Dogwood Stakes

Craig B Singer’s Salty Strike took the lead approaching the top of the stretch and drew away to an emphatic 3 ¾-length victory in Saturday’s 37^th running of $109,300 Grade III Dogwood Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Churchill Downs.

            Adele Dilschneider and Claiborne Farm’s heavily favored Might, a full sister to 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Blame who left the starting gate as the odds-on choice at 4-5, faded to fifth in the Dogwood field that was reduced to six fillies by the late scratches of Juanita and Henny’s Hurricane.

            Ridden by Manny Cruz, who scored his first career stakes victory at Churchill Downs, Salty Strike started a sweep for trainer Ken McPeek of the two Grade III stakes races offered by the historic track on Saturday.  McPeek also won the $110,300 Aristides with Noble’s Promise.

            The 5-1 third choice in the Dogwood, Salty Strike scored her first career stakes victory and won for the third time in four career starts at Churchill Downs as she returned mutuels of $12.80, $4.80 and $3.20.  IEAH Stable’s Fantasy of Flight, making only her second career start under jockey Robby Albarado, finished second and returned $4.60 and $3.20.  Wayne Sanders and Larry Hirsch’s Gran Lioness held well under Jamie Theriot to finish 1 1/4 lengths behind the runner-up in third and paid $3.60 to show.

            The victory by Salty Strike improved the career record of the homebred daughter of Smart Strike to 3-1-1 in seven races and the winner’s purse of $67,090 boosted her career earnings to $152,492.  She completed the one mile distance over a fast track in 1:35.39.

            Salty Strike’s only loss at Churchill Downs came in a close third-place finish to Just Louise in last year’s $100,000 Grade III Debutante Stakes in early July.  McPeek’s filly fractured a cannon bone in that race and did not return to competition until mid-February.  Salty Strike was coming off a seven-length victory in a May 20 allowance race at Churchill Downs that was her first win since a successful racing debut at the same track just over a year earlier.                        

            “She has really come around,” McPeek said. “I’d like to keep her sprinting on the dirt. I think we will look at sending her to the (Grade I) Test at Saratoga.”           

            Fantasy of Flight, coming off an impressive victory in her career debut during Kentucky Derby Week, shot to the lead when the starting gates open and held a two-length advantage down the backstretch over Gran Lioness, Salty Strike and the favored Might.  Cruz turned Salty Strike loose on the far turn and she made a quick three-wide move to grab the lead and quickly drew clear as the rest of the strung out field gave chase down the stretch.

            Might, a winner of two of three starts for trainer Al Stall Jr. prior to her stakes debut in the Dogwood, made a mild rally under Julien Leparoux near the top of the stretch, but faltered in the drive and was beaten by nearly six lengths. 

            “Julien said she was traveling fine down the backside and just didn’t go on,” Stall said.  “She didn’t seem to be the worse for wear when I watched her jog back and walk off.  So, I don’t know.  She has no excuses as far as I can see right now.” 

            Angelica Zapata finished fourth, and was followed by Might and Holy Heavens.

DOGWOOD STAKES QUOTES

Manny Cruz, rider of Salty Strike (winner)

“This is my first stakes win at Churchill Downs. I hope this is just the first of many more to come.

            “She (Salty Strike) sat perfectly in the race. I took her outside because I knew I had a ton of horse and I didn’t want to take any chances. When I asked her to move, she responded and broke away from the group.”

Ken McPeek, trainer of Salty Strike (winner)

“She (Salty Strike) has really come around. She was injured here in the Debutante last year (stress fracture to cannon bone), but we got that fixed and she was able to come back this year. She wasn’t herself in the race at Oaklawn (Honeybee (GIII)) and then she really didn’t like the Polytrack at Keeneland.”

            “We took her off Lasix for her last start and she really responded and so we didn’t put her on Lasix again today. She doesn’t need it, it seems to dull her out, and we especially didn’t want to put her on it with the heat today.”

            “I’d like to keep her sprinting on the dirt. I think we will look at sending her to the Test (GI) at Saratoga.”

Robby Albarado, rider of Fantasy of Flight (runner-up)

“She ran a huge race.  She just couldn’t hold off the winner.  That winner is a really good filly – I’ve ridden her before.  So it’s no shame to finish second to her off just one race.  My horse ran a big race and looks like she has a really bright future.”

 Julien Leparoux, rider of Might (fifth as the favorite)

“We got a very good spot, but she just never picked it up for me at the end.  I don’t know.  She felt real good all the way around.  It seemed like I had plenty of horse underneath me.”

Q: At what point did you think you were in trouble?

“When I asked her to accelerate on the turn, around the quarter pole.  I asked her, and she didn’t really kick.”

Al Stall Jr., trainer of Might (fifth as the favorite)

“Julien said she was traveling fine down the backside and just didn’t go on.  He didn’t alert us to any problems and she came back fine, it seemed like.  So I really don’t know right now.  She didn’t seem to be the worse for wear when I watched her jog back and walk off.  So, I don’t know.  She has no excuses as far as I can see right now.”

Veteran sprint star Semaphore Man heads the  21st running of the Aristides (GIII) and Ohio invader Slides Choice could emerge as the favorite in the 35th running of the Dogwood (GIII) as Churchill Downs offers a pair of major stakes events on its racing menu for Saturday, May 30.  .  

The $100,000-added Dogwood, which drew a field of nine 3-year-old fillies, will go as the eighth race on the 11-race card.  The $100,000-added Artistides, which drew a field of 11 older sprinters, is scheduled as the as the day’s 10th event.    First post time for the Saturday card is 12:45 p.m. EDT.

Mary Crawford and Gerald Brown’s Slides Choice, a winner of five of six career starts with four of the victories coming in Ohio-bred stakes, will carry top weight of 119 pounds in the Dogwood that is run at a mile on the main track.  Trained by Tim Hamm, Slides Choice will step out of stakes-bed races to face open company for the first time.  She will break from post position six under jockey Corey Lanerie.

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who has saddled a record five Dogwood winners, will send out Tweeter for the Marylou Whitney Stable. The chestnut daughter of Unbridled’s Song finished seventh in the Kentucky Oaks (Grade I) behind Rachel Alexandra in her most recent start.  Tweeter will break from post position seven under Miguel Mena.

    The field for the Dogwood, from the rail out, is as follows: Walloon (Jesus Castanon, 117 pounds), Hightap (Shaun Bridgmohan, 117), Affirmed Truth (Calvin Borel, 117), Dave’s Revenge (Tony Farina, 117), Luster (Jamie Theriot, 117), Slides Choice (Corey Lanerie, 119), Tweeter (Miguel Mena, 117), Perfect for You (Jon Court, 117) and Lady’s Laughter (Robby Albarado, 117).

Helen Alexander and Helen Groves’ Acoma won the 2008 Dogwood. The David
Carroll trainee established the stakes record for a mile with a 1:34.56 clocking.

Double Bogey Stable’s veteran Semaphore Man, a two-time winner of the Grade III Count Fleet Sprint Handicap at Oaklawn Park, will make his Churchill Downs debut in the six-furlong Aristides.
    Trained by Kelly Von Hemel, Semaphore Man is a five-time stakes winner who has compiled earnings of $530,210 with a record of 9-6-5 from 27 starts. All nine of his victories have come at Saturday’s six –furlong distance.  Jesus Castanon has the riding call on Semaphore Man, who will carry high weight of 122 pounds and break from post position six.

    Four other stakes winners are in field, including a pair trained by Steve Asmussen, who won the 2003 Aristides with Mountain General. Asmussen will send out four-time stakes winner Sok Sok for Savorthetime Stables and Gallant Bob Handicap winner Premium Wine for the Zayat Stables.  

Sok Sok’s won the Duncan F. Kenner at Fair Grounds two starts back and was fifth to Accredit in the Churchill Downs (GII) on Kentucky Derby Day.  Premimum Wine will make his season debut in the Aristides following a 2008 campaign in which he finished a close third to Bustin Stones in the Carter Handicap (GI) at Aqueduct.  The son of Prime Timber last raced in October.

    Other stakes winners in the Aristides are David Holloway Racing’s Success Success and Lawrence Carroll’s Bold Start. Success Success, winner of the Forego at Turfway Park, races for the team of owner David Holloway and trainer Paul McGee, who won the race in 2000 and 2001 with Bet on Sunshine.  McGee won the inaugural running of the Aristides in 1989 with Bet the Pot.  Bold Start won last summer’s Don Bernhardt Memorial for trainer Ken McPeek.

    Indian Chant won the 2008 Aristides for owner Maggi Moss and trainer Tom Amoss.

    The field for the Aristides, from the rail out, is as follows: Early Return (Brian Hernandez Jr., 118 pounds), Cassoulet (Jamie Theriot, 118), Vicarian (Calvin Borel, 118), Garifine (Miguel Mena, 118), Sok Sok (Shaun Bridgmohan, 118), Semaphore Man (Jesus Castanon, 122), Premium Wine (Larry Sterling Jr., 118), Success Success (Jon Court, 118), Bold Start (Robby Albarado, 118), Knights Cross (Corey Lanerie, 118) and Grand Sensation (Tim Doocy, 120).