Bret Calhoun

Martin Racing Stable LLC and Morgan Thoroughbred LLC’s Beat the Blues, a narrow loser to Grade I winner Sassy Image in the Winning Colors (Grade III) in May, overtook pacesetter Starlite Starbrite in mid-stretch and splashed home to a half-length victory over the rapidly-closing Little Polka Dot in the $48,637 Sunday afternoon feature at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Bret Calhoun and ridden by Miguel Mena, Beat the Blues covered the six furlongs on the “sloppy” main track in 1:10.36.

Beat the Blues rated in second behind Starlite Starbrite through opening fractions of :21.94 and :45.57. A 4-year-old daughter of Great Pyramid-IRE, Beat the Blues gained the lead at the eighth-pole, increased her advantage to as many as two lengths and held off a late rally from Little Polka Dot to win for the seventh time in her career.

Breaking from the gate as the 2-1 favorite in the field of six, Beat the Blues returned mutuels of $6.00, $3.60 and $2.60. Maggi Moss’ Little Polka Dot finished second and returned $4 and $3 with Jared Hughes’ Hot Hot Mama another four lengths back in third returning $3.60.

Nearly 1,000 breast cancer survivors, family members and friends were at Churchill Downs on Sunday for the annual "Horses & Hope Day at the Races."  The day honors the groundbreaking breast cancer outreach initiative of Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear that provides breast cancer information and free screenings to workers in Kentucky's horse industry, including many who have little or no health insurance coverage.  Gov. Steve Beshear joined the First Lady for the on-track celebration of the work of Horses & Hope and its partner, the Kentucky Cancer Program, during the daylong celebration at Churchill Downs.

The victory was worth $28,920 and increased Beat the Blues’ bankroll to $293,362 with a record of 7-3-2 from 15 lifetime starts.

Racing resumes Wednesday with a 10-race program that will begin at 12:40 p.m. EST.

Klaravich Stables Inc and William H Lawrence’s Sum of the Parts, an impressive son of Speightstown who was a convincing winner in his lone career start, heads a field of 11 2-year-olds entered to compete in Saturday’s 110^th running of the $100,000-added, Grade III Bashford Manor Stakes at Churchill Downs.

The six-furlong race, the first graded stakes race of the year for 2-year-olds, is scheduled as the 12^th and featured event on a special 13-race program on the final Saturday of the historic track’s 38-day Spring Meet.  Post time for the first race is 12:45 p.m. (all times EST) and the Bashford Manor is set for 6:23 p.m. start.

The Bashford Manor Stakes, which was first run in 1902, is named in honor of the prominent Louisville Thoroughbred breeding farm owned by George James Long, who bred three winners of the Kentucky Derby on the property.  The farm bred and raced Derby winners Azra (1892) and Sir Huon (1906) and bred 1899 winner Manuel.  Bashford Manor also owned Kentucky Oaks winners Selika (1894) and Kathleen (1916).

The Tom Amoss-trained Sum of the Parts turned heads early in the Spring Meet with a flashy 2 ¾-length victory as the favorite in his 4 ½-furlong racing debut on May 14.  That is the lone start for the colt that is bidding to join Lone Star Sky (2002) and Backtalk (2009) as Bashford Manor winners saddled by Amoss.

“He’s a horse we’re very excited about,” Amoss said.  “I thought his race was really good, and the horse that ran second to him, Exfactor, won his next race.  Exfactor won a split (maiden) race and he ran a lot faster than the other division, so that was encouraging.”

Leandro Goncalves had the mount on Sum of the Parts in his debut and will be in the irons again on Saturday.  Sum of the Parts will carry 118 pounds in his stakes debut.

Stoneway Farm’s Exfactor, a gray/roan son of Exchange Rate trained by Bernie Flint, will get a shot at turning the tables on Sum of the Parts in the Bashford Manor.  After his runner-up finish in his debut, Exfactor returned to score an easy 4 ½ length victory at 5 ½ furlongs in his most recent outing on June 9 at Churchill Downs.  Exfactor will carry 118 pounds and Calvin Borel will ride Flint’s colt for the third time in as many starts.

Stoneway Farm and Flint will also be represented by Bonaparte, a speedy son of Touch Gold who rolled to a front-running 5 ½-length victory at 4 1/2 furlongs in his lone start on May 30.  Jon Court has the return call on Bonaparte, who will also carry 118 pounds.

Ed Few’s unbeaten Texas invader Lil Cherokee is the only member of the 11-horse field for the Bashford Manor has stakes experience on his resume.  Lil Cherokee won the colts and geldings division of the Texas Thoroughbred Association Sales Futurity for trainer Bret Calhoun on June 11 at Lone Star Park.  The Texas-bred son of Cherokee Run, an easy winner in his racing debut at Lone Star on May 12, will carry high weight of 120 pounds in the Bashford Manor and Miguel Mena will ride.

Other contenders include Courtlandt Farm’s homebred Power World, a Distorted Humor colt who overcame traffic problems to win his June 11 career debut at Churchill Downs at odds of 14-1; Mike Tarp’s Tarpy’s Goal, a son of High Cotton who won his May 19 Churchill Downs debut for trainer Dale Romans;  Hot Speed, a Florida-bred son of Burning Roma who has one win in two starts at Florida’s Calder Race Course; Dunbarton Stable’s Friscan, who won his only start for trainer Al Stall Jr. at Keeneland on April 14; and Denzik Racing LLC and Meritage Racing LLC’s Green Mouse, a Cherokee Run colt who was a 3 1/2-length winner over a sloppy track in his second career start on May 26 at Churchill Downs.

Two colts will bid to score their first career victory in the Bashford Manor.  Willis Horton’s Laurie’s Rocket finished second his lone start for trainer Dallas Stewart at Churchill Downs on May 30.  And Bluegrass Hall’s Chalybeate Springs ran fifth over a sloppy track in his debut on June 18 of Hall of Fame trainer and five-time Bashford Manor winner D. Wayne Lukas.

Another event of note on Saturday’s 13-race program is the 11^th:  a 6 ½ furlong allowance optional claiming race with a purse of $65,200 with a field of nine that includes Vinery Stables and Mrs. Susan Roy’s Awesome Act and Robert Baker and William Mack’s Dublin.  Both competed in the 2010 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) won by WinStar Farm’s Super Saver.

The race will launch a comeback for the Lukas-trained Dublin, the winner of the 2010 Hopeful (GI) at Saratoga who finished seventh in the Derby.  Dublin has not competed since a fifth-place run behind Lookin At Lucky in the Preakness (GI). Awesome Act, a British import who won the 2010 Gotham (GIII), was injured in a 19^th-place finish in the Derby and has not been close in a pair of 2011 starts for trainer Steve Asmussen.

The field for the 111^th running of the Bashford Manor, in post position order from the rail out (with jockey, weight) includes:  Laurie’s Rocket (Brian Hernandez Jr., 116), Lil Cherokee (Mena 120), Power World (Corey Lanerie, 118), Exfactor (Borel, 118), Chalybeate Springs (Jesus Castanon, 116), Bonaparte (Court, 118), Sum of the Parts (Goncalves, 118), Hot Speed (Robby Albarado, 120), Tarpy’s Goal (Kent Desormeaux, 118), Green Mouse (Manoel Cruz, 118) and Friscan (Shaun Bridgmohan, 118).

MARGOLIS SEEKS FIRST CD STAKES WIN WITH COOL BULLET ON FRIDAY - To say the previous couple of days have been eventful for trainer Steve Margolis would be putting things lightly. The 47-year-old trainer returned to the Churchill Downs backstretch on Wednesday night to find his Barn 23 nearly unrecognizable after a tornado tore its way through the stable area and spent most of Thursday relocating approximately 20 displaced horses that previously called that barn home.

One of those horses, Cool Bullet, was one of the last horses to escape from his tornado-damaged barn on Wednesday night, but Margolis hopes that he will be the first to cross the line in Friday night’s feature race at the historic Louisville track: the $76,660-added Kelly’s Landing stakes for 3-year-olds and upward at seven furlongs on the main track.

“He was one of the last horses that we got out of the barn (on Wednesday),” Margolis said. “He doesn’t have a scratch on him. If he would have had a nick on him or I felt like he had a traumatic experience then I would have passed on running him tonight (Friday), but he’s totally fine.”

Cool Bullet, a 4-year-old gelded son of Red Bullet, bids for his first win of 2011 in the Kelly’s Landing.

“His numbers may show that he’s a little better on synthetic tracks, but he did win the Rumson (at Monmouth) on the dirt and he’s run well here going seven-eighths (when finishing second in the 2010 Matt Winn),” Margolis said. “Hopefully he’ll run good.”

While the Florida-bred Cool Bullet will look for his fourth career stakes victory, his trainer is seeking his first stakes victory beneath the Twin Spires. Margolis, who has 105 career wins at Churchill Downs, is winless in 40 starts in stakes races at the Louisville track.

“We’ve run a lot of big races and have had a lot of seconds and thirds and hopefully we can finally get a win,” Margolis said. “We have Manny Cruz riding for us and he’s been riding good, so that will help.”

Robert and Lawana Low and Winmore LLC’s Cool Bullet will face a tough field in the Kelly’s Landing that includes such accomplished sprinters as Captain Cherokee and Here Comes Ben. Stonestreet Stables LLC’s Captain Cherokee has run second in three Grade II sprints this year and Marianne and Brandon Chase’s Here Comes Ben is the defending Kelly’s Landing champion and winner of the Grade I Forego at Saratoga last September. 

TEXAS-INVADER SHOCKTIME FACES TOUGH TEST IN DEBUTANTE – Wayne Sanders and Larry Hirsch’s unbeaten Shocktime has left little doubt that she was much the best in the first two starts of her career as the 2-year-old daughter of Langfuhr has won those races by a combined 21 ¾ lengths.

On Saturday the Texas-bred Shocktime will step up to face tougher company in the 111^th running of the Grade III, $100,000-added Debutante at Churchill Downs."She’s never done anything wrong in her life,” trainer Bret Calhoun said. “I don’t know what she’s beat, but she’s done it impressively.”

The Debutante will be Shocktime’s first race in open company after previously racing at Lone Star Park against Texas-breds. The homebred filly that shipped in from Texas on Tuesday won the $93,000 Texas Thoroughbred Association Sales Futurity on June 11 in her most recent start.

“We thought she was a nice filly from the beginning and the only reason she went there (Lone Star) was because she was eligible for the Texas-bred stakes,” Calhoun said. “We knew she wasn’t going to stay there.”

While Shocktime’s five furlong time of :58.61 in the TTA Sales Futurity was faster than the winning time turned in by stablemate Lil Cherokee one race earlier in the Futurity’s division for colts and geldings, Calhoun is confident the filly could have run even faster.

“I was watching TV last night and one guy said he was going to pick her, but decided not to because she ran the last eighth in 13 and change. He must not have been paying attention though because he (jockey Clifton Berry) was basically pulling her up the last sixteenth of a mile and she still won by 12.”

Shocktime will face a competitive field of eight in the Debutante, which includes Gold Mark Farm LLC’s Culotte and Stoneway Farm’s Queen Teuta, who ran 1-2 in the first race of their respective careers on May 13 at Churchill Downs.

“It’s a lot to ask her to step up and come back in two weeks, but we feel like she can handle it and that she fits in here well,” Calhoun said.

The six-furlong Debutante is the nation’s first graded stakes event for 2-year-old fillies and the featured 10^th race on the next-to-last Saturday program of the Churchill Downs Spring Meet. The field for the Debutante from the rail out with jockey and weight includes Five Star Momma (Corey Lanerie, 118), Queen Teuta (Calvin Borel, 118), Tippy Toes (Julien Leparoux, 116), My Due Process (Robby Albarado, 116), Flashy Lassie (Kent Desormeaux, 116), Shocktime (Miguel Mena, 120), Culotte (Leandro Goncalves, 118) and Defy Gravity (Wesley Ho, 118).

LEPAROUX TIES LANERIE FOR MEET LEAD WITH EIGHT RACING DAYS REMAINING – Corey Lanerie was tied atop the jockey standings with Shaun Bridgmohan through 15 days of the 38-day Spring Meet, but surged to a ten-win advantage at the completion of day 25.

At that point, Lanerie was eleven wins clear of Julien Leparoux in third, but recent days have been Leparoux’s time to surge.  The French-born star collected 12 wins last week and has now tied Lanerie for the meet lead with eight racing days remaining.

Leparoux, who has won with 14 of his last 29 mounts over the past five racing days at the Louisville track, had an easy explanation for his recent hot-streak.

“I’m drinking Red Bull and it’s giving me wings,” he said. “Seriously though, it has been an awesome week. I’ve read in a couple of places about how many I’ve won, but I’m not thinking about that too much.”

While Leparoux is tied for the most victories this meet, he is currently fourth in number of mounts with 149.  That total is 34 fewer than Lanerie.

“I’ve been away riding at other places a few days during the meet and it’s nice to still be at the top even though I’ve had less mounts than some of the others,” Leparoux said.

The 27-year-old native of Senlis, France is seeking his eighth riding title at Churchill Downs, while Lanerie is bidding his first beneath the Twin Spires.

“If I can’t win it then it would be nice for Corey (Lanerie) to win, but winning the riding title is always the goal,” Leparoux said. “I’m definitely trying to win it again.”

Lanerie and Leparoux will enter Friday’s 11-race Downs After Dark program with 37 wins each and both will be quite busy over the next three racing days. Lanerie has 26 mounts at Churchill Downs this weekend and Leparoux is scheduled to ride 25 horses.

MEET LEADERS AT A GLANCE – Through 30 days of the 38-day Spring Meet, jockeys Corey Lanerie and Julien Leparoux, trainer Steve Asmussen and owners Richard and Karen Papiese’s Midwest Thoroughbreds Inc. are the leaders in their respective categories at Churchill Downs. Below is a look at the leaders entering Friday night’s action:

Top Jockeys

1. Corey Lanerie (37-for-183, 20% win-percentage, $1,156,597 in earnings)

1. Julien Leparoux (37-for-149, 25%, $1,293,658)

3. Shaun Bridgmohan (26-for-152, 17%, $886,599)

4. Calvin Borel (22-for-162, 14%, $793,434)

5. Manoel Cruz (20-for-121, 17%, $789,364

Top Trainers

1. Steve Asmussen (14-for-88, 16%, $1,082,595)

2. Tom Amoss (13-for-35, 37%, $351,282)

2. Ken McPeek (13-for-50, 26%, $737,975)

4. Eddie Kenneally (10-for-39, 26%, $288,148)

5. Dale Romans (9-for-75, 12%, $795,659)

Top Owners

1. Richard and Karen Papiese’s Midwest Thoroughbreds Inc. (6-for-32, 19%, $133,582)

2. Donald Adam’s Courtlandt Farms (4-for-22, 18%, $279,804)

2. Robert Baker and William Mack (4-for-16, 25%, $78,649)

2. Martin Cherry (4-for-8, 50%, $67,953)

2. Tom Ludt’s Vinery Stables LLC (4-for-10, 40%, $140,368)

2. Merrill Scherer, Dan Lynch and Ken Sentel (4-for-19, 21%, $100,843)

BARN TALK – Jockey Robby Albarado, who has 923 career wins at Churchill Downs, is just two victories away from tying Don Brumfield for third all-time in wins beneath the Twin Spires. Albarado has 10 mounts Friday night (Races 2-11). …

Peachtree Stable’s Plum Pretty, winner of the 137^th running of the Grade I Kentucky Oaks in her most recent start, is entered to make her return in Saturday’s Grade II Hollywood Oaks for trainer Bob Baffert. A daughter of Medaglia d’Oro, Plum Pretty has a record of 3-0-2 from five starts with earnings of $761,200. …

Churchill Downs will not make up Thursday’s lost day of racing, but additional races will be added to the programs next week, which is the final week of the spring meet. …

WHO’S HOT – The hottest jockey over the last five racing days (June 12-19) is Julien Leparoux (14-for-29). Ken McPeek (5-for-9) is the hottest trainer over the same period. Martin Cherry (2-for-2) is the hottest owner.

WORKTAB – Maggi Moss’ Little Polka Dot, who won the Unbridled Sidney at Churchill Downs on May 14 in her most recent start, worked four furlongs in :49.20 on a fast main track Friday morning for trainer Tom Amoss. 

W.S. Farish and Skara Glen Stables’ Close Ally, who was second behind Glen Hill Farm’s Banned in the Grade II American Turf Presented by Ram prior to a runner-up performance in the Lone Star Derby in his most recent start, worked five furlongs on the main track in 1:01.40 for trainer Neil Howard.

Carl Pollard’s multiple stakes winner Kiss Mine worked five furlongs in 1:00.40 for trainer David Vance. A 5-year-old daughter of Mineshaft, Kiss Mine won the $75,000 Decoration Day Handicap at Mountaineer Racetrack in her most recent start on May 30.

Double Eagle Ranch and Sue Buena’s Raise the Bridle, second in the 2010 Borderland Derby in his most recent start, worked five furlongs in 1:01 for trainer Henry Dominguez on Friday morning.

WEATHER – Friday: partly sunny, 81. Saturday: mostly sunny, 84. Sunday: mostly cloudy with a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 84. Monday: partly sunny with a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 92. Tuesday: mostly sunny with a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 92. Wednesday: mostly sunny with a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 89. Thursday: mostly sunny, 90.

Gold Mark Farm LLC’s Culotte and Stoneway Farm’s Queen Teuta, who finished 1-2 when they faced each other in the first race of their respective careers, loom as likely favorites when eight lightly-raced 2-year-old fillies meet in Saturday’s 111^th running of the $100,000-added Debutante Stakes (Grade III) at Churchill Downs.

The six-furlong race is the nation’s first graded stakes event for 2-year-old fillies and the featured 10^th race on the next-to-last Saturday program of the Churchill Downs Spring Meet.  Post time for the first of 11 races on Saturday is 12:45 p.m. (Eastern).

The connections of the eight fillies set to compete in Saturday’s Debutante hope their fillies can live up to the standards of excellence established by a roster past Debutante winners that include Bewitch and Alcibiades, two outstanding champions of the first half of the 20^th century.  Recent winners include two-time champion Silverbulletday, a Hall of Fame filly who won the 1998 Debutante and the 1999 Kentucky Oaks (GI), and multiple stakes winners Chilukki and Cashier’s Dream.  Fillies that competed in recent Debutante runnings but failed to win include 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, third in the ’08 Debutante; Countess Diana, the 1997 2-year-old filly champion who suffered the only loss of her championship season in a runner-up run the Debutante; and Serena’s Song, who finished fourth in 1994 but retired as racing’s all-time female earnings leader.

Culotte, a daughter of Sky Mesa trained by Tom Amoss, could end up as the favorite in the 2010 renewal of the Debutante because of her dazzling racing debut in a 4 1/2-furlong maiden race at Churchill Downs on May 13.  She started quickly and led throughout as the 2-1 favorite to score an emphatic 5 ½-length win over Debutante rival Queen Teuta.  The latter, a daughter of Theatrical trained by veteran Bernie Flint, rebounded to win her next start at 4 ½ furlongs on June 3.

Culotte will break from post seven under jockey Leandro Goncalves, while Queen Teuta and jockey Calvin Borel will start from post two.  Both fillies are set to carry 118 pounds.

There are no fillies in the Debutante’s field of future stars with more than two career starts, and only one member of the field is a veteran of stakes competition.   That filly is Wayne Sanders and Larry Hirsch’s Shocktime, a Texas-bred daughter of Langfuhr who invades from the Lone Star State off a pair of lopsided victories for trainer Bret Calhoun.

Shocktime won her two previous races at Lone Star Park by a combined margin of 21 ¾ lengths.  In her most recent start the homebred filly cruised to a 12 ¾-length win in the filly division of the $93,000 Texas Thoroughbred Association Sales Futurity on June 11.  She covered five furlongs that day in :58.61, a clocking that was faster than the winning time turned in by stablemate Lil Cherokee one race earlier in the Futurity’s division for colts and geldings.

Miguel Mena, who won last week’s $500,000-added Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) aboard William Farish Jr.’s Pool Play, will ride Shocktime, who will carry high weight of 120 pounds.

Another out-of-state threat is posed by R N R Stable’s Defy Gravity, a Maryland-based daughter of Bandini who comes in to the Debutante off an easy victory in a 4 ½-furlong maiden race at Pimlico on May 8.  Trainer Valerie Testerman’s filly finished third in her career debut on April 15, but rolled by six lengths in her second and most recent outing.

Wesley Ho has been in the saddle for both of Defy Gravity’s starts and will travel to Churchill Downs to ride in her stakes debut.  Defy Gravity breaks for post eight and carries 118 pounds.

Other Debutante contenders include Terry Allen’s Five Star Momma, an impressive winner of her June 10 debut at Churchill Downs for trainer Scooter Dickey, and Barry King’s Flashy Lassie, a Garry Simms-trained filly from the first crop of Flashy Bull who won her May 13 debut beneath the historic Twin Spires by nine lengths.  Corey Lanerie will ride Five Star Momma from the rail post, while Kent Desormeaux and Flashy Lassie will start from post five.

The field for the 111^th Debutante (from the rail out with jockey, weight) includes: Five Star Momma (Lanerie, 118), Queen Tueta (Borel, 118), Tippy Toes (Julien Leparoux, 116), My Due Process (Robby Albarado, 116), Flashy Lassie (Desormeaux, 116), Shocktime (Mena, 120), Culotte (Goncalves, 118) and Defy Gravity (Ho, 118).

 Jerry Romans’ Sassy Image collected her fifth win in six starts at Churchill Downs when she narrowly defeated Beat the Blues by a head in the eighth running of the Grade III, $111,600 Winning Colors for fillies and mares ages three and up on Memorial Day.

Sassy Image ran six furlongs over a “fast” track in 1:08.59 and was one of three winners for The Downs’ leading rider Corey Lanerie on Monday. Lanerie took over the mount from regular rider Robby Albarado, who had a pair of stakes engagements at Lone Star Park in Texas.

“I was lucky to get the mount on her today with Robby being out of town. Things have just seemed to fall into place this meet,” said Lanerie, who, at the halfway mark of the 39-day Spring Meet, had 23 winners, one more than Shaun Bridgmohan.

Starlite Starbrite broke fastest of all and led the field of nine fillies and mares through the first quarter mile in :21.54 with Beat the Blues pressing the pacesetter and Sassy Image rating patiently in mid-pack. Beat the Blues took the lead at the half-mile marker in :44.65 as Sassy Image ranged into striking distance with a five-wide move on the turn for home. The two battled down the stretch and Sassy Image, from the outside, wore down Beat the Blues in the final yards for the win.

“At the quarter-pole I thought I was definitely going to win, but I wasn’t so sure at the sixteenth pole,” Lanerie said. “When we hit the wire I knew we won.”

Sassy Image, who sprang a 16-1 upset in the Grade I Humana Distaff on Kentucky Derby Day, returned mutuels of $3.80, $2.60 and $2.40 as the odds-on 4-5 favorite. Beat the Blues, ridden by Miguel Mena, paid $6.20 and $4.60. Fortune Play, with Freddie Lenclud up, was 4 ½ lengths back in third and returned $8.40.

Jocata, Starlite Starbrite, Wind Caper, Stephanie Got Even, Bell’s Shoes and My New Lady completed the order of finish. Indian Ink was scratched.

Dale Romans trains Sassy Image for his older brother, who purchased the 4-year-old daughter of Broken Vow for $42,000 at the 2008 Keeneland September yearling sale. She banked $66,426 for the win and improved her overall record to 13-6-2-1 with career earnings of $598,781.

"She loves this track and she ran good,” Romans said. “That was a little more work than I expected, but they ran so fast and there’s only so fast a horse can run.”

The Kentucky-bred filly has enjoyed tremendous success beneath the Twin Spires. At 2, she broke her maiden by 5 ¾ lengths and later won the Pocahontas (GIII) by two and the Golden Rod (GII) by 3 3/4. She faltered in two starts at Gulfstream Park this winter but it was discovered that she had an entrapped epiglottis and underwent surgery to correct the problem. Her three-length triumph in the Humana Distaff on May 7 was her first victory since taking the Sweet Chant at Gulfstream Park early in her 3-year-old season.

“We’ll look at a couple of different spots for her now,” Romans said. “We may go to Saratoga for the 

Ballerina (a Grade I, $250,000 seven-furlong sprint on Aug. 27). We’ll probably run her in one more sprint and  then give her a route race before the Breeders’ Cup (Ladies Classic at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4). We’re going to try and make her a champion and to get that she’ll probably have to win the (Ladies’ Classic).”

The Winning Colors is named in honor of the 1988 Kentucky Derby winner, who is the most recent of three fillies to win the famed “Run for the Roses” at Churchill Downs. Past winners of the Winning Colors are Lady Tak (2004), Molto Vita (2005), Ever Elusive (2006), Miss Macy Sue (2007), Graeme Six (2008) and Dubai Majesty (2009-10). The latter won last year’s Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.Churchill Downs will be dark Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Racing will resume Friday with an 11-race twilight program that begins at 2:45 p.m. ET. There will be a two-day Pick 6 carryover of $9,553 on Races 6-11, and a Super Hi-5 carryover of $5,689 in the finale.

                       WINNING COLORS QUOTES

Corey Lanerie, jockey of Sassy Image, winner: “I was lucky to get the mount on her today with Robby (Albarado) being out of town. Things have just seemed to fall into place this meet. I actually broke her maiden, but I lost the mount when she went to New York. She ran good for me today. At the quarter-pole I thought I was definitely going to win, but I wasn’t so sure at the sixteenth pole. When we hit the wire I knew we won.”

Dale Romans, trainer of Sassy Image, winner: “She loves this track and she ran good. That was a little more work than I expected, but they ran so fast and there’s only so fast a horse can run. We’ll look at a couple of different spots for her now. We may go to Saratoga for the Ballerina (a Grade I, $250,000 seven-furlong sprint on Aug. 27). We’ll probably run her in one more sprint and then give her a route race before the Breeders’ Cup (Ladies Classic at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4). We’re going to try and make her a champion and to get that she’ll probably have to win the (Ladies’ Classic).”

Jerry Romans, owner of Sassy Image, winner: “I didn’t think she was going to get up, but she somehow did! She ran a great race and Bret’s filly ran an amazing race too. She (Sassy Image) is a once in a lifetime horse.”

Bret Calhoun, trainer of Beat the Blues (runner-up)

“You know, it’s tough.  It’s disappointing to get beat like that after you run such a huge race.  I’m happy with the way she ran, but very disappointed to get beat like that on the wire in a Grade III.  We were expecting a big race out of her, I really was.  I know Sassy Image is a great filly and a Grade I winner and I didn’t expect to beat her.  But I thought she had a big shot in there today and she ran up to expectations.  I’m just disappointed to get beat right there on the wire.”

Q: You won this race last year with Dubai Majesty and returned in the fall to win the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.  Could she be that type of filly?

“This filly, from the time we bought her, has just gotten better and better and I think she proved that today.  You never know where they’re going to go, but I thought today was a big step forward in that direction.  Oh sure, you’d always love to end up there.  I don’t know if she’ll end up there or not, but she took on what’s right now one of the best one-turn sprint fillies there is, and one that’s really got an affinity for this track.”

Miguel Mena, jockey on Beat the Blues (runner-up)

“I had a perfect trip.  She broke good and settled off the speed in a perfect spot.  Turning for home we made a run and just got outrun at the end. But my filly ran really hard.  We’ve got a pretty good filly with a big future.”

FREDDIE LENCLUD, jockey on FORTUNE PLAY (third)

“She ran well.  We wanted to kind of rate off the pace.  It was six furlongs, but there wasn’t a lot of speed in the race, so we wanted to lay third or fourth.  She made a nice run down the lane.  She tried hard.”

ZENYATTA EXPERIENCE LEAVES LASTING IMPRESSION ON PENROD – Trainer Steve Penrod has been stabled at Churchill Downs for more than 20 years, most of the time in Barn 41.

He has seen a lot of top horses walk that shedrow, but nothing prepared him for last week when he shared his barn with Zenyatta.

“There have been a lot of horses here that people knew about like A.P. Indy, Fusaichi Pegasus and Sunday Silence, but I have never seen anything like that and I doubt we will ever see it again,” Penrod said. “It was just the right combination of the horse and the connections.”

Zenyatta arrived at Churchill Downs last Tuesday and returned to California on Sunday night after her runner-up finish to Adele Dilschneider and Claiborne Farm’s Blame in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI). Wherever she went, traffic came to a halt.

“I had no idea it would be like that until the first day she got here with the police escort and 200 to 300 people just waiting to see her,” Penrod said.

On Sunday, trainer John Shirreffs brought Zenyatta out for extended periods of time to graze near the fence that runs along Longfield Avenue so that people, both inside the track and those on Longfield, could see the mare.

“People were asking John if they could get their picture taken with Zenyatta,” Penrod said. “He told me that if he could have cut a hole in the fence, he would have let everybody in. She would do anything. The Mosses (owners Jerry and Ann Moss) were signing autographs and posters and so was John. It was incredible. People were coming out in taxis to see her.”

Another trainer who was stunned at the Sunday gathering was Tony Reinstedler.

“I came back to the barn about 4:30 to help Drew (Coontz) get his filly (Askbut I Won’ttell) ready for the Cardinal (Handicap), and I saw cars parked all along Longfield,” said Reinstedler, who was an assistant to Shug McGaughey when 1988 Juvenile champion and beaten 1989 Kentucky Derby favorite Easy Goer was in the barn. “Easy Goer was fan friendly, but I never saw anything like this.”

THERIOT SAVORS BREEDERS’ CUP RIDING DOUBLE – Jockey Jamie Theriot still was beaming Wednesday morning, four days removed from completing a Breeders’ Cup riding double over the weekend.

Have you come down yet?

“Nope, not yet,” said the 31-year-old Louisiana native, who earned his first Breeders’ Cup victory on Friday with Dubai Majesty’s 2 ¼-length victory in the Filly & Mare Sprint (GI) and came back the next day to win the Turf Sprint on Chamberlain Bridge by 1 ½ lengths.

"I have been fortunate enough to ride in these types of races and do well,” said Theriot, one of three riders to earn their initial Breeders’ Cup victories over the two-day Championships at Churchill Downs. “You work 363 days a year for days like that and then it is back to Ground Zero. There are a lot of people involved and it is great to be able to compete in the event.”

What made the victories even sweeter was that both horses were trained by Bret Calhoun.

“I have been riding for Bret for eight or nine years,” Theriot said. “To see people from Louisville do well was very gratifying.”

HOMEISTER ENJOYS FAST START TO EXTENDED CHURCHILL STAY – One rider who has gotten a fast start out of the gate at the meet is Rosemary Homeister Jr., who has notched four victories from just 13 mounts, including a riding double on Sunday.

The 38-year-old Florida native is riding at Churchill Downs on a full-time basis for the first time in her career that has been spent mostly at Florida and Mid-Atlantic region tracks.

“My agent Steve Elzey has my book at Tampa and he suggested I come to Kentucky after Delaware Park ended and ride the mini-meet before going to Florida,” Homeister said. “It’s a good opportunity and I’ve had a good start.”

Homeister’s first trip to Churchill Downs came in 2003 when she rode in the Kentucky Derby on Supah Blitz, who finished 13th behind Funny Cide after breaking from the No. 1 post position.

“I was on the one horse the other day and it felt like I was back at the Derby being the first one on the track,” Homeister said. “Churchill Downs is such a prestigious track. When I come back next spring for the Derby, I will feel like I have this track down pat.”

Also coming to Churchill Downs from Delaware Park is Irwin Rosendo, who also is represented by Elzey.

The Delaware Park meet ended Saturday and Rosendo will see his first local action Thursday when he is named on three mounts.

A 31-year-old native of Venezuela, Rosendo finished fourth in the rider standings at Delaware Park with 81 victories and previously has ridden at Tampa as well as at tracks in Ohio.

BARN TALK – The portable fencing around Barn 45 that served as one of the quarantine barns during the Breeders’ Cup is scheduled to begin coming down Wednesday according to track superintendent Butch Lehr. However, the fencing around Barn 42 will remain up.

“We are going to use it again next year, so we will just leave it up,” Lehr said. “There are gates, so horses can still to back there to graze and the horsemen like it because it will keep people back from their horses.”

CONNECTIONS OF ESPOIR CITY MAKE BREEDERS’ CUP SCOUTING TRIP – There is no time limit on advance planning, and so it was on Saturday morning, four months before the Breeders’ Cup World Championships return to Churchill Downs, that the trainer and jockey of Japanese star Espoir City (JPN) did a little scouting at the home of the Kentucky Derby.

Trainer Akio Adachi and jockey Tetsuzo Sato, accompanied by International Racing Bureau representative Mikki Tsuge and Takashi Toriumi, president and CEO of horse transporter U.S. Equine who served as interpreters, came to Churchill Downs with two horses from trainer Akiko Gothard’s barn at the Thoroughbred Training Center in Lexington.

Sato, who sported a jacket with the inscription “strongest dart hose in Japan, Espoir City, Japan Cup Dart GI, Kashiwa Kinen jpn.I, Mile Champion Nambu Hai jpn.I, jogged one horse before the break and after the break took the second horse to the starting gate before galloping once around.

“It was good to get a feel for things,” said Sato, 39, who visited the jocks’ room and paddock on Friday in his first trip to Churchill Downs and who has room on the jacket to add more victories for Espoir City. 

Adachi, who with Sato flew in to New York on Tuesday and toured Belmont Park before coming to Louisville, recorded most of the morning activity to take back to Japan so the 5-year-old horse’s connections could have an idea of what to expect in the fall.

Espoir City has won six consecutive races and owns a career mark of 19-11-3-1 for earnings of $5,837,885. His first seven races were on turf with only moderate success.

“Tetsuzo started riding him in the morning and observed he was much better on dirt than on grass so we made the switch,” Adachi said.

Since the switch, Espoir City has compiled a record of 12-10-1-0 and at 1 1/8 miles his record is 5-4-1-0. He has yet to race at the Breeders’ Cup Classic distance of 1 ¼ miles.

Adachi says the distance is not a concern nor is the setup of any races as Espoir City has won from on the lead, stalking the pace or from far back.

“He is able to handle all situations and he adjusts to the race,” Adachi said.

Espoir City’s most recent race was the $1,080,000 Kashiwa Kinen on May 5, which he won for the second consecutive year. The tentative plan is for Espoir City to follow the same schedule as last year and run next in the Oct. 10 Mile Champion Nambu Hai and then ship to Churchill Downs the middle of October and have two to three weeks to acclimate before the Breeders’ Cup.

EUROEARS FINDS RIGHT SPOT IN SUNDAY’S FIRECRACKER – Trainer Bret Calhoun hopes to finish the 42-day Spring Meet with a bang this weekend, beginning Saturday with Speed Demon in the Bashford Manor (GIII) Presented by Fasig-Tipton and concluding with Euroears in the Firecracker Handicap (GII) Presented by Thorntons.

Euroears, owned by James and Marilyn Helzer, will be attempting two turns on the turf for the first time in his career in Sunday’s one-mile Firecracker on the Matt Winn Turf Course.

There were no good spots for him,” Calhoun said of the 6-year-old son of Langfuhr. “I was going to run him in Iowa (in the Iowa Sprint Handicap) but that came up too tough for the $125,000 they were running for. The next day was the Arlington Sprint Handicap, but we had Chamberlain Bridge for that, which he won.”
That left the Firecracker, which drew an overflow field of 15 that includes 2009 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) winner Mine That Bird.

"At first, it didn’t look like the race was coming up with a lot of horses, but it filled up fast,” Calhoun said. Euroears will break from post position 11 and carry 115 pounds under Jamie Theriot, who has been aboard for Euroears’ past six starts.

The past two starts have been the first two-turn races of Euroears’ career. He finished second in the Texas Mile (GIII) and third in the Lone Star Park Handicap (GIII) at a mile and a sixteenth.

"I think a mile is about it for him,” Calhoun said. “In the Texas Mile, I feel he could have won with a mile race under his belt and the second time, the Kiaran McLaughlin horse that beat him (Redding Colliery) is a nice horse.”

Euroears has race three times on turf, winning two turf sprints on firm ground at Fair Grounds and finishing eighth on yielding turf at Penn National.

“He handles the turf well,” Calhoun said. “The race in Pennsylvania on the yielding, he couldn’t stand up on it.”

BARN TALK – Ken and Sarah Ramsey, winners of the past five meet-leading owner titles and a record 16 overall (eight Spring and eight Fall), closed the gap on meet leader Maggi Moss when their Grand Stage won Friday’s seventh race. The victory was the sixth of the meet for the Ramseys, who have three horses entered Saturday and six on Sunday.  Moss, who has eight winners at the meet, has an entry in Saturday’s opener for her final starters of the meet. …

Calvin Borel and Steve Asmussen maintained comfortable leads in their bids for leading rider and trainer titles. Borel holds a 47-38 lead over Corey Lanerie after each rider recorded one victory each Friday night. Borel is named on nine mounts Saturday and 10 on Sunday. Lanerie is named on 10 mounts Saturday and eight on Sunday. Asmussen has a 23-18 edge on Dale Romans although Romans trimmed the deficit by one with a double Friday night while Asmussen saddled one winner. Asmussen has two horses entered Saturday and five on Sunday. Romans has three entrants Saturday and seven on Sunday. …

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas is traveling a road with Mine That Bird that he did with six years ago with Azeri. The 2009 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) winner is scheduled to make his 2010 debut in Sunday’s Firecracker Handicap Presented by Thorntons (GII) off an eight-month layoff.  “We did the same thing with Azeri. We trained her up to the Apple Blossom (in 2004),” Lukas said of Azeri, who was coming off a little more than a six-month layoff prior to her third Apple Blossom victory, which was her only one under Lukas’ care. “The anticipation level with this horse and Azeri are the same,” Lukas said of having stars make their debuts in his signature white bridles. “You get to work with Grade I quality horses.” …
Robby Albarado rode two winners on Friday night’s card to boost his career total to 885 and into fifth place all time at Churchill Downs, passing Jim McKnight (883). Sitting immediately ahead of Albarado on the all-time victory list is Don Brumfield with 925. …

Shaun Bridgmohan rode two winners Friday night to increase his career Churchill Downs total to 297. Bridgmohan is named on five mounts Saturday and six Sunday in his bid to become the 19th rider to reach 300 victories at Churchill Downs. …

Lewis Lakin’s Pure Clan jogged a mile early Saturday morning in her first appearance at the track since May 6 when she refused to train. The 5-year-old earner of nearly $2 million returned to trainer Bob Holthus’ barn this week after recovering from a bruised left front foot.

WORK TAB – Colonial Turf Cup (GII) winner Paddy O’Prado, third in the Kentucky Derby, worked five furlongs in 1:01.80 before the renovation break over a fast track. After the break, stablemate First Dude, the Preakness (GI) runner-up and third-place finisher in the Belmont Stakes (GI), worked five furlongs in 1:01.60. … Two Eddie Kenneally fillies fired bullets: Eight Belles (GIII) winner Buckleupbuttercup worked a half-mile in :47, best of 45 at the distance, and Inside Information (GII) winner Warbling worked five furlongs in 1:00.20, best of 16 at the distance. …Demarcation, winner of the 2009 Ack Ack Handicap (GIII), worked five furlongs in 1:02.20.

LIFELONG RACETRACKER FOLEY ON CUSP OF CHURCHILL MILESTONE – The question brought a chuckle from trainer Greg Foley.

“The first time my dad brought me to the race track? I guess I was 3 or 4,” the 51-year-old Foley said. “When I was 5 or 6, I was walking hots.”

The son of trainer Dravo Foley, Greg Foley enters Thursday’s card with 299 career victories beneath the Twin Spires and he has two horses entered on Thursday’s card in his bid to become the 12th trainer to achieve 300 victories at Churchill Downs.

Foley was 23 when he won his first race at Churchill Downs during the 1981 Spring Meet and he won his only training title here in the 1991 Spring Meet when he saddled 17 winners. All of his early hands-on experience was learned in his father’s barn.    “Take care of the horse first. He drilled that in me from the word ‘go,’ ” Foley said of the best advice he received from his father. “There are no shortcuts when it comes to taking care of horses. Have them fit before they run and keep them happy.”

The best horse Foley had was Champali, who accounted for three of the four stakes Foley has accrued at Churchill Downs. Champali won the 2002 Iroquois (Grade III), 2003 Northern Dancer and the 2004 Aristides (GIII), the latter in a 4-year-old campaign that took Foley to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (GI) at Lone Star Park.  Champali finished seventh in that race.

In his barn today, Foley cares for six offspring of Champali.

“I have three 2-year-olds and three 3-year-olds by Champali.” Foley said. “They are all sound horses and I have won some races with them. He was like that and a very easy horse to train.”

Foley’s first shot at 300 will come in the fifth race with Izzy Ali, a 3-year-old son of Champali. He also will send out Lil’ Moor Dixie in the seventh.

“I hadn’t really thought much about it (300 wins), but not a lot of guys have done that and it would be pretty neat,” Foley said. “This has been our home track, so it would be special.”

Foley could become the fourth trainer to reach the 300-win milestone this meet, joining Tom Amoss, Lynn Whiting and David Vance.

DEFENDING CHAMPION THORN SONG TOPS LIST OF FIRECRACKER NOMINATIONS – Zayat Stables’ Thorn Song, winner of the 2008 Firecracker Handicap (Grade II), headlines a list of 43 nominees for the 19th running of the $150,000-added one-mile test scheduled for July 4 over the Matt Winn Turf Course.

    Trained by Dale Romans, who also won the Firecracker in 2005 with Kitten’s Joy, Thorn Song showed a return to top form by getting his second Grade I victory in his most recent start, the Shoemaker Mile at Hollywood Park on May 25. In addition to the Firecracker, Thorn Song also won the Shadwell Turf Mile (Grade I) last fall at Keeneland.

    Thorn Song worked five furlongs on the firm turf Thursday morning in 1:01.40 around the “dogs.”
The only other Grade I winner among the nominees is Circle E Racing’s Mr. Sidney, who captured the Maker’s Mark Mile this spring at Keeneland for trainer Bill Mott.

    Also included among the nominees are three horses who have enjoyed considerable success over the Matt Winn Turf Course.

    Heiligbrodt Racing Stable’s Inca King has won three stakes on the grass here, the Opening Verse in 2008, the Commonwealth Turf and the Grade II Jefferson Cup in 2007; Chrysalis Stables’ Silverfoot, a three-time Louisville Handicap (Grade III) winner who is 5-for-7 over the Matt Winn Turf Course; and, Michael Cooper and Pamela Ziebarth’s Tizdejavu, 3-for-3 on the course including victories in the American Turf (Grade III) and Jefferson Cup in 2008.

    Weights for the Firecracker will be released on Saturday.

CLOSING-DAY LOCUST GROVE ATTRACTS 33 NOMINATIONS – Helen Alexander and Helen Groves’ Acoma, winner of the Early Times Mint Julep (Grade III) on June 6, tops a list of 33 nominations for the 28th running of the $100,000-added Locust Grove Handicap (Grade III).

    The Locust Grove, for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up going a mile on the Matt Winn Turf Course, serves as the centerpiece of the closing-day program on July 5.

    Trained by David Carroll, Acoma added the Mint Julep score to her victory in last fall’s Grade II Mrs. Revere on the turf. Acoma is 4-for-4 overall at Churchill Downs and undefeated in six starts in the state of Kentucky.

    Two of the fillies who chased Acoma in the Mint Julep are included in the Locust Grove nominees.
 Darley Stable’s Tizaqueena finished third to Acoma, but earlier in the meet won the Grade II Distaff Turf Mile here. Glen Hill Farm’s Closeout was fifth in the Mint Julep in her 2009 debut off a nearly eight-month layoff.

James Barry’s Genuine Devotion (IRE) won the 2008 Locust Grove in the first running of the race at the mile distance on the turf.

Weights for the Locust Grove will be announced Sunday.

TWENTY 2-YEAR-OLDS NOMINATED TO BASHFORD MANOR – Fillies have won the $100,000-added Bashford Manor (Grade III) three times and two 2-year-old fillies have been nominated to this year’s edition, which will be run on July 3.

    Fiesty Ex and Kinsolving, both from the Heiligbrodt Racing Stable, are among the four nominees for trainer Steve Asmussen to the six-furlong event at on the main track. Asmussen, who has won the Bashford Manor twice, also nominated Grand Slam Andre and Western Smoke, both owned by J. Kirk Robison.

    Fiesty Ex broke her maiden at first asking on April 30 and Kinsolving finished sixth the same day in the Kentucky Juvenile (Grade III) after winning her April 17 debut at Keeneland.  Kinsolving is entered in Saturday’s Debutante (Grade III) for fillies.

Western Smoke was fourth in the Kentucky Juvenile and recently finished second to fellow Bashford Manor nominee Brassy Boy in a June 11 allowance race here. Grand Slam Andre broke his maiden in his second try in winning by 7 ¾ lengths on June 4.

    Other first-time maiden special weight winners nominated to the Bashford Manor are Gold Mark Farm’s Backtalk, a half-brother to graded stakes winner Bsharpsonata, and Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Satisfied Mind, who is trained by Wesley Ward.

Ward saddled the 1-2 finishers, Aegean and Jealous Again, in the Kentucky Juvenile. He took those fillies to England last week and each scored victories in stakes races at the famed Royal Ascot meet.
    Fillies to win the Bashford Manor are Miss Patience (1933), Royal Pam (1938) and Miss Ra He Ra (1993). The race was open to fillies from 1932-38 and reopened to both sexes in 1989.

BARN TALK – Woodford Racing LLC’s Manners became the first offspring of Rock Hard Ten to reach the races when the 2-year-old filly ran 10th in Sunday’s eighth race. Rock Hard Ten, who retired from racing in 2005 with a record of 11-7-1-1 with earnings of $1,870,380, did not have enough graded stakes earnings to make the 2004 Kentucky Derby, a race won by Smarty Jones. Rock Hard Ten ran second to Smarty Jones in the Preakness and concluded his career with five graded stakes victories including Grade I scores in the Malibu and Santa Anita Handicap.

    Entering the final eight days of the meet, Julien Leparoux has a 55-51 advantage on Calvin Borel in the chase for leading rider. Leparoux has five mounts and Borel six on Thursday’s card. Leparoux has won four riding titles at Churchill Downs and Borel two. Both riders will be out of town for part of the weekend and miss one program: Leparoux rides Friday night at Prairie Meadows on Nursery Rhyme in the Saylorville Stakes and Moonport in the Iowa Derby, both for trainer Ian Wilkes. Borel, who is named on 10 mounts Friday night, will be at Belmont Park on Saturday to ride Kentucky Oaks (Grade I) and Preakness (Grade I) winner Rachel Alexandra in the Grade I Mother Goose. Other Churchill Downs regulars riding Friday night at Prairie Meadows are Robby Albarado, Miguel Mena and Shaun Bridgmohan. Leparoux and Albarado will return to Iowa on Saturday night for stakes engagements after riding at Churchill Downs that afternoon.

MILESTONE WATCH – Churchill Downs-based trainer William Connelly moved closer to the 1,000-victory plateau on Monday night when Just Memories gave him win No. 999. Just Memories, a 3-year-old filly, broke her maiden in a five-furlong turf sprint in the second race at Indiana Downs. Connelly can hit the milestone on Thursday’s card when he sends out Hungry Tigress in the eighth race.

FROM FINAL DESTROYER TO OLD MAN BUCK, McPEEK HAS ENJOYED FUN RIDE – Trainer Ken McPeek was all smiles Tuesday morning as he accepted congratulations on getting his 1,000th victory during the Memorial Day holiday card at Churchill Downs.
    “That’s a nice milestone; I’ve had a lot of fun,” said McPeek, who hit the mark in the eighth race with a win by Lawrence E. Carroll’s  Old Man Buck. “I’ve been training 24 years now.”
    A 46-year-old native of Fort Chaffee, Ark., McPeek saddled his first winner on Oct. 27, 1985 at River Downs. The horse was Final Destroyer.
    McPeek was asked of the 1,000, which five stood out the most.
    “Sarava’s Belmont (in 2002),” McPeek said without hesitation of the No. 1 victory on the list.
    “Then Take Charge Lady’s second Spinster,” McPeek said. “She never got beat at Keeneland (five wins, including four graded stakes) and she is the all-time leading money earner there ($1,306,286). She is probably my favorite horse that I have had.”
    Rounding out McPeek’s top five in order were Tejano Run’s triumph in the 1997 Widener in which he received a 123 Beyer Speed Figure, Harlan’s Holiday winning the 2002 Florida Derby and Birdbirdistheword’s victory in the 2006 Delta Jackpot for longtime client Raymond Cottrell.
    Of the 1,000 victories, 235 have come at Churchill Downs, 14 in stakes.
    “I haven’t won a Grade I at Churchill Downs, but I have had some significant seconds,” McPeek said, alluding to runner-up finishes in the Kentucky Derby by Tejano Run in 1995 and Take Charge Lady in the Kentucky Oaks in 2002.

SPRINTERS LEAD THE WAY FOR RED-HOT CALHOUN BARN – The victory by Dubai Majesty in Monday’s $100,000-added Winning Colors (Grade III) continued a meet-long roll for trainer Bret Calhoun’s barn.
    The victory was Calhoun’s 10th from only 19 starters at the meet. Nine of the victories have come in 14 sprint races and two of the victories came in stakes.
    “I hope the average is like that at the end of the meet,” said Calhoun’s assistant, Dennis “Peaches” Geier.
    Geier reported that Dubai Majesty came out of her hard-fought victory in good order, but was not sure what was next for the 4-year-old filly.
    “We talked about it after the race,” Geier said. “There is nothing here the rest of the meet, but we do have plans for the turf sprinters.”
    Ah, that would be Chamberlain Bridge, winner of the May 1 Aegon Turf Sprint (Grade III) here, and Mr. Nightlinger, winner of Pimlico’s  Jim McKay Turf Sprint.
    “Chamberlain Bridge won Wednesday night at Indiana Downs in a $60,000 stake and then he is going to Arlington on July 11 for the $200,000 race Mr. Nightlinger won last year,” Geier said, referring to the Arlington Sprint.
    “Mr. Nightlinger’s going to Woodbine for a race June 21 (the $200,000, Grade III Highlander at six furlongs) and then to Belmont on July 18 (for the $150,000, Grade III Jaipur at six furlongs).”
    
PURE CLAN, ACOMA, TIZAQUEENA HEADLINE EARLY TIMES MINT JULEP NOMINATIONS – A trio of graded stakes winners over the Matt Winn Turf Course lead a list of 25 nominations for the 33rd running of the $100,000-added Early Times Mint Julep Handicap (Grade III) scheduled for June 6.
    Won in 2008 by champion Dreaming of Anna, the Early Times Mint Julep is run at 1 1/16th miles and is for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up.
    Expected to make her 2009 debut in the race is Pure Clan, trained by Bob Holthus and owned by IEAH Stable, Lewis Lakin and Pegasus Holding Group Stables. Pure Clan has been idles since running a disappointing 10th to champion Forever Together in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (Grade I) at Santa Anita last October. The daughter of Pure Prize won the Pocahontas (Grade III) and Golden Rod (Grade II) on dirt here as a 2-year-old in 2007 and last year took the Grade III Regret on turf before heading West to post her biggest triumph, a victory in the American Oaks Invitational (GI) for 3-year-old fillies at Hollywood Park.
    Helen Alexander and Helen Groves’ Acoma won the Grade II Mrs. Revere here last fall to run her grass record to 2-for-2 and her Churchill Downs record to 3-for-3. Trained by David Carroll, Acoma worked a half-mile Tuesday in :49.40, her third work since a third-place finish in the Grade I Apple Blossom on April 4 at Oaklawn Park.
    Darley Stable’s Tizaqueena ran her turf record to 3-for-3 with a gutty victory in the Churchill Distaff Turf Mile (Grade II) on the Kentucky Derby undercard on May 2.  She has won five of six career starts for trainer Michael Stidham, but her Derby Day triumph was her first graded stakes victory.
    Weights for the Early Times Mint Julep will be announced Saturday and entries drawn on Wednesday, June 3.

BARN TALK – After working a half-mile each Monday morning, Kentucky Derby (Grade I) winner Mine That Bird and Kentucky Oaks (Grade I) and Preakness (Grade I winner Rachel Alexandra returned to the track Wednesday morning. Rachel Alexandra was out first around 6:30, going once around with Dominic Terry up. Mine That Bird came out an hour later and went twice around with Charlie Figueroa up.
    On Thursday morning, both horses came out at the same time, approaching the six-furlong gap from opposite directions around 7:30.
    “Want to race,” asked a smiling Scott Blasi, assistant to trainer Steve Asmussen, to Chip Woolley as Mine That Bird approached Rachel Alexandra and Blasi’s pony.
    Mine That Bird galloped twice around while Rachel Alexandra visited the starting gate and then went once around. Both horses are scheduled to work Monday.
    Zayat Stables’ Thorn Song, winner of Monday’s Shoemaker Mile (Grade I) at Hollywood Park, returned to Dale Romans’ barn at Churchill Downs on Wednesday. Romans said Thorn Song would be pointed to the Grade II Firecracker Handicap to be run July 4.  Thorn Song upset favored Einstein in that race a year ago.
Adele Dilschneider’s Terrain, seventh in the Preakness behind Rachel Alexandra, is being pointed to the Iowa Derby to be run June 26 at Prairie Meadows by trainer Al Stall Jr. The Iowa Derby is worth $250,000 and run at 1 1/16th miles.

WORK TAB – West Point Thoroughbreds’ Macho Again posted the best five-furlong drill of 15 on Thursday, going 1:00.40 over a “good” track for trainer Dallas Stewart. Winner of the New Orleans Handicap (Grade II) this year, Macho Again is considered as a likely participant in the Grade I Stephen Foster Handicap to be run June 13.  Also going five-eighths over a track that was “muddy” at the time was Domino Stud of Lexington’s Miss Isella, who covered the distance in 1:01. Winner of the Grade II Louisville Distaff on May 1, Miss Isella is being pointed to the June 13 Fleur De Lis.   

Martin Racing Stable, LLC and Dan Morgan’s Dubai Majesty, who ran for a $25,000 claiming tag just over a year ago, re-rallied in deep stretch after being passed by Lady Chace to collect her first graded stakes victory in Monday’s sixth running of the $108,900 Winning Colors (Grade III) for fillies and mares at Churchill Downs.

Ridden by Jamie Theriot and trained by Bret Calhoun, Dubai Majesty and Lady Chace dueled through early fractions of :21.78 and :45.11 in the six-furlong stake. The two raced as a team to the eighth pole where Lady Chace, ridden by Miguel Mena, gained a brief advantage.

But Dubai Majesty fought back on the inside and reclaimed the lead at the sixteenth pole and drew away to the victory. Lady Chace, who lost momentum when she suddenly swerved out in the stretch in the final yards finished a neck ahead of Keep the Peace and Corey Lanerie, but was disqualified by track stewards for interference with that rival and was placed third.

Dubai Majesty, a 4-year-old Florida-bred daughter of Essence of Dubai out of the Great Above mare Great Majesty, covered the distance over a track rated as “good” in 1:10.61. The victory, the seventh in 20 career starts, was worth $66,169 and increased Dubai Majesty’s career earnings to $395,957.

Dubai Majesty, the favorite in the field of seven, returned $4.60, $3 and $2.60. Keep the Peace returned $4 and $3.40 and Lady Chace paid $4 to show. Completing the field in order were Temple Street, Tiz to Dream, Nadeshiko and Tar Heel Mom.

Earlier on the Memorial Day card, trainer Ken McPeek recorded his 1,000th career victory when Old Man Buck won the eighth race under Calvin Borel. McPeek, a 46-year-old native of Fort Chaffee, Ark., has notched 235 of those victories at Churchill Downs.

The victory was the fourth of five on the day for Borel, who also had a five-win day on Saturday. The two-time Kentucky Derby-winning rider has 32 victories through the first 22 days of the spring meet, one fewer than leader Julien Leparoux, and has won with 14 of his last 26 mounts.

Racing resumes at Churchill Downs after a three-day break on Friday with a 10-race card that begins with a 2:45 p.m. EDT post time.

POST-RACE QUOTES

JAMIE THERIOT, jockey of DUBAI MAJESTY (winner): “She put us in the game early and I knew I had to keep her there to keep her happy. When I called on her, she sprinted away and the horse on the outside (Lady Chace) fought back. But then she dug back in the last sixteenth-of-a-mile and showed a lot of heart and game today.”

BILL MARTIN, co-owner of DUBAI MAJESTY (winner): “She just shows up every time. That’s just her and we run her every three weeks. She’s as sound as money and she just keeps trying. She’s one of those horses who just loves her job. She loves to train and she loves to race. The more mature she gets, the better she gets.”

Q: What might be next?

“We’re looking at the Princess Rooney down at Calder in July (Note: The Grade I, $350,000 Princess Rooney for fillies and mares at six furlongs will be run at Calder Race Course on Saturday, July 11). We won that race two years ago with River’s Prayer. It’s an option and so are a couple of races up in Canada.”

EDDIE KENNEALLY, trainer of KEEP THE PEACE (third, placed second via DQ)

“Keep the Peace ran well. We’re happy with the way she ran. She always shows up and she likes Churchill. She relaxed just off the pace today and kicked it in, and the winner is probably a nice filly.”

Q: You’ve got to feel like you’re going to win one of these someday…

“She shows up all the time. She never runs a bad race and I feel that she will win. She’s placed in so many graded stakes, it’s too bad she hasn’t won one. But she’s sound and doing well, so I feel like probably during the course of the year she should or will win one.”

COREY LANERIE, jockey on KEEP THE PEACE (third, placed second via DQ)

“She ran good. She surprised me when she was off the pace today, but the pace was pretty hot. She relaxed great. I got a stalking trip on the outside and was gaining at the end. I didn’t think I was going to threaten the winner, but if she (Lady Chace) had not been getting out on me I think I would have been second for sure.”

STEVE MARGOLIS, trainer of LADY CHACE (second, placed third via DQ)

“She was running huge, then she ducked out when he (jockey Miguel Mena) switched sticks. She did that once at the Fair Grounds with (jockey John) Jacinto. She gets a little funny with the stick. I thought were gonna go by the winner, then when he hit her she ducked out near the wire.

“It cost her a lot of momentum – she’s such a big horse. I don’t think it was that bad, really. The horse has improved, but she’s got her little quirks about her. She won that race at the Fair Grounds, but almost got taken down for the same thing. But she ran a big race today.”

MIGUEL MENA, jockey on LADY CHACE (second, placed third via DQ)

“It looked like she was going to win. She had made her one little move, then I hit her left-handed and she ducked out from the stick and it cost me that second place. I thought I didn’t cost them (Keep the Peace and jockey Corey Lanerie) anything, but rules are rules.”