at Belmont Park in his most recent start, worked six furlongs in company with Kensei after the renovation break at Churchill Downs in 1:13.60 under exercise rider Ceasar Garcia for trainer Steve Asmussen. The two worked on even terms with Haynesfield on the outside through fractions of :12.60, :25, :37.20, :49.20 and galloped out seven furlongs in 1:27.40 with Haynesfield kicking clear of his workmate. It was the second Churchill Downs work for Haynesfield, who covered five furlongs in 1:02.20 last Sunday in preparation for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. …

Team Valor International’s Pluck, winner of the Summer (GIII) at Woodbine in last time out, worked five furlongs in 1:01.20 in company with Hammock Beach before the renovation break in preparation for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (GII). The move under jockey Garrett Gomez was the fourth fastest of 32 at the distance. The two raced on even terms through fractions of :12.60, :36.40, :48.60 and out six furlongs in 1:14.80. …

Adele Dilschneider and Claiborne Farm’s Blame, winner of the Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) here in June and the Clark Handicap (GII) here last fall, worked five furlongs at Keeneland in :58.80 on Sunday morning in preparation for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Working in company with Super Derby (GII) winner Apart, Blame recorded fractions of :12.20, :23.80, :35.80, :46.80 and out six furlongs in 1:11.60. Trained by Al Stall Jr., Blame is scheduled to ship to Churchill Downs on Wednesday and will be housed in Barn 47.

Other Breeders’ Cup works across the nation Sunday included Quality Road (Classic) 1:01.42 for five furlongs at Belmont Park; Uncle Mo (Juvenile) :49.97 for a half-mile at Belmont Park; Stay Thirsty (Juvenile) 1:01.38 for five-eighths at Belmont Park; Rose Catherine (Turf Sprint) 1:04.26 for five furlongs on the main track at Belmont Park; Persistently (Ladies’ Classic) :49.62 for a half-mile at Belmont Park; Gio Ponti (Classic or Mile) 1:03.55 for five furlongs on the turf at Belmont Park; Winchester (Turf) 1:03.86 for five furlongs on the turf at Belmont Park; Gayego (Dirt Mile) 1:00.18 for five furlongs at Belmont Park; Vineyard Haven (Dirt Mile) 1:02.48 for five furlongs at Belmont Park and Air Support (Juvenile Turf) :48.42 for a half-mile on the main track at Belmont Park. At Keeneland, Moontune Missy (Filly & Mare Sprint) worked six furlongs in 1:11.60. At Calder, Jessica Is Back (Filly & Mare Sprint) worked a half-mile in :50.60.

CLASSIC HOPES PADDY O’PRADO, FIRST DUDE WORK OVER HOME  TRACK FOR ROMANS – Louisville-born trainer Dale Romans’ pair of 3-year-old contenders for the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (Grade I) – Paddy O’Prado and First Dude – topped the roster of works by Breeders’ Cup hopefuls Saturday over their home track at Churchill Downs.

Donegal Racing’s Paddy O’Prado, third in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) and winner of the Secretariat (GI) on turf at Arlington Park, breezed five furlongs over a “fast” track in 1:01.  Exercise rider Tammy Fox was up for the move, which came just after the mid-morning break for track maintenance.  The 3-year-old son of El Prado covered the distance in fractional times of :12.40, :24.40 and :36.20 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:15.40.

Donald Dizney’s homebred First Dude, runner-up in the Preakness (GI) and the Pennsylvania Derby (GII), breezed six furlongs under Fox a short time later and covered the distance in 1:15.  The 3-year-old Stephen Got Even colt was timed in fractions of :12.60, :24.60, :36.60, :49.20 and 1:01.80 and galloped out seven furlongs 1:29.60.

First Dude’s move was the slowest of five works at six furlongs.

“They’re both fit,” Romans said.  “We were looking for maintenance and we’ll come back and work them again next Saturday.”

Paddy O’Prado’s work, which ranked as the seventh fastest of 34 at the distance, was the first since his owners and Romans decided that the Classic would be the colt’s Breeders’ Cup target.  The Breeders’ Cup Turf (GI) was also an option, as was the Japan Cup in Tokyo on Nov. 27.

"It was a tough decision,” said Romans of the Classic choice for Paddy O’Prado.  “There really wasn’t a wrong choice.  You’re running for big money in all three races, but the bottom line is that if he runs well in the Classic it does so much more for him as a stallion prospect.  That’s what kind of sealed the deal.”

And, Romans added, a victory over the star-studded Classic field headed by unbeaten Zenyatta, Blame and Quality Road could give Paddy O’Prado a shot at 3-year-old championship honors.  Preakness (GI) winner Lookin At Lucky, a Classic rival, is the current front-runner for that Eclipse Award honor.

“The one thing he needs to do is to show up in another dirt race and show everybody he’s dirt or turf,” he said.  “Even if wins the Turf and ‘Lucky’ runs well on the dirt, it’s still an uphill battle to be 3-year-old of the year.  If he runs big here, he’s got a legitimate shot.”

Romans noted that First Dude, a winner of just one of 11 races but second or third in nine of those races with earnings of $860,160, might be the most accomplished horse ever to still be eliglble for a “non-winners of two” race.

“He shows up every single time and we expect him to show up in this race, too,” Romans said.  “He’s showed he can run with anybody.  We’re right here in our back door, he runs well over this racetrack and trains here everyday.  He’s gonna run well.”

HURRICANE IKE SHARP IN WORK FOR BC DIRT MILE – With jockey Calvin Borel up, Ike and Dawn Thrash’s Hurricane Ike tuned up for his engagement by working six furlongs in 1:12.40 in company with Third Dawn after the renovation break Saturday morning.

Fractions for the move, which was the fastest of five at the distance, were :12.20, :24, :35.80, :47.80 and :59.80 with a seven-furlong gallop-out time of 1:27.80.

"He worked super this morning,” trainer John Sadler said of Hurricane Ike, who also worked a bullet five-eighths in :59 here on Oct. 17. “He might be a horse for course. He worked OK on it here in the spring, but he also won on it (in the Grade III Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial).”

Hurricane Ike and Third Dawn started off together with Hurricane Ike on the inside. At the head of the stretch, Hurricane Ike began to steadily pull away, finishing eight lengths in front of his workmate at the wire.

Prior to the Hurricane Ike work, Borel was aboard Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (GI) hopeful Tell a Kelly for the Thrashes and Sadler through a five-furlong work in 1:00.80, fifth fastest of 34 at the distance.

Fractions on the work were :12.60, :24.40, :36, :48 and out six furlongs in 1:15.40.

“They both went well,” Borel said. “That Hurricane Ike, he really likes this track.”

Sadler’s Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Sprint (GI) candidate Switch, owned by C R K Stable, is scheduled to work on Sunday after the break.

Sadler will head back to California on Sunday night to supervise a Monday work for TVG Breeders’ Cup Mile (GI) hopeful Sidney’s Candy.

“Sidney’s Candy will fly here on the next Tex Sutton flight,” Sadler said. “And, we have to make up our minds on (Gary and Cecil Barber’s) Cost of Freedom (for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint). We will bring in a couple more horses for the (Breeders’ Cup) undercard races.”

STEWART HOPING FOR SOME REPEAT MAGIC IN LADIES’ CLASSIC – Dallas Stewart has flown below the radar before at Breeders’ Cup time. In 2001, he saddled Unbridled Elaine to a 12-1 upset victory in the Grade I Distaff (now Ladies’ Classic) at Belmont Park.

This year, for the now-named Ladies’ Classic, Stewart has Ladies’ Classic hopes for another 3-year-old filly in Seeking the Title for owner Charles Fipke.

“She’s a quality filly,” Stewart said. “I thought she worked awesome this morning and she will work again next Saturday.”

With Calvin Borel up and working on her own before the renovation break, Seeking the Title covered five furlongs in 1:01.60, eighth fastest of 34 at the distance. Fractions for the work were :13.20, :25.60, :37.60, :49.60 and out six furlongs in 1:16.40.

Seeking the Title finished fourth in her most recent start in the Indiana Oaks (GII) at Hoosier Park on Oct. 2.

“Her last race was on mud and on a speed-biased track,” Stewart said. “She ran well in the race before at Monmouth (GIII Monmouth Oaks) when she came from far back. She finishes with energy every race except for the mud. She is doing very well and I see no reason not to take a shot.”

MALIBU PRAYER HEADS STELLAR LIST OF 31 CHILUKKI NOMINEES – Edward Evans’ Malibu Prayer, winner of the Ruffian Invitational Handicap (GI) this summer at Saratoga and 2009 winner of the Chilukki (GII) is the marquee name among 31 nominations for the 25th running of the $150,000-added race for fillies and mares ages 3 and up scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 6.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Malibu Prayer is being pointed to the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (GI) scheduled the previous day.

Ten other graded stakes winners are among the nominees for the one-turn mile race for fillies and mares, including Starlight Partners’ Ailalea, winner of the Dogwood (GIII) here in May, who also is trained by Pletcher.

The 33rd running of the $100,000-added River City Handicap (GIII) will kick off the Breeders’ Cup World Championship weekend on Thursday, Nov. 4. The 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds and up over the Matt Winn Turf Course attracted 20 nominations including the past two winners of the race: Amerman Racing Stables’ Demarcation (2008) and Robert Courtney’s Rahystrada (2009).

The 18th running of the $100,000 Ack Ack Handicap (GIII) for horses 3-years-old and up going 1 1/16 miles on the main track serves as the lead-in to six Breeders’ Cup races on Friday, Nov. 5. Among the 31 nominees is Double Eagle Ranch and Buena Suerte Equine’s Mine That Bird, winner of the 2009 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI).

Augustin Stable’s Forever Together, winner of the 2008 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (GI) and a candidate for this year’s renewal, is the marquee name among 29 fillies and mares nominated to the 37th running of the $100,000-added Cardinal Handicap (GIII) to be run at 1 1/8 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course on Sunday, Nov. 7.

BARN TALK – There were other Breeders’ Cup works of note Saturday morning at Churchill Downs. Working before 6:30 on his own was Turf Sprint candidate Chamberlain Bridge, who covered a half-mile in :49.40 under Jamie Theriot for trainer Bret Calhoun. Fractions for the move, 18th best of 47 at the distance, were :12.60, :25.40, :37.40 and out five furlongs in 1:03.60.

Also working before the break was Filly & Mare Sprint candidate My Jen for trainer Eddie Kenneally. Working in company with Missyoulikecrazy, My Jen covered a half-mile in :47.40, second best of the morning at the distance.
Other half-mile works for Breeders’ Cup candidates were Rinterval (Filly & Mare Sprint) in :49.40 (:12.40, :24.80, :36.80 and out in 1:03.60) and More Than Real (Juvenile Fillies Turf) in :49.80 (:12.80, :25 and out in 1:03) with jockey Garrett Gomez up.

After the break, trainer Eric Guillot sent two-time Grade I winner Champagne d’Oro out for a five-furlong work with Miguel Mena up. Working solo, Champagne d’Oro stepped the distance in :59.60, second fastest of 34 at the distance. Fractions for the work were :11.40, :22.80, :34.60, :46.80 and out six furlongs in 1:14.20. “I got her in a minute and a fifth,” said Guillot, who plans to work the filly a half-mile next Saturday. “She’ll be 10-1 [in the Breeders’ Cup] and run like 3-5.”

At Keeneland on Saturday morning, Breeders’ Cup Mile candidate Proviso worked five furlongs on the turf in 1:02.20 for trainer Bill Mott. Working on the main track was Hot Cha Cha (Filly & Mare Turf) covering five furlongs in 1:00 for trainer Phil Sims and Silver Timber (Turf Sprint) working a half-mile in :49.20 for trainer Chad Brown. Two Ken McPeek 2-year-olds, Harlan’s Ruby (Juvenile Fillies) and Rogue Romance (Juvenile or Juvenile Turf), worked in company on the main track, covering five furlongs in :58.40. Splits for the work were :12.60, :23.60, :35.20, :47 and out six furlongs in 1:10.80 and seven-eighths in 1:24.20. ...

Other works of note for Breeders’ Cup hopefuls outside of Kentucky included Sara Louise (Filly & Mare Sprint) going a half-mile in :49.01 at Belmont Park, Big Drama (Sprint) covering six furlongs in 1:14.20 at Calder and Musket Man (Classic) going six furlongs in 1:17 at Monmouth Park.  …

Breeders’ Cup candidates expected to work Sunday morning in addition to Switch are Acoma (Ladies’ Classic), Espoir City (JPN) (Classic) and Pluck (Juvenile Turf). Espoir City, who will have jockey Tetsuzo Sato up, is scheduled to work after the renovation break. Blame, one of the leading contenders for the Classic, is scheduled to work Sunday morning around 7:30 at Keeneland for trainer Al Stall Jr. … 

Trainer Michelle Nihei said that Casa Farms I’s Prince Will I Am, winner of the Jamaica Handicap (GI) in his most recent start, would be pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Marathon (GIII) instead of the Emirates Airlines Breeders’ Cup Turf (GI). Prince Will I Am, who worked five furlongs in 1:02.20 on Friday, is scheduled to work next Saturday. Nihei also said that Silent Joy, fifth in the Miss Grillo (GIII) at Belmont Park in her most recent start, would be pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (GII). Silent Joy is owned by Danny Gargan, Adam Wachtel and Nils Brous. …

Frank Bernis, agent for jockey Jamie Theriot who has been the regular rider of Dubai Majesty and Secret Gypsy, said that Theriot would ride Dubai Majesty in the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (GI). Robby Albarado will have the mount on Secret Gypsy, according to his agent, Lenny Pike. …
Trainer Tom Amoss said that Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence’s Falling Knife would not be pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Marathon.
                                    
WORK TAB (Track: FAST) – Dryfly, an early contender for the 2010 Kentucky Derby before injury knocked him off the Derby trail, breezed six furlongs in 1:13.80 for trainer Lynn Whiting.  Borel was up for the move … C.S. Silk breezed five furlongs in :59.40, the fastest move of 34 at the distance.