Early Times Mint Julep

Headed by the 138^th runnings of the $2 million-guaranteed Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) and the $1 million-guaranteed Kentucky Oaks (GI), Churchill Downs’ schedule of stakes races for its April 28-July 1 Spring Meet will feature 24 events, total stakes purses of $7.275 million and an emphasis on ‘big event’ programs that include the first nighttime running of the multi-stakes event headed by the Stephen Foster Handicap, one of America’s top races for older horses.

All but one of the 24 Spring Meet stakes events has achieved graded stakes status, and five are Grade I contests topped by the Kentucky Derby, America’s greatest race, and its companion Kentucky Oaks.  The Grade I roster is rounded out by the $500,000-added Woodford Reserve Turf Classic and $300,000-added Humana Distaff, both set for their 26^th runnings on the Kentucky Derby Day program, and the Stephen Foster Handicap, which will carry a purse of $400,000-added when it makes its first appearance beneath Churchill Downs’ permanent lights when the 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds and up is run for the 31^st time on Saturday, June 16.

The spring schedule of stakes races at Churchill Downs features four multi-stakes race programs.  Total stakes purses for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks programs, each featuring six stakes events, will be the largest in the history of those great American races.  Six stakes contests on the Derby Day program on Saturday, May 5, offer total purses $3.525 million, up from last year’s then-record of $3.4 million. Overall stakes purses for Kentucky Oaks Day, Friday, May 4, will surpass $2 million for the first time as its half-dozen stakes races are now worth a collective $2.05 million.  Oaks Day stakes purses hit the $2 million mark for the first time in 2011, when the value of the Kentucky Oaks, America’s top race for 3-year-old fillies, doubled to $1 million.

The value of stakes purses for the 2012 Spring Meet is down slightly from last year’s of total of $7.325 million for 25 races.  Purses for three 2012 races on the popular Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks Day programs have been increased, headed by a $100,000 boost for the Grade II Churchill Downs Stakes, a race for 4-year-olds and up at seven furlongs that is now worth $400,000-added.  Purses for five Spring Meet stakes races were adjusted downward, including a $100,000 reduction for the Stephen Foster Handicap and a $50,000 decrease for the Fleur de Lis Handicap (GII), a 1 1/8-mile race for fillies and mares ages three and up that is set to return from a one-year hiatus with a $150,000-added purse as one of four stakes races on the Stephen Foster Night program.

Nine of the 12 Spring Meet stakes races outside of its blockbuster Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks programs are scheduled to be run in prime time on a Saturday night.

"Our 2012 Spring Meet Stakes schedule at Churchill Downs is exciting in terms of the high quality events and wonderful possibilities offered to the fans who enjoy those races and the owners, trainers and jockeys who compete in them,” said Kevin Flanery, president of Churchill Downs Racetrack. “Our fans who support Churchill Downs racing at our track, through TwinSpires.com and other advance deposit wagering platforms, and at simulcast centers have shown us that they love big-event programs, so we’ve added a fourth multi-race stakes card to the schedule.  We’re eager to see how stakes races on each of our four ‘Downs After Dark’ night racing programs enhance those Saturdays of racing under the lights.

“But our stakes purses are basically flat to last year’s total, and we’ve had to do some adjusting within our available purse funds to make the overall schedule of our top races as attractive as possible to both horsemen and racing fans. The schedule continues to offer strong events in every division of horses, but the lack of growth in those purses continues to reflect the challenges Churchill Downs and Kentucky’s horse industry face in the continued growth of direct gaming competition from neighboring and other racing markets that benefit from gaming revenues.”

The 2012 Spring Meet will kick off on Saturday, April 28 with the “Opening Night” celebration under the lights that launches both the spring racing session and Kentucky Derby Week.  The evening’s racing highlight is the 88^th running of the $200,000-added The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial (Grade III), the one-mile race for 3-year-olds that is the final major prep for the Kentucky Derby.  Last year’s debut of “Opening Night” attracted 38,142 fans, which was the largest crowd in the short history of night racing beneath the Twin Spires and a record for a non-Derby/Oaks/Breeders’ Cup program.

All four night racing programs during the Spring Meet are scheduled on Saturdays and will, for the first time, feature graded stakes races along their array of “Downs After Dark” dining and entertainment options.

A quartet of stakes races with total purses of $750,000 is set for the Stephen Foster Handicap “Downs After Dark’ night racing program on Saturday, June 16.  Along with its main event and the return of the Fleur de Lis, Stephen Foster Night will offer a pair of Grade III contests in $100,000-added Matt Winn, a 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds, and the $100,000-added Regret for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/8 miles on grass.  A trio of $100,000-added stakes races is set for the “Downs After Dark” celebration on Saturday, June 2. And the “Downs After Dark” finale on Saturday, June 30 will feature the historic 111^th running of the $100,000-added Bashford Manor (GIII) for 2-year-olds at six furlongs.

Other changes in the purse or status of races on the 2012 Spring Meet stakes schedule include:

• Purse hikes for two Kentucky Derby Day stakes races: a $100,000 boost to the Churchill Downs Stakes (GII) making it worth $400,000-added, and a $25,000 increase for Twin Spires Turf Sprint Presented by GE - Appliances & Lighting (GIII), which now has a purse of $125,000;

• The $300,000-added Alysheba Presented by Besilu Stables on Kentucky Oaks Day has been elevated to Grade II status, and the purse for the ungraded Edgewood Presented by Kentucky Naational Insurance on the same day has jumped to $150,000-added, an increase of $50,000;
• The purse for the Firecracker Handicap (GII), the featured event on the meet’s closing day program on Sunday, July 1, has been reduced by $25,000 to $150,000-added;
• Purses for the $100,000-added Regret and $100,000-added Matt Winn on Stephen Foster Night were reduced by $25,000 each;
• Two stakes run in 2011 – the $100,000-added Dogwood (GIII) for 3-year-old fillies and the $100,000-added Jefferson Cup (GIII) for 3-year-olds on turf – are on hiatus for at least a year.

Click here for the complete 2012 Spring Meet Stakes Schedule

GENERAL QUARTERS, WISE DAN LEAD COMPETITIVE FRIDAY ALLOWANCE – Anyone taking a first glance at Friday’s ninth race at Churchill Downs might think that they were looking at a stakes race; however, it’s an allowance that just happened to come up very tough. The field of seven in the $64,700 allowance/optional claimer is headed by multiple Grade I-winner General Quarters, who is racing for the first time since late last summer, and Wise Dan, winner of last year’s Phoenix (GIII) at Keeneland.

Tom McCarthy’s General Quarters, winner of the 2009 Blue Grass (GI) at Keeneland and the 2010 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (GI) at Churchill Downs, has not raced since finishing seventh in the Arlington Million (GI). He was sidelined last September when he injured his left front leg during training.

McCarthy has taken his time preparing General Quarters for his return and hopes the 5-year-old son of Sky Mesa will deliver a good performance Friday. “There are some really nice sprinters in the race, but hopefully he (General Quarters) will bring his run and be there at the end,” McCarthy said.

General Quarters fired a “bullet” work Sunday in preparation for Friday’s race and McCarthy was very pleased with the workout. “He went very nicely,” said McCarthy of General Quarters’ four furlong work in :47.80 over a fast main track at Churchill Downs. “It was a very good work.”

Morton Fink’s Wise Dan, the other graded stakes winner in the field, has been working forwardly at Keeneland since an eighth place finish in the Alysheba Presented by Besilu Stables (GIII) on Kentucky Oaks Day and will look to get back in the winner’s circle Friday. “His (Wise Dan) last couple of races were very tough and I’m glad we were able to get him in an allowance race,” trainer Charlie Lopresti said. “I think this is a good spot for him and hopefully he can get back on the winning track.”

Lopresti believes the main competition for his two-time Churchill Downs winner will come from General Quarters. “I haven’t looked at the field very closely yet, but I saw General Quarters is in and he’ll be tough,” Lopresti said.

The field is also highlighted by nine-time stakes winner Native Ruler and the stakes-winning 8-year-old, Grand Traverse. Maggi Moss’s Native Ruler has nearly $600,000 in career earnings and won the Bet On Sunshine stakes at Churchill Downs in 2008. Mimicry Partnership’s Grand Traverse is a 10-time winner with $361,499 in career earnings.

The ninth race will be the feature of the 11-race twilight program at Churchill Downs, which begins at 2:45 p.m. (all times Eastern) Friday. Post time for the ninth race is 6:54 p.m.

ROMANS, MOTION WILL FACE OFF IN MINT JULEP PRIOR TO BELMONT – The eyes of the horse racing world will be on Belmont Park at 6:36 p.m. Saturday to witness the Belmont Stakes (GI) rubber match between the Graham Motion-trained Animal Kingdom, winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI), and Preakness (GI) winner Shackleford, who is trained by Dale Romans. But Motion and Romans will face off at Churchill Downs about an hour before the starting gate springs open in the 143^rd running of the Belmont with 4-year-old fillies running the 35^th running of the Early Times Mint Julep Handicap (GIII), the feature race of an 11-race Saturday program beneath the Twin Spires.

Check the Label, who is trained by Motion for Lael Stables, will enter Saturday’s Mint Julep off a second-place finish to Embur’s Song in the Doubledogdare (GIII) over the Polytrack at Keeneland – her lone start of 2011. The 122-pound high weight for the Mint Julep, Check the Label’s biggest victory came in the Grade I Garden City at Belmont Park, where she finished a length ahead of Barbara Hunter’s homebred Snow Top Mountain, who will also run in the Mint Julep. Jeremy Rose will travel to Louisville to take the mount.

Weighted at 116 pounds is the Romans-trained Tapitsfly, who races under the colors of Frank L. Jones Jr. A 4-year-old daughter of Tapit, Tapitsfly captured the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Oak Tree at Santa Anita in 2009. Tapitsfly was injured following that victory and had a chip removed from her ankle, but resumed training at the end of 2010 and will make her fifth start of the year on Saturday. In her most recent start she finished seventh behind Aviate-GB in the Churchill Downs Distaff Turf Mile Presented by American Commercial Lines (GII) on Kentucky Derby Day. Miguel Mena will have the mount aboard Tapitsfly.

The field for the Early Times Mint Julep, from the rail with jockey and weight: Ravi’s Song (Corey Lanerie, 114), Bella Medaglia (Jamie Theriot, 113), Vivo Per Lei (Leandro Goncalves, 113), Silver La Belle (Brian Hernandez Jr., 112), Abuela (Marcelino Pedroza Jr., 113), Sweetest Song (Calvin Borel, 115), Tapitsfly (Mena, 116), Snow Top Mountain (Robby Albarado, 119), My Baby Baby (Manny Cruz, 116), Askbut I Won’ttell (Eduardo Perez, 117) and Check the Label (Rose, 122).

BLOCK HOPES ASKBUT I WON’TTELL WILL LAUNCH STRONG SPRING MEET STRETCH RUN – Chicago-based trainer Chris Block’s stable has long been a power at Arlington Park and Chicago-area tracks, but his team flexed considerable muscle in Kentucky during last year’s Churchill Downs Fall Meet when it won two major closing week stakes attractions in the Falls City Handicap (Grade II) won by Dundalk Dust and Giant Oak’s triumph via disqualification in the $500,000-added Clark Handicap (GI).

Those victories were the second and third Fall Meet stakes wins, respectively, for Block, who is hoping for a similar closing bid by his stable in the ongoing Spring Meet.  On Saturday Block will look to the horse that got the ball rolling for his team in the Fall Meet to build momentum again in the searing heat of June.

Team Block’s Askbut I Won’ttell notched the first of Block’s three stakes wins last fall in the Cardinal (GIII) on the Nov. 7 Breeders’ Cup Saturday undercard.  She returns from a three-month break as one of the major contenders for the $100,000-added Early Times Mint Julep for fillies and mares ages three and up at a mile and a sixteenth on the Matt Winn Turf Course.

The Florida-bred mare is the first of three Block trainees targeted for stakes runs in the Spring Meet’s final weeks.  The others are Giant Oak, who is set to  run in the $500,000-added Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) on June 18, while Mister Marti Gras, a recent allowance winner on turf on turf who is now being pointed toward a run in the $175,000-added Firecracker Handicap (GII) on July 4, the final program of the meet.

Askbut I Won’ttell followed her Cardinal victory with a win over Trip for A.J. in the My Charmer (GIII) at Calder Race Course, but that rival turned the tables on Block’s 5-year-old mare when she scored a half-length victory over Askbut I Won’ttell in the Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf at Gulfstream Park.

Saturday’s Early Times Mint Julep will be the first race for Askbut I Won’ttell since she finished fifth- in a strong renewal of the $150,000-added Hillsborough (GIII) on March 12 at Tampa Bay Downs.  The Hillsborough was won by Denomination, who returned to win the Violet (GIII) at Monmouth Park on May 30, and its third-place finisher was Keertana, who returned to take the Bewitch (GIII) at Keeneland and then became the first mare to defeat males in the 1 ½-mile Louisville Handicap (GIII) at Churchill Downs.

“We gave her a little time in between that last race and this race,” Block said.  “She ran well (in the Hillsborough), but you could just see she didn’t run like she had been and was a little flat.  So we backed off, freshened her up a little bit and targeted this race as her next spot.”

The daughter of Horse Chestnut brings a record of 6-4-2 in 18 races and career earnings of $384,362 into the Early Times Mint Julep.

With the Virginia H. Tarra Trust’s Giant Oak looming as one of the likely favorites for the Stephen Foster, the newcomer in Block’s bid for a spring stakes three-bagger is Lothenbach Stables’ Mister Marti Gras.  The four-year-old gelded son of Belong to Me rallied from sixth to win a one-mile allowance race on the Matt Winn Turf Course on June 3.  Mister Marti Gras, the runner-up in both the American Derby (GII) at Arlington and Hawthorne Derby (GIII) at three, closed strongly that day to win over a grass course that had its temporary rail up and positioned 15 feet off the hedge, a configuration that often favors horses with early speed.

“That was kind of a race to see if he responded well here over this course,” Block said.  “Speed usually holds up when that rail is up, so that’s part of why I’ll just take a look at the Firecracker with him. I figured he overcame the (speed) bias in his race here.”

The only Fall Meet stakes star missing from Block’s spring arsenal is Dundalk 5 LLC’s Dundalk Dust, who has raced only once since her Falls City triumph: a last-of-seven effort behind Ravi’s Song as the favorite in the New Orleans Ladies Stakes at Fair Grounds.  Dundalk Dust is training steadily at Churchill Downs and her return to racing is not far off, but Block is not sure when the Illinois-bred daughter of Military would run.

“She had some stomach issues over the winter, and that contributed to her poor performance in New Orleans,” Block said.  “We think we’ve got her back and turned around.”

A natural spot for Dundalk Dust’s return would have been the Fleur De Lis (GII), a 1 1/8 mile race for older fillies and mares run in recent years on Stephen Foster Day.  But that race is on hiatus for 2011.

“That would have been perfect,” Block said.  “I’d love to run her here on the dirt, but I don’t know that I’ll get that opportunity.  So I’m kind of taking a wait-and-see approach right now.”

MEET LEADERS AT A GLANCE – Jockey Corey Lanerie, trainer Steve Asmussen and owners Richard and Karen Papiese’s Midwest Thoroughbreds are the leaders in their respective categories through 22 days of the 39-day Spring Meet.  Below is a look at the leaders entering Thursday’s action:

Top Jockeys

  1. Corey Lanerie (27-for-124, 22% win-percentage, $788,714 in earnings)

  2. Shaun Bridgmohan (23-for-120, 19%, $728,960)

  3. Julien Leparoux (20-for-109, 18%, $731,969)

  4. Calvin Borel (16-for-123, 13%, $513,501)

  5. Jon Court (14-for-88, 16%, $365,109)                                                       

Top Trainers

  1. Steve Asmussen (12-for-60, 20%, $936,531)

  2. Tom Amoss (9-for-24, 38%, $240,376)

  2. Dale Romans (9-for-58, 16%, $713,669)

  3. Eddie Kenneally (8-for-31, 26%, $198,428)

  4. Ken McPeek (7-for-35, 32%, $376,014)

  4. Tim Glyshaw (7-for-23, 30%, $109,880)

Top Owners

1. Richard and Karen Papiese’s Midwest Thoroughbreds (5-for-23, 22%, $110,570)

2. Robert C. Baker and William L. Mack (4-for-13, 31%, $77,315)

2. Tom Ludt’s Vinery Stables (4-for-7, 57%, $134,116)

3. Billy, Donna and Justin Hays (3-for-29, 10%, $75,600)

3. Mace and Samantha Siegel’s Jay Em Ess Stable (3-for-13, 23%, $94,318)

3. Merrill Scherer, Dan Lynch and Ken Sentel (3-for-15, 20%, $84,442)

3. Robert Lothenbach’s Lothenbach Stables, Inc. (3-for-9, 33%, $98,745)

3. Ahmed Zayat’s Zayat Stables LLC (3-for-9, 33%, $537,453)

3. Don Adam’s Courtlandt Farms (3-for-15, 20%, $216,669)

BARN TALK – Nominations for the 111^th running of the $100,000-added Debutante (GIII) for 2-year-old fillies at six furlongs close Saturday. The Debutante, which is scheduled to be run on the main track at Churchill Downs on Saturday, June 25, was won last year by Eldon Farm Equine, LLC’s Just Louise under Robby Albarado for trainer Dale Romans. …

Churchill Downs-based jockeys Julien Leparoux, Shaun Bridgmohan, Jesus Castanon and Kent Desormeaux will ride in New York on Saturday as part of the Belmont Stakes Day card. Leparoux, Bridgmohan and Desormeaux will ride at Churchill Downs on Thursday and Friday, but Castanon has already traveled to New York and will make his next start aboard Shackleford in the Belmont (GI).

Friday is the final 2:45 p.m. twilight racing program of the meet before "Downs After Dark" night racing returns with a 6 p.m. first post for the final three Fridays on June 17, June 24 and July 1. Also, the music of Wax Fang will headline the finale performance of the new Paddock Concert Series. The concert will begin shortly after the final race around 8 p.m. General admission will be $3 until 7 p.m. and $10 thereafter. The first 850 people in attendance for the concert will be allowed access into the saddling paddock to watch the concert up close in a VIP viewing area free of charge. A $20 Budweiser Select Balcony reserved ticket (available for purchase online at churchilldowns.com/tickets) includes front-row access, a prime undercover balcony overlooking the paddock and stage, extended drink specials throughout the night and a special gift from Budweiser Select. …

Friday Happy Hours presented by Budweiser Select will take place in the paddock area from 6-8:15 p.m., with $2 Budweiser products, frozen specialty drinks and hot dogs showcased. Also, the band Eight Inch Elvis will be on hand to entertain paddock patrons between races from 5-8 p.m. …

WORKTAB – Columbine Stable’s J.B.’s Thunder, winner of the Dixiana Breeders’ Futurity (GI) at Keeneland last October, worked four furlongs in :51.00 over a “fast” main track at Churchill Downs on Thursday morning for trainer Al Stall Jr. The 3-year-old son of Thunder Gulch has not raced since finishing ninth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (GI) beneath the Twin Spires. …

Robert C. Baker and William L. Mack’s Dublin, who won the 2009 Hopeful (GI) at Saratoga and was seventh in the following year’s Kentucky Derby (GI), recorded his third consecutive “bullet” at Churchill Downs when he worked five furlongs in 1:00.80 for trainer Wayne Lukas on Thursday morning. The 4-year-old son of Afleet Alex was fifth in the 2010 Preakness (GI) in his most recent start. …

Zayat Stables LLC’s Diva Ash, winner of the $113,800 Edgewood on the Kentucky Oaks Day undercard in her most recent start, breezed five furlongs around the dogs on a firm Matt Winn Turf Course in 1:01.80 for trainer Dale Romans. Diva Ash is nominated to run in the $125,000-added Regret (GIII), which is scheduled to be run on June 18 as part of the Stephen Foster Day undercard.

Right Time Racing LLC’s two Kentucky Oaks (GI) starters, Bouquet Booth (fifth) and Street Storm (eighth), each breezed five furlongs over the Matt Winn Turf Course on Thursday for trainer Steve Margolis. Bouquet Booth covered the distance in 1:01.80 and Street Storm completed the work in 1:03.20. Both fillies are nominated to the Regret (GIII). …

WHO’S HOT – The hottest jockeys over the last five racing days (May 29- June 5) are Julien Leparoux (7-for-28), Corey Lanerie (7-for-32) and Robby Albarado (6-for-19). Ken McPeek (3-for-11) and Steve Asmussen (3-for-11) are the hottest trainers over the same period. The hottest owners are Lothenbach Stables, Inc. (2-for-2), Stoneway Farm (2-for-2) and Charles E. Fipke (2-for-4).

WEATHER – Thursday: mostly sunny with a 30% chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms, 93. Friday: partly sunny with a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 91. Saturday: partly sunny with a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 90. Sunday: mostly sunny, 87. Monday: mostly sunny with a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 87. Tuesday: partly sunny with a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 89. Wednesday: mostly sunny with a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 89.

 

FREE FIGHTER HEADS HOME AFTER LOUISVILLE HANDICAP VICTORY – Louisville Handicap (GIII) winner Free Fighter headed back to his home base at Arlington Park Sunday morning after his upset two-length triumph over Bearpath in the 1 ½-mile marathon.

“He’s good this morning and we are going home,” said Drew Coontz, assistant to trainer Chris Block. “I am not sure what Chris has planned for him next.”

For Coontz, who has brought other Block runners to Churchill Downs the past couple of years, it was his first time to take the winner’s trophy back home.

“This was the first time I got to travel with this horse,” Coontz said. “I was at Tampa this winter with five horses and Free Fighter was at the Fair Grounds with Richie Scherer.”

Another new component of Free Fighter’s trip to Louisville was jockey Francisco Torres who rode the 5-year-old for the first time.

“Francisco got him to settle off the pace and I thought they were a good fit yesterday,” Coontz said. “I thought the horse was very collected in the paddock and he had his mind on business and it paid off.”

Trainer Ian Wilkes also had no immediate plans for Bearpath, who came out of the race in good order. Wilkes did rule out the closing-day one-mile Firecracker (GII), the only remaining graded turf stake for older horses for the meet that ends July 4.

ACOMA TARGETS EARLY TIMES MINT JULEP FOR 2010 DEBUT – There may not be a thoroughbred racehorse who loves Churchill Downs more than Acoma.

Helen C. Alexander and Helen K. Groves’ 5-year-old regally bred daughter of Empire Maker out of the Danzig mare Aurora never has lost beneath the Twin Spires, winning twice on the dirt and three times on grass.

So, it is fitting that trainer David Carroll plans to launch Acoma’s 2010 campaign than at Churchill Downs. Based on her perfect record under the Twin Spires, it is hard to imagine a better place to get Carroll’s stable star rolling.

“We are looking forward to getting her started back,” Carroll said. “The Beverly D. is our big goal for the summer.”

The $750,000 Beverly D. (GI) at Arlington Park will be run Aug. 21, and the road there for Acoma begins in the $100,000-added Early Times Mint Julep Handicap (GIII) on June 5 at 1 1/16 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course. Acoma won the race last year.

Acoma closed out 2009 with a win in the Cardinal Handicap (GIII), her fourth Churchill Downs stakes triumph. After that November victory, she received a long break.

“She did not go to Payson Park (in Florida) until mid January and we didn’t get her back in the barn until the first of April,” Carroll said of Acoma, who has strung together a consistent work pattern since April 12. “She is a bigger, heavier filly this year and is doing fantastic.”

Acoma has compiled a career record of 14-8-1-2 with earnings of $665,999. She has won six graded stakes; four on turf and two on dirt.

OXBOW RACING’S FLAT OUT BACK IN TRAINING – Oxbow Racing’s Flat Out, who briefly jumped onto the 2009 Kentucky Derby trail with a victory in the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park, is back in training after being sidelined by injury.

“He’s galloping on the farm in Paris and hopefully he will be here by the end of the meet,” trainer Scooter Dickey said. “We hope to have a fall campaign with him.”

Flat Out came to Churchill Downs last spring after a sixth-place finish in the Arkansas Derby (GII) but still with designs on running in the Kentucky Derby. However, less than two weeks before the Run for the Roses, it was discovered Flat Out had a stress fracture in his shoulder.

“That has healed, but then he had a problem with quarter cracks,” Dickey said. “The foot separated from the wall this spring and they have just let the foot grow back. He looks good at the farm.”

BARN TALK – Lady Luck had not been on the side of trainer Bill Connelly the past two Spring Meets here. After Berlioz won Saturday’s fifth race for his second victory of the meet, it appears Lady Luck has changed barns. “You just can’t figure it out. It can drive you crazy sometimes,” said Connelly, who has five winners from 10 starters with an additional second and third. Last spring, Connelly had only one winner from 24 starters and in 2008 notched three winners from 40 starters. “Check the seconds in 2008,” Connelly said with a wry grin. “I think I had 13 that meet.” Sure enough, 13 seconds and six thirds to give Connelly a better than 50 percent in-the-money mark. “You’ve just got to go on.” …

Silverfoot may have not have achieved a fourth Louisville Handicap victory on Saturday in finishing eighth, but his half-sister did find the winner’s circle. Chrysalis Stables’ Silver La Belle, a 3-year-old daughter of Langfuhr, broke her maiden in her fourth start for trainer Dallas Stewart. Silverfoot, now 10 and winner of the Louisville Handicap in 2004, 2005 and 2006, is a son of With Approval.

WORK TAB – Two runners from the Kentucky Derby were on the Sunday work tab, topped by ninth-place finisher Mission Impazible who breezed a half-mile in :47.80. That move by the Todd Pletcher-trained winner of the Louisiana Derby (GII) was the fourth fastest of 59 at the distance. Backtalk, 20th in the Derby, worked the same distance for trainer Tom Amoss in :50:60, 42nd fastest of the morning over a fast track. Other works of note included the return to the tab of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Filly Turf winner Tapitsfly who worked three furlongs in :38.80. Other half-mile works included Lexington (GII) winner Exhi (:49.40), fifth-place Kentucky Oaks (GI) finisher Ailalea (:49.40) and Kentucky Juvenile (GIII) winner Lou Brissie (:50). Five-furlong workers included 2009 Derby Trial winner Hull (1:01.80) and multi graded-stakes winning turf standout Chamberlain Bridge (1:02.40). At the Trackside Training Center, 2009 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Furthest Land worked five furlongs in :59.20, the fastest of 11 at the distance. Also working five-eighths at Trackside were 14th-place Kentucky Derby finisher Dean’s Kitten (1:00.40) and 12th-place Kentucky Oaks finisher Age of Humor (1:02.20). 

HORSEMEN’S GOLF SCRAMBLE RETURNS ON JUNE 8 – The second annual Horsemen’s Golf Scramble will be held Tuesday, June 8 at the Glenmary Country Club in Fern Creek, Ky., to help raise funds for the Backside Learning Center at Churchill Downs. The cost of the golf outing is $100 per player with four players to a team. Players will be treated to an 11 a.m. lunch. The 18-hole tournament will begin with a shotgun start at 12:30 p.m. There will be contests for the longest drive, closest to the pin, and a hole-in-one in which someone could win a 2010 Toyota Corolla from Oxmoor Toyota. Registration is due Friday and entry forms can be found at the Backside Learning Center or by visiting www.derbymusuem.org/backsidelc.

LEPAROUX HOPES TO FINISH 2009 IN GRAND FASHION – It has been a banner year for jockey Julien Leparoux, who leads all North American riders in earnings with $18,041,548 through Wednesday and a sparkling showing at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships in which he rode three winners and won the Bill Shoemaker Award as the top rider at the event.

Currently second in the rider standings at the Fall Meet, Leparoux will be out of town Saturday to ride American Lion for trainer Eoin Harty in the Hollywood Prevue (GIII) and miss the closing weekend to ride Just as Well in the Japan Cup (GI).

“I have ridden in Japan before, but not at the Tokyo Racecourse,” said Leparoux, who won the 2006 Eclipse Award as the top apprentice in North America. “After that, I ride one day at Calder (Dec. 5) and then one day at Hollywood Park (Dec.19).”

Leparoux has ridden 230 winners in 2009, good for a tie for ninth in North America. The 26-year-old native of Senlis, France, had a couple of victories that would be at the forefront of the 2009 highlight reel.
“I’d start with the Sunshine Millions,” Leparoux said of It’s a Bird’s 5 ¼-length victory. “And then the Santa Anita Handicap.”

Leparoux guided Einstein (Brz) to victory in the Big Cap and it is Einstein that would provide Leparoux with his biggest do-over if he could.

“There are a few I would like to ride over, but the Stephen Foster for sure,” Leparoux said of the June race here in which Einstein encountered trouble nearly every step of the 1 1/8-mile race.

A winner of five riding titles here, Leparoux plans to spend some time in France over the holidays before beginning 2010 at Gulfstream Park.

CARROLL HOPING ACOMA REBOUNDS IN CARDINAL – Helen Alexander and Helen Groves’ Acoma has been perfect throughout her career at Churchill Downs with two victories on the dirt and two on the Matt Winn Turf Course.

She will try to extend that grass streak to three in Saturday’s 36th running of the $100,000-added Cardinal Handicap (GIII) at 1 1/8 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course.

"I am more hopeful than confident,” trainer David Carroll said. “Before she ran at Keeneland, she had been training good and it is the same this time.”

The race at Keeneland was the Grade I First Lady in which Acoma finished last in the field of nine over soft turf.

“I am hoping it was just the soft turf that she didn’t like,” Carroll said. “I hope the course is good Saturday. That rain (on Tuesday) bothered me a little bit.”

The First Lady was Acoma’s first start in nearly three months after a last-place effort in the Delaware Handicap on the dirt, a performance Carroll forgives because the filly’s blood work came back bad after the race. But the First Lady was perplexing to the trainer.

“Sometimes fillies can go off form and it is hard to get them back on track,” Carroll said. “I’d like to see her run her race. If she gets beat because of bad luck or a bad trip, well, we’ve got her back. If she runs like she did at Keeneland where she was never in the race, we’ll have to take a good look about next year, because I’d like to keep her racing.”

Jesus Castanon will ride Acoma for the first time on Saturday in the Cardinal in which Acoma carries top weight of 121 pounds.

MAFAAZ BATTLING BACK FROM HEALTH ISSUES – In the spring of this year, one of the most talked about Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) hopefuls was Shadwell Stable’s Mafaaz (GB).

In March, the colt had won the Kentucky Derby Challenge Stakes at Kempton Park in England, a victory that guaranteed Mafaaz a spot in the starting gate for the 135th Run for the Roses. Trainer John Gosden shipped Mafaaz to Keeneland for the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (GI) to see how he would fare against U.S. competition before going on to the Derby.

Mafaaz ran eighth behind General Quarters, was transferred to the barn of Kiaran McLaughlin and the Derby quest abandoned.

Mafaaz has not raced since.

“He is back on the farm and he seems like a happy horse,” said Neal McLaughlin, assistant to his brother. “After we got him, he was gelded and then went to Saratoga the first of June.

“He was there about a week and got real sick. He lost muscle and started losing protein through his liver. It was pretty dangerous and we have no idea what caused it.”

Mafaaz spent more than three months at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in Massachusetts.

“I got a little jealous because the vet there got to spend more time with him than I have,” McLaughlin said. “I only got to see him a few days in the spring and then again at the farm.

"He’s a neat horse and I was excited about American racing for him. I don’t know if he will make it back to the races. Hopefully he will. Things seem to be going well.”

BARN TALK – Jockey Chris Emigh, who was involved in a riding mishap when his mount appeared to clip heels on Nov. 11, will be out 5-6 weeks with a broken collarbone according to his agent Terry Miller. “He rode Sunday, but he was really hurting,” Miller said. “He went back for a CT scan and that revealed the broken collarbone. We were going to go to the Fair Grounds after the meet, but now this will put him out right up to the start at Oaklawn Park.” …
    Bullsbay, owned by Mitchell Ranch, Frank Lewkowitz and Joe Rice, is scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs on Monday to run in the $400,000-added Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GII) to be run on Friday, Nov. 27. Trained by Graham Motion, Bullsbay has won three of four starts at Churchill Downs including a victory in the Alysheba (GIII) on May 1. Bullsbay finished fourth behind fellow Clark Handicap probable Macho Again in the Grade I Stephen Foster Handicap here on June 13.

WORK TAB – Mark Stanley’s Swift Temper worked five furlongs over a “fast” track Thursday morning in 1:02.60 in preparation for the Thanksgiving Day Falls City Handicap (GII). … Tom McCarthy’s General Quarters, 10th in this year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) and winner of the Grade I Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, worked a half-mile in :49.80.   

EINSTEIN WORKS HALF-MILE IN FINAL FOSTER TUNEUP – With trainer Helen Pitts aboard, Midnight Cry Stable’s Einstein (BRZ) worked a half-mile in :50.20 over a fast track early Sunday morning at Churchill Downs in preparation for Saturday’s $600,000-added Stephen Foster Handicap (Grade I). The move was the 34th fastest of 63 at the distance.
    “That was called sit still and don’t move,” Pitts said, giving a thumbs up to the move as Einstein returned to the barn. “He worked good today and galloped out good and strong.”
    The work was the third for Einstein since he won the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (Grade I) for a second consecutive year on May 2. Prior to that win, Einstein won the Santa Anita Handicap (GI) on the California track’s synthetic Pro-Ride surface.
    A Grade I victory on dirt is about the only thing missing on Einstein’s resume that shows a career record of 25-11-3-2 for earnings of $2,609,904. Only Lava Man has won Grade Is on three surfaces, but he did not do it in consecutive races.
    “It would be special if he could do that,” Pitts said of Einstein, who finished second to Horse of the Year Curlin in last summer’s Foster and won the Grade II Clark Handicap on the dirt here last fall. “He just loves the game. He’s fun. He gives you 110 percent every time.
    “I don’t worry about him on the dirt, but I know it is his least favorite surface. But he doesn’t care. I just want the best for him because he tries so hard.”
    Einstein was assigned top weight of 124 pounds for the Clark and will be asked to concede up to 11 pounds to the seven foes likely to line up against him. Entries close Wednesday.

ACOMA, PURE CLAN EXIT EARLY TIMES MINT JULEP IN DUEL IN GOOD ORDER – The connections of the 1-2 Early Times Mint Julep (Grade III) finishers Acoma and Pure Clan reported their charges came out of Saturday’s race, which Acoma won by a neck, in good order.
    Trainer David Carroll said that Acoma, now 6-for-6 in the state of Kentucky, “beat some nice fillies yesterday for a Grade III. Corey (Lanerie) rode her great. She got the jump on Pure Clan and I am sure her people are happy with her race with it being the first one back (in nearly eight months).”
    Carroll, who likes to space Acoma’s races, said the Beverly D (GI). at 1 3/16 miles on Aug. 8 at Arlington Park may be next for the 4-year-old Empire Maker filly.
    “She has won the Grade IIs and Grade IIIs and she deserves a chance at Grade I,” Carroll said. “We’ll see what (co-owner) Helen (Alexander) wants to do.”
    Acoma is now 3-for-3 on the grass, and she could stay on that surface for a while.
    “I think she is better on the grass,” Carroll said, “But it wouldn’t hurt us if a race comes off the grass to the dirt.”
     Betsy Couch, assistant to trainer Bob Holthus, said that Lewis Lakin’s Pure Clan “ate up last night” and remains on track for the Grade III Modesty at Arlington Park on July 11 at 1 3/16th miles and then the Beverly D.
    “She can be a little quirky,” Couch said, “but I thought she did great in the paddock yesterday and Shaun (Bridgmohan) did a good job on her for being on her for the first time.”
    Couch also said that Lakin’s fourth-place finisher, Day of Victory, came out of the race well and would be pointed to the June 27 Iowa Distaff at Prairie Meadows.

MILLER POINTS PAIR TO SATURDAY’S REGRET – Trainer Darrin Miller said Sunday morning that Silverton Hill’s Excelente (IRE) is headed toward Saturday’s 40th running of the $150,000-added Regret (Grade III) for 3-year-old fillies going 1 1/8 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course.
“We are leaning that way,” Miller said after Excelente worked a half-mile in :53 on the main track Sunday morning. “Oculuna is going to go in there, too.”
     Excelente, who began her racing career in Ireland, ran fourth in the May 1 Edgewood in her U.S. debut. She followed that effort runner-up finish to Consequence in  the American 1,000 Guineas at Arlington Park on May 23.
    Miller has another Silverton Hill European import getting ready to return to the races in Driving Snow, a British-bred son of the Irish sire Verglas,
    “He worked the other day for the first time,” Miller said of a :38.60, three-furlong move on Monday. “He got a shin on me in Florida this winter. I’d like to get him to the races in July and I was looking at maybe the Secretariat (on Aug. 8), but that is kind of creeping up on us.”
    Driving Snow finished second in his U.S. debut last fall at Keeneland in the Grade III Bourbon Stakes.  He rallied from 11th to lose by only a head to Bittel Road.

MILESTONE WATCH – Trainer Bill Connelly has two chances Sunday to reach the 1,000 career victory mark. Connelly, with 998 victories, will send out Talkin Indian in the seventh at Churchill Downs and Bred to Win in the second at Presque Isle Downs.

BARN TALK – Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, who finished third in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, is scheduled to fly back to Louisville from New York at 9:30 a.m. Monday and return to Barn 42 at Churchill Downs.
    Darley Stable’s Florentino (JPN), scratched out of Friday’s Hill Prince (Grade III) when it was rained off the turf at Belmont Park, is headed to Louisville for Saturday’s Jefferson Cup (Grade II) according to Churchill Downs racing officials. Trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, Florentino is expected to arrive Wednesday or Thursday with stablemate Asiatic Boy (ARG) who is coming in for the Stephen Foster.

WORK TAB – David Holloway’s Dubious Miss, working toward a probable run in Saturday’s Stephen Foster worked five furlongs over a fast track in 1:03.60. It was the 20th fastest move of 24 at the distance. Working a bullet for the distance was James Spence’s Flying Pegasus, who was timed in 1:00.20. Posting the bullet for a half-mile was multi-stakes winner Selva, whose :47 clocking was the best of 63 works at the distance. Showing up on the work tab for the first time since May 18, 2008, at Saratoga was Team Valor International’s King of the Roxy, who breezed three furlongs in :39.20. Last seen running sixth in the Grade I Carter Handicap at Aqueduct last April, King of the Roxy won the Belmont Futurity (GII) at age 2 in 2006 and the following spring won the Grade II Hutcheson and ran second in the Grade I Santa Anita Derby. He returned to the Todd Pletcher barn last month.

Lewis Lakin’s Pure Clan, a model of consistency on both turf and dirt throughout her career, headlines a stellar cast entered for Saturday’s 33rd running of the $100,000-added Early Times Mint Julep (Grade III) to be run at 1 1/16th miles over the Matt Winn Turf Course at Churchill Downs.

    The Early Times Mint Julep, which goes as the 10th race on the 11-race card that opens with a 12:45 p.m. (EDT) post time, has attracted four graded stakes winners to its field of seven fillies and mares 3-years-old and up.

    The Bob Holthus-trained Pure Clan, the only Grade I stakes winner in the field, looms as the marquee attraction as she makes her 2009 debut in the Early Times Mint Julep.  

Pure Clan placed ninth behind eventual filly and mare turf champion Forever Together in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (Grade I) at Santa Anita in her most recent start on Oct. 24.  But the versatile 4-year-old daughter of Pure Prize has always run well at Churchill Downs, where she took the Pocahontas (Grade III) and Golden Rod (Grade II) on dirt as a 2-year-old in 2007, and returned last year to run third to eventual 3-year-old filly champion Proud Spell in the Kentucky Oaks (GI) and later added a win in the Grade III Regret on turf to her local resume.  She followed her Regret victory with a trip to Southern California, where she scored a dramatic win in the American Oaks (GI) at Hollywood Park, an effort that serves as her career highlight to this point.
    
    Pure Clan is the only millionaire in the field as she has earned $1,052,416 while compiling a career record of 6-2-2 in 11 races.  Shaun Bridgmohan will ride Saturday and make up most of the 122-pound impost for Pure Clan, who will spot from 2-9 pounds to her rivals. Pure Clan will break from post position one.

    Other turf graded-stakes winners at Churchill Downs in the Early Times Mint Julep are Helen Alexander and Helen Groves’ Acoma, Darley Stable’s Tizaqueena and Glen Hill Farm’s Closeout.

    Trained by David Carroll, Acoma returns to the sod for the first time since winning the Grade II Mrs. Revere here last fall. The regally bred daughter of Empire Maker will carry 120 pounds and be ridden by Corey Lanerie.  Acoma, who breaks from post three, will be running for the first time since a disappointing third-place finish as the favorite behind Seventh Street in the $500,000 Apple Blossom (GI) over traditional dirt at Oaklawn Park on April 4.

    Tizaqueena, who scored her first graded-stakes victory in the Churchill Distaff Turf Mile (GII) on Kentucky Derby Day, is 3-for-3 on the grass for trainer Michael Stidham and boasts an overall record of five wins in six career starts. Brian Hernandez Jr. has the mount on Tizaqueena, who will carry 119 pounds and drew the outside post in the field of seven fillies and mares.  

    The remaining graded stakes winner in the field Saturday is Glen Hill Farm’s Closeout, who took the Grade III Pucker Up on the Arlington Park grass last September. The Early Times Mint Julep will serve as the 2009 debut for Closeout, who concluded her 2008 season with a fourth-place finish to Alwajeeha in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (Grade I) at Keeneland in October.  

The homebred daughter of Repriced has a win and a runner-up finish in two starts over the Matt Winn Turf Course for trainer Tom Proctor.  Veteran Larry Melancon will be in the saddle aboard Closeout, who was assigned 116 pounds.

Pure Clan will be joined in the Early Times Mint Julep starting gate by stablemate Day of Victory, a 4-year-old daughter of Victory Gallop who is also owned by Lakin and trained by Holthus.  She is coming off an allowance win on the dirt at Oaklawn Park, her fourth win in 17 races, and will be ridden Saturday by Larry Sterling Jr.

    The field for the Early Times Mint Julep, from the hedge out, is as follows: Pure Clan (Bridgmohan, 122 pounds), In My Glory (Jesus Castanon, 113), Acoma (Lanerie, 120), Sugar Baby Love (GER) (Jon Court, 114), Closeout (Melancon, 116), Day of Victory (Sterling, 114) and Tizaqueena (Hernandez, 119).

MINE THAT BIRD WORKS HALF-MILE IN :50 FOR BELMONT – Double Eagle Ranch and Buena Suerte Equine’s Mine That Bird put in his final major preparation for Saturday’s Belmont Stakes (Grade I) by working a half-mile in :50 under jockey Calvin Borel on Monday at Churchill Downs.
    The winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) came on the fast Churchill Downs track shortly after 8:30 a.m. (all times EDT) when the track reopened after the morning renovation break. Borel backtracked Mine That Bird to the frontside and then loped around to the backstretch for the work that clockers caught in splits of :13.80, :26.60, :38.40, the half in :50 with a five-eighths gallop out time of 1:02.20 and six furlongs in 1:15.
    The time for the half-mile was the 32nd fastest of 57 at the distance.
“He picked it up good the last quarter,” said trainer Chip Woolley, who before the work said he was looking for something in the 49 to 49.20 range. “The main thing was the last quarter in 23 and 2. The important part was finishing strong and galloping out without weakening.”
    After the work, Borel was ecstatic about the work and Mine That Bird’s chances in the Belmont.
    “We’re gonna win, no questions asked,” Borel said. “He worked in :50 and out in 1:02, just like before the Derby. He is doing everything the same. After those two hard races (the Derby and Preakness), I think the colt is very happy.”
    Woolley continued to the perfect fit that has become horse and rider.
    “You watch when he comes out on the track with (exercise rider) Charlie (Figueroa) or anybody else and he has his head up and is looking around,” Woolley said. “With Calvin, he just drops his neck and knows it is time to go to work. He knows the difference, maybe it’s because Calvin is lighter.”
    Woolley is going to look in on Mine That Bird early Tuesday morning before catching a 7:15 flight to New York with Mine That Bird flying the following day.
    “I think we are in good shape going into the Belmont,” Woolley said. “The horse is doing good and probably training better than he did going into the Derby.
    “It is going to be a tough race and, how many do I fear? How many are in there? Wayne’s horse (Flying Private for trainer D. Wayne Lukas) is on the improve and Kiaran’s horse (Charitable Man for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin) is a sheer monster and he likes that racetrack.”
    Woolley said that Mine That Bird would return to the track early Wednesday morning to backtrack to the paddock runway and go around the track 1 ½ times. Mine That Bird would go to the track at Belmont on Thursday and Friday “but not on Saturday unless he is getting rattled.”
    Tentative plans call for Mine That Bird to return to Churchill Downs next Monday and remain here at least for a week.
    “All of our stuff is here and so is the trailer,” Woolley said. “We’ll see how he does up there and how he comes out of the race but the plan now is we’ll stay here at least through the Stephen Foster (June 13) and then decide on where we’ll go.”

RACHEL ALEXANDRA WORKS SOLID FIVE FURLONGS – Stonestreet Stables and Harold McCormick’s Rachel Alexandra, winner of Preakness (Grade I) and Kentucky Oaks (GI), breezed a solid five furlongs on Monday in her first serious training move since majority owner Jess Jackson announced that she would bypass Saturday’s Belmont Stakes.
    Regular exercise rider Dominic Terry was in the irons aboard the Steve Asmussen-trained daughter of Medaglia d’Oro covered the distance over a “fast” track in 1:01.60.  Churchill Downs clockers timed Rachel Alexandra in fractions of :13, :25.20, :37 and :49.20.  She galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.60.
    As the filly worked around 6:30 a.m. (EDT), trainer Steve Asmussen and Barbara Banke, Jackson’s wife, looked on.
    “She’s a beautiful filly and travels tremendous,” said Asmussen.  “She’s got a gorgeous stride on her and she seemed very comfortable.  I thought Dominic did a great job with her as usual.”
    Asmussen said no firm target has been selected for Rachel Alexandra’s return to racing after her historic win over males in the May 16 Preakness at Pimlico.
    “I think everybody gets to take a step back and take a deep breath,” he said.  “We’ll take a little bit of the pressure off her and just enjoy her.  We were very pleased with how she went.  We’ll see what sort of energy she comes out of it with.  As always, we’ll be talking with Jess and communicating where we feel she is.”
    Rachel Alexandra has a record of 8-2-0 in 11 races and has earned $1,618,354.

WORK TAB (Track: FAST) – Helen Alexander and Helen Groves’ Acoma breezed four furlongs in :48.40.  The winner of the Mrs. Revere (GII) and Dogwood (GIII) is scheduled to run next in the Early Times Mint Julep (GIII) on the Matt Winn Turf Course … Derby Trial (GIII) runner-up Kensei breezed a half-mile in :48.40 for Asmussen in preparation for a run in Saturday’s Riva Ridge (GII) on the Belmont Stakes undercard at Belmont Park . … Northern Dancer (GIII) candidate Omniscient breezed six furlongs in 1:14 … Fleur De Lis (GII) candidate Copper State breezed six furlongs in 1:13.40 … Eight Belles (GIII) winner Four Gifts worked four furlongs in :51.80.

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.