Flat Out

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CLARK HANDICAP QUOTES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FLAT OUT CONFIRMED FOR CLARK HANDICAP – Owner Art Preston and trainer Scooter Dickey met at Churchill Downs on Wednesday morning and decided to continue the 2011 campaign of Jockey Club Gold Cup (Grade I) and Suburban Handicap (GII) winner Flat Out in the 137^th running of the $500,000-added Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GI) on Friday, Nov. 25.

Flat Out is coming off a fifth-place finish behind WinStar Farm’s Drosselmeyer in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) on Nov. 5 at Churchill Downs.

“He’s been doing really well since the Classic,” Dickey said. “Also, it’s a Grade I race worth a $500,000. We’re excited about it.”

Flat Out finished just three lengths behind the victorious Drosselmeyer in the Classic.

“He really didn’t run a bad race,” Dickey said.  “Losing by three lengths in the Breeders’ Cup Classic is nothing to be ashamed of.”

The Clark, a race for 3-year-olds and up run at 1 1/8 miles on the main track, could play a major role in the Eclipse Award voting for Champion Older Male and Horse of the Year.  But Dickey said that was not a factor that determined Flat Out’s participation in the race.

“A lot of people have been telling me that if he (Flat Out) wins (the Clark) that he could be champion older male or maybe even Horse of the Year,” Dickey said. “It’d be nice, but we’re not really worried about all of that.”

The Classic was the third start at the Louisville track for Flat Out, who launched his career at two with a sixth-place finish in a maiden race. He also finished sixth in this year’s the Stephen Foster Handicap Presented by Abu Dhabi (GI) won by Pool Play.

“We don’t really know why the same Flat Out that ran in the Suburban and the Jockey Club didn’t show up in the Stephen Foster and the Classic,” Dickey said. “He handles the track fine, though, and has always trained very well over it.”

Flat Out’s one and only work for the Clark will come this weekend; however, the exact date of the work has yet to be decided.

“We’re going to see what the weather does and how the track looks,” Dickey said. “The earliest he’ll work is Friday morning, but we might push it back a day or two.”

After the Clark, Flat Out will be given some well-deserved time off before being prepared for a 2012 campaign.

“This (the Clark) will be the end of his year and then we’ll give him some time,” Dickey said. “The goal is to come back next year in the Donn Handicap (GI at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 11).”

GOLDEN HOPES FOR GOLDEN HISTORY – It had been 48 hours since Golden History’s five-furlong bullet work at Churchill Downs, but the staff in the barn of trainer Mark Casse continue to beam over that sharp training move on a dreary Wednesday morning beneath the famed Twin Spires.

The barn is now counting the days until Churchill Downs’ Stars of Tomorrow II racing program on Saturday, Nov. 26, when the Kentucky-bred 2-year-old filly is expected to compete in the $150,000-added Golden Rod (GII).

Golden History zipped five furlongs on in 1:00.40.  The work under exercise rider Melanie Giddings was the fastest of 24 moves at the distance.

“She worked great and went over the track really well,” assistant trainer Norman Casse said. “We’re still thinking that she’s going to run a big race in what will be just her third start in the Golden Rod. She’s trained well since her last race and she should be right there.”

John Oxley’s Golden History began her career with a 2 ¾-length victory over the synthetic Polytrack course at Woodbine and was entered in the $150,000 Pocahontas (GII) on Stars of Tomorrow I at Churchill Downs off that effort.  Breaking from the gate at odds of 18-1, Golden History finished fifth, beaten three lengths in the one-mile race.

“I think she needed a start over the dirt and she probably didn’t get a whole lot out of her first race,” Casse said. “It was also asking a lot of her to run in the Pocahontas in just her second start. We were hoping to run her in an allowance race here, but the race didn’t go, so our hands were tied and we had to go (in the Pocahontas). The Golden Rod has been the target all along."

The daughter of Medaglia d/Ore was a $450,000 purchase earlier this year Florida’s Ocala Breeders’ Sales Selected 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, and has carried high hopes since the day she came under Casse’s care.  Golden History is out of User History, who is out of User Friendly-GB., a winner of four Group I races in Europe on her way to the Cartier Award for European Horse of the Year in 1992.

She has a great pedigree and she’s a really good mover,” Casse said. “She’s also very intelligent. She has all the characteristics of a good horse.”

Another 2-year-old filly in the Casse barn with lots of potential is Sky High Lady, who will make her fourth career start in Thursday’s fourth race at Churchill Downs. Sky High Lady was pre-entered in the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (GI), but Casse opted to run her in a maiden-special at Churchill Downs on Oct. 30 when it seemed unlikely that she would draw into the Breeders’ Cup race from its list of also-eligibles.  After breaking slowly, Sky High Lady raced wide and finished third as the 9-5 favorite.

“She always breaks slow and that is one of the reasons she got beat in the stake (Mazarine at Woodbine),” Casse said. “Hopefully she’ll break better Thursday and I think she’ll really like going two turns. The race over the track should also help her.”

Sky High Lady is the 8-5 morning-line favorite for Thursday’s race.

MEET LEADERS AT A GLANCE – Through 11 days of the 21-day Fall Meet, jockey Julien Leparoux, trainers Steve Asmussen and Mike Maker and owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey are the leaders in their respective categories at Churchill Downs. Here is a look at the “human race” leaders entering Wednesday’s racing action:

Top Jockeys

1. Julien Leparoux (22-for-83, 27% win-percentage, $1,297,540 in earnings)

2. Corey Lanerie (13-for-68, 19%, $324,673)

3. Brian Hernandez Jr. (9-for-40, 23%, $233,755)

4. Jon Court (6-for-35, 17%, $118,214)

5. Shaun Bridgmohan (5-for-24, 21%, $197,267)

Top Trainers

1. Steve Asmussen (9-for-37, 24%, $1,952,095)

1. Mike Maker (9-for-33, 27%, $1,311,788)

3. Bill Mott (5-for-16, 31%, $3,999,863)

3. Dale Romans (5-for-34, 15%, $1,518,380)

5. Eddie Kenneally (4-for-20, 20%, $201,866)

5. Ken McPeek (4-for-20, 20%, $200,021)

5. Ronny Werner (4-for-11, 36%, $116,665)

Top Owners

1. Ken and Sarah Ramsey (8-for-24, 33%, $689,378)

2. Billy, Donna and Justin Hays (4-for-10, 40%, $53,071)

3. Richard and Karen Papiese’s Midwest Thoroughbreds Inc. (3-for-8, 38%, $29,453)

4. Fred Allor (2-for-2, 100%, $51,120)

4. Richard, Bertram & Elaine Klein (2-for-8, 25%, $258,500)

4. Robert Lothenbach’s Lothenbach Stables Inc. (2-for-5, 40%, $79,470)

4. Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith (2-for-11, 18%, $2,418,000)

4. Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet Stables LLC (2-for-5, 40%, $67,470)

4. Kenny Troutt’s WinStar Farm LLC (2-for-4, 50%, $2,728,970)

MILESTONE WATCH – Jon Court, currently fourth in the Churchill Downs jockey standings with six wins, is nearing his 400^th win beneath the Twin Spires. Court recorded his 393^rd career victory at the Louisville track in Sunday’s second race aboard J Isle. …

In Sunday’s fourth race, Quick Praise gave trainer Greg Foley his 336^th career victory at Churchill Downs. The win moved Foley passed Jack Van Berg for seventh all-time in wins at the Louisville track. …

Trainer Paul McGee is nearing the 300-win milestone at Churchill Downs. The 49-year-old native of Louisville has saddled 295 winners in his career at his home track. ...

Trainer Ken McPeek tied Elliot Walden for 15^th all-time in the Churchill Downs trainer standings with his two wins on Sunday’s card. McPeek, who has 288 career wins beneath the Twin Spires, is now one win behind Jinks Fires. …

Trainer Steve Asmussen is nearing the 6,000-win plateau. Entering Wednesday, Asmussen is just five wins shy of the milestone that has been reached by only four other trainers.

WHO’S HOT – The hottest jockey over the last five racing days (Nov. 9-13) is Julien Leparoux (12-for-31). Mike Maker (6-for-12) is the hottest trainer over the same period and Ken and Sarah Ramsey (5-for-8) are the hottest owners.

WORKTAB – Cash Refund, a multiple stakes-winning earner of $316,082, breezed five furlongs over a sloppy main track at Churchill Downs on Sunday morning in 1:04.60 for trainer Steve Margolis. The work was the second fastest of three at the distance.

FLAT OUT, RULER ON ICE, DEFENDING CHAMP GIANT OAK, WISE DAN HEAD TALENTED NOMINEES TO 137^TH CLARK ‘CAP – Preston Stable’s Flat Out, winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup (Grade I), George and Lori Hall’s Belmont Stakes (GI) winner Ruler On Ice, the Virginia Tarra Trust’s defending champion Giant Oak and Morton Fink’s Fayette (GII) winner Wise Dan head strong roster of 25 accomplished older horses nominated to run in the $137^th running of Churchill Downs’ $500,000-added Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GI) on Friday, Nov. 25.

The history of the 1 1/8-mile Clark, named for the family of Churchill Downs founder Meriwether Lewis Clark, dates to the historic track’s first year of operation as the Louisville Jockey Club in 1875.  Like the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum Brands (GI) and the Kentucky Oaks, the Clark has been run annually without interruption since that first racing meet.

Along with the Clark, nomination lists were released Friday for the other three stakes races on the Thanksgiving/Closing Weekend schedule.  Those races are the $150,000-added Falls City Handicap (GII) for older fillies and mares on Thanksgiving Day and the pair of Grade II stakes events for 2-year-olds set for “Stars of Tomorrow II” on Saturday, Nov. 26: the $150,000-added Kentucky Jockey Club and its counterpart for fillies, the $150,000-added Golden Rod.

The 21-day Fall Meet at Churchill Downs will close on Sunday, Nov. 27.

Flat Out (sixth) and Ruler On Ice (third) join Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Headache and Robert LaPenta’s Ice Box as Clark nominees that competed in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) won by WinStar Farm’s Drosselmeyer.  Prior to his Breeders’ Cup run, Headache won the Hawthorne Gold Cup (GII) and Prairie Meadows Cornhusker (GIII) for trainer Mike Maker.  Ice Box was the runner-up to Super Saver in the 2010 Kentucky Derby and won the 2010 Florida Derby (GI) for Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito.

Zayat Stables LLC’s  Prayer for Relief, who was entered in the Classic by trainer Bob Baffert but scratched the following day, was also made eligible for the Clark  The 3-year-old son of Jump Start enjoyed a successful summer with wins in the Super Derby (GII), West Virginia Derby (GII) and Iowa Derby (GIII).

The Clark nominees also include the top four finishers in the $500,000 Breeders’ Cup Marathon (GII) at Churchill Downs on Nov. 5.  Kasey K Racing Stable’s Afleet Again, the upset winner; Preston Stables’ Birdrun, the Marathon runner-up and winner of the Brooklyn (GII); third-place Giant Oak, the defending Clark champ and winner of the Donn (GI) at Gulfstream Park; and the Ramseys’ Pleasant Prince, fourth in the Marathon after setting the pace for trainer Wesley Ward, could meet again in the Clark.

Trainer Charlie Lopresti’s versatile Wise Dan would enter the Clark off an impressive four-length romp over Keeneland’s synthetic Polytrack in the Fayette, a race that has been a key prep for the Clark in recent years.  Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider’s Blame took both races as a 3-year-old in 2009 and returned to Churchill Downs in 2010 to defeat previously unbeaten Zenyatta in the Breeders’ Cup Classic and earn an Eclipse Award as America’s top older horse.  Last year’s Fayette winner was Successful Dan, a stablemate of Wise Dan who finished first in the Clark for Fink and Lopresti, but was disqualified for interference in the stretch and Giant Oak was elevated to victory in the stewards’ decision.

Other notables among the 25 3-year-olds and up nominated to the Clark Handicap include the Tom McCarthy-owned and trained General Quarters, winner of the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (GI) at Churchill Downs and Keeneland’s Toyota Blue Grass (GI) on Polytrack; Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Dream Team One Racing Stable’s Mucho Macho Man, third to Animal Kingdom in the 2011 Kentucky Derby and an easy winner in a return to competition in a recent allowance race at Aqueduct; Twin Creeks Racing Stable’s Mission Impazible, a close runner-up to Pool Play in the 2011 Stephen Foster Handicap Presented by Abu Dhabi (GI) at Churchill Downs;  Thomas and Jack Conway’s Stately Victor, winner of the 2010 Toyota Blue Grass and fifth to St. Nicholas Abbey in the recent Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Turf (GI); Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Tapizar, the 3-year-old winner of the Robert B Lewis (GII) at Santa Anita and fifth to Caleb’s Posse in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (GI); and the Dodson Skaggs-owned and trained Future Prospect, winner of the Kentucky Cup Classic (GII) on Polytrack at Turfway Park.

Other possible Clark contenders include Lothenbach Stables’ Mister Marti Gras and Bourque Goldstein Thoroughbreds’ Alma D’Oro, the 1-2 finishers in this year’s Grade III Ack Ack at Churchill Downs; Amerman Racing Stables’ Demarcation, winner of the 2009 Ack Ack who has competed in the last two renewals of the Clark; Pattons Creek Farm’s Will’s Wildcat, winner of the Jimmy V here on Nov. 4; and WinStar Farm’s Rule, third to Havre de Grace and Flat Out in the Woodward (GI) at Saratoga.

The fillies and mares nominated for the 96^th running of the 1 1/8 Falls City Handicap are headed by Dundalk 5 LLC’s defending champion Dundalk Dust; Mrs. Yoshio Fujita’s versatile Ravi’s Song, winner of Fair Grounds’ New Orleans Ladies and Pelleteri Handicap and runner-up in three consecutive graded stakes races on turf; and the improving 3-year-old Juanita, winner of the Indiana Oaks (GII) for trainer Mike Maker.

Other Falls City nominees include the Bill Mott-trained Arena Elvira, winner of the Turnback the Alarm (GIII) at Aqueduct; Super Espresso, seventh to Royal Delta in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic (GI); and Kentucky Cup Distaff (GIII) runner-up Bella Medaglia, who was scratched from the Ladies Classic.

Kendall Hansen and Sky Chai Racing’s Hansen, the winner of the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (GI) who provided Churchill Downs-based trainer Mike Maker with his first Breeders’ Cup victory, tops a group of 28 2-year-olds nominated to the 1 1/16-mile Kentucky Jockey Club.

Other nominees include Lantern Hill Farm’s Motor City, winner of the opening day Iroquois (GIII) at Churchill Downs for trainer Ian Wilkes; Bluegrass Hall LLC’s Optimizer, eighth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile but a closing third prior to that for trainer D. Wayne Lukas in the Breeders’ Futurity (GI) at Keeneland; Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Sabercat, winner of the Garden State at Monmouth for trainer Steve Asmussen and a late scratch from the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile; and My Meadowview Farm’s Stephanoatsee, a half-brother to Preakness (GI) winner Shackleford who won a recent maiden race at Laurel Park for trainer Graham Motion.

Anita McCauley’s homebred On Fire Baby, a late-running winner on the Fall Meet’s opening over a strong field in the $150,000-added Pocahontas (GII) at a mile, heads 24 2-year-old fillies nominated to the 68^th running of the 1 1/16-mile Golden Rod.

The daughter of Smoke Glacken has won 2-of-3 races for veteran trainer Gary Hartlage and jockey Joe Johnson.

Others 2-year-old fillies made eligible for the Golden Rod include Stonestreet Stable’s Glinda the Good, third in the Iroquois for trainer Steve Asmussen; John C. Oxley’s Spirited Miss, a narrowly beaten favorite for trainer Mark Casse in the Mazarine (GIII) on Polytrack at Woodbine; Glen Hill Farm’s Customer Base, 11^th in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (GII) won by Stephanie’s Kitten; Alex Campbell Jr.’s Karlovy Vary, a winner at Keeneland for trainer Rusty Arnold who failed to draw in from the list of also-eligibles for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf; and Debby Oxley’s Sweet Seventeen, an unbeaten daughter of Hard Spun trained by Graham Motion.

ATTFIELD SHIPS IN SMART STING FOR MRS. REVERE BID – Smart Sting, who dominated the field in the Selene (Grade III) at Woodbine in her most recent start, has shipped into Louisville for a bid in Saturday’s 21^st running of the $175,000-added Mrs. Revere (GII) for trainer Roger Attfield.

Stronach Stable’s Smart Sting, who will break from post six under John Velazquez, beat a competitive field in the Selene, including Inglorious, who beat the boys in the $1 million Queen’s Plate.

"She’s doing very well and ran a great race last time,” Attfield said. “She’s developing into the kind of filly we always thought she would be.”

The Mrs. Revere, which will be run at 1 1/16 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course at Churchill Downs, will be the second start on the grass beneath the Twin Spires for the 3-year-old daughter of Smart Strike. Smart Sting ran third to Diva Ash as the 2-1 favorite in the Edgewood on the Kentucky Oaks Day undercard.

“She’s a different horse now then she was that day,” Attfield said. “She has continued to develop and improve.”

Attfield chose the Mrs. Revere as the next spot for Smart Sting for the same reason as many of the other trainers in the field: to keep her against her age group.

“This race made a lot of sense and we get to give her one more shot against 3-year-olds,” Attfield said. “She’s improving and I think she’ll be even better at ages four and five.”

While Smart Sting does avoid older fillies and mares in the Mrs. Revere, the race is anything but an easy spot. The field includes graded stakes winners Hungry Island, Bizzy Caroline, Groupie Doll, New Normal and Marketing Mix and stakes winners Trac N Jam, Tourmaline and Louvakhova.

“It looks like a very tough race, but that’s what good races are supposed to look like, right?” Attfield said.

The Mrs. Revere will be the ninth race on Saturday’s 10-race card. Post time for the first race is 12:40 p.m. (all times EST) with the Mrs. Revere scheduled for 4:37 p.m.

GUAM TYPHOON RETURNS TO HIS FAVORITE TRACK SATURDAY – Guam Typhoon, a four-time winner beneath the Twin Spires, will return to the Louisville track in a very tough allowance/optional claiming race Saturday that includes graded-stakes winner Riley Tucker.

“He (Guam Typhoon)’s got some back class to him and can really run,” trainer Ian Wilkes said. “He beat (Champion Older Horse) Blame here (Churchill Downs) as a 3-year-old and (Grade I winner) Here Comes Ben when he broke his maiden.”   SIGI Racing’s Guam Typhoon, who will break from post two under leading-rider Julien Leparoux, will enter Saturday’s third race off a ¾-length victory in an allowance/optional claiming race at Hoosier Park in September. It was the first race for the 5-year-old gelded son of Distorted Humor since February.

“He just needed some time to get over a few minor issues, but it was nothing serious,” Wilkes said. “He came back and ran really well at Hoosier and I was going to run him back in another race there, but the track came up sloppy and I scratched him. He doesn’t want to run on Polytrack, so we didn’t bring him to Keeneland.”

Guam Typhoon’s main rival could be Zayat Stables LLC’s Riley Tucker, a six-time winner with earnings of $588,094. Riley Tucker’s biggest victory came in the Aristides (GIII) at Churchill Downs in 2010. The 6-year-old son of Harlan’s Holiday will break from post three under Corey Nakatani.

“It’s not an easy spot for him, but we’ll see how it goes,” Wilkes said. “He likes this track and I think he’ll run well. We’ll see where he takes us.”

Another stakes winner in the field is Thomas Galvin’s Su Casa G Casa, who has not raced since winning the Premier Night Prince at Delta Downs in February. The 3-year-old Louisiana-bred son of During has a record of 4-3-0 from seven career starts with earnings of $270,800. He will be ridden by Miguel Mena and break from post four.

Post time for Saturday’s third race is 1:37 p.m.

BARN TALK – Rosemary Homeister Jr., the second all-time leading female rider in North America with 2,438 victories, recorded her first win since Feb. 6 in Thursday’s second race at Churchill Downs aboard Eden Star. Homeister Jr., who gave birth to a daughter on Aug. 21, has ridden 17 winners in her career at the Louisville track. …

Happy 59^th birthday to trainer Jimmy Baker, who got an early birthday present last Friday when Will’s Wildcat won the Jimmy V. “Don’t Give Up…Don’t Ever Give Up!” on the Breeders’ Cup Friday undercard. It was the fourth stakes win at Churchill Downs for Baker, whose biggest victory beneath the Twin Spires came in the Churchill Downs (Grade II) with Elite Squadron in 2008.

WORKTAB – Priscilla Vaccarezza’s Little Mike, winner of three Grade III races at Gulfstream Park this year, breezed three furlongs over the fast main track at Churchill Downs in :38.80 for trainer Dale Romans. The 4-year-old gelded son of Spanish Steps has not raced since winning the Emirates Airline Appleton Stakes (GIII) on April 3. …

Beat the Blues, a 4-year-old stakes-winning daughter of Great Pyramid-IRE, breezed four furlongs on the main track in :49.40 for trainer Bret Calhoun. The work was the seventh fastest of 46 at the distance.

FLAT OUT TAKES DICKEY ON THE RIDE OF HIS LIFE – Trainer Scooter Dickey thought he had hit the top of the racing game long before Flat Out came into his barn.

“I had always hoped for a horse like this,” Dickey said Tuesday morning as Flat Out went to the track for his morning exercise under Otto Aguilar. “I thought I had reached the pinnacle in 1984 in the Preakness (with Wind Flyer). Gate Dancer beat me as far as he did in a maiden race, six lengths.”

Owned by Preston Stables, Flat Out came to Dickey in the summer of 2008 and made his debut at Churchill Downs that November, running sixth in a 6 ½-furlong race.

“We took three good babies to Saratoga that summer, but he did not get to run,” Dickey said. “The first time he ran, he ran green but he closed ground and the next time out he won at the Fair Grounds.”

A victory in the Smarty Jones at Oaklawn Park in his 3-year-old debut put Flat Out on the Kentucky Derby trail and respectable showings in the Southwest and Arkansas Derby kept him there until a shoulder injury less than two weeks before the Run for the Roses ended that dream.

The shoulder injury and battles with persistent quarter cracks kept Flat Out away from the races for 20 months.

Did Dickey ever think of throwing in the towel?

“Only one time,” the 70-year-old native of Anthony, Kan., said. “We had brought him back after the shoulder had healed and the quarter cracks had healed. We were two or three works away (from a start) and that old quarter crack behind the wall blew out and they had to cut his foot away like they did with Big Brown and we had to give it time to grow back. That was the only time.”

After a victory in his return in December in New Orleans, Flat Out battled quarter cracks again before starting on a run that has propelled him to the upper echelon of the handicap ranks in North America and into a leading role for the Grade I, $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.“He just takes everything in stride,” Dickey said of Flat Out, who worked a bullet five furlongs in :59.80 last Saturday under Greta Kuntzweiler. “He just wants to go out there and work.”

There is a chance that Flat Out’s work may not be done after the Nov. 5 Classic.

“We haven’t really talked about it,” Dickey said of retiring Flat Out after the Classic. “But a while back I was talking with Art (Preston) and said ‘Remember when we worked him on the turf in case we didn’t go in the Stephen Foster but the Firecracker instead and he worked really good?’ He said we ought to try him on the turf some time and point to the Arlington Million next year. I told him, ‘I like the way you think.’ ”

NO DECISION YET FOR NORTHERN PASSION AFTER HALF-MILE WORK – In her first work over a dirt surface, John Oxley’s Northern Passion, winner of the Grade III Natalma on turf at Woodbine in her most recent start, breezed four furlongs in :51.80 over a fast Churchill Downs track Tuesday morning under regular exercise rider Melanie Giddings in preparation for the GII $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf or the GI $2 million Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.

"She went off the first eighth (of a mile) in about :14 (officially :13.80),” assistant trainer Norman Casse said. “It was her first time not working in company so she didn’t really know what was going on at the beginning. The important thing is that she finished strong and she looked good. We’re happy.”

Northern Passion was awarded an automatic berth in the starting gate for the Juvenile Fillies Turf following her victory in the Natalma, a Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” race; however, she could appear in the Juvenile Fillies on the dirt if she shows enough potential over the surface in the mornings.

“The slow time is just a reflection of the slow opening eighth,” Casse said. “I think she handled the dirt fine and she’s already won on two surfaces so I don’t know why she wouldn’t be able to handle the dirt. Also, my dad (Mark) has always said the Churchill surface is very comparable to Polytrack. A lot of turf and synthetic horses seem to like it on this dirt more than anywhere else.”

The Casse barn has had success this year with horses trying the Churchill dirt for the first time after previously racing exclusively on turf and synthetic surfaces, including a victory in the GI Stephen Foster Handicap Presented by Abu Dhabi with Pool Play.

Northern Passion, a $220,000 OBS Selected 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale purchase, will have another work on the dirt beneath the Twin Spires early next week before a final decision is made on her next start.

“Dad is coming to Kentucky next week for the Fasig-Tipton yearling sale and she’ll work while he is here,” Casse said. “That’s when we’ll decide where to go.”

Spirited Miss, another 2-year-old filly in the Casse barn who races under the Oxley colors, is also being considered for the Juvenile Fillies Turf and Juvenile Fillies. The bay daughter of Sky Mesa ran fourth to her stablemate in the Natalma prior to finishing second in the Mazarine at Woodbine in her most recent start. She is scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs on Tuesday and will be stabled in Barn 24. There are currently no plans for when she will first work over the Louisville track.

BARN TALK – Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence’s Sum of the Parts worked five furlongs in 1:03.40 before the renovation break and trainer Tom Amoss said the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint “is a possibility” for the colt. Amoss also said that Jerry Namy’s Shared Property, winner of the GIII Arlington-Washington Futurity and sixth as the favorite in the GI Dixiana Breeders’ Futurity, would not run in the Breeders’ Cup. “We are going to do something a little less ambitious,” Amoss said of Shared Property, who is nominated to the GIII, $100,000-added Iroquois at a mile on Oct. 30. “We think he will be his best as a 3-year-old and we are going to take a little time with him.” …

Kendall Hansen’s Hansen, undefeated winner of the Kentucky Cup Juvenile at Turfway Park on Sept. 24 by 13 ¼ lengths, worked five furlongs at the Trackside Training Center. Trained by Mike Maker, Hansen is a possible hopeful for the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. …

C R K Stable’s Switch, one of the leading prospects for the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, worked a half-mile in :47.40 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:01 at Keeneland Tuesday morning. Switch is scheduled to van to Churchill Downs on Wednesday. 

C.R. Trout, owner-breeder and trainer of Shotgun Gulch, said the 4-year-old Oklahoma-bred filly is scheduled to van to Churchill Downs on Oct. 29 from Remington Park for a run in the $1 million Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint to be run Nov. 4. Winner of the GI Vinery Madison at Keeneland in April, Shotgun Gulch finished fifth in the GI Humana Distaff in May in her lone start at Churchill Downs. …

Camp Victory, winner of the Los Angeles Handicap who was second in both the Triple Bend Handicap and Pat O’Brien this year, has been confirmed for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint by trainer Mike Mitchell.  He  will be ridden by eight-time Churchill Downs leading rider Julien Leparoux. …

Marketing Mix, runner-up to Together-IRE in the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland, is scheduled to make her next start in the GII Mrs. Revere at Churchill Downs on Nov. 12. Trainer Tom Proctor had previously stated that Marketing Mix would be given the rest of the year off. “What changed my mind?” Proctor said. “$175,000.” …       

Chamberlain Bridge, winner of last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint over the Matt Winn Turf Course, is scheduled to work on the main track beneath the Twin Spires on Wednesday morning; however, inclement weather could push the work back to Thursday. …

Nominations for four graded stakes races to be run at Churchill Downs over Breeders’ Cup weekend will close Wednesday. The eighth running of the GIII, $100,000-added Commonwealth Turf for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course will be contested on Thursday, Nov. 3. The 19^th running of the GIII, $100,000-added Ack Ack Handicap for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles on the main track will be part of the undercard on Breeders’ Cup Friday. The 26^th running of the GII, $150,000-added Chilukki for fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up at one mile on the main track will be contested on Breeders’ Cup Saturday. The 38^th running of the GIII, $100,000-added Cardinal Handicap for fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course will be run Sunday, Nov. 6.

WORKTAB – Gaillardia Racing LLC’s Wilkinson, a 3-year-old graded stakes winning son of Lemon Drop Kid who was third in the Grade I Jamaica Handicap at Belmont Park in his most recent start, breezed four furlongs in :50 Tuesday morning for trainer Neil Howard.

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

POOL PLAY WORKS, FLAT OUT POINTS TO BREEDERS CUP AFTER NEW YORK ROMP – William S. Farish Jr.’s Pool Play worked on Sunday morning at Churchill Downs in his first serious training move since his upset victory in the 30^th running of the $500,000 Stephen Foster Handicap (Grade I).

The 6-year-old son of Silver Deputy breezed five furlongs under regular exercise rider Melanie Giddings in 1:03 over a fast main track for trainer Mark Casse.

“We just wanted him to go nice and easy,” said assistant trainer Norman Casse, the son of the Woodbine-based trainer. “Everything went fine.”

Pool Play, whose Stephen Foster came in his debut over a traditional dirt surface, will likely have one more work beneath the Twin Spires before he heads to New York for the summer.

“We’ll give him another easy one (work) before going to Saratoga,” Casse said. “The plan right now is to ship (to Saratoga) on the tenth (of July) and work him a day before (on July 9). We’ll save the big works for when we get him up there.”

Bred in Canada by Windfields Farm, Pool Play has a career record of 6-6-5 from 28 starts with earnings of $909,556. He will be pointed to the Whitney Handicap (GI) at Saratoga on Aug. 6, with the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) at Churchill Downs on Nov. 5 being the ultimate year-end goal.

Pool Play defeated an impressive group of older horses in the Stephen Foster that included Preston Stables LLC’s Flat Out, who traveled to New York on Saturday for a 6 ½-length romp in Belmont Park Park’s Suburban Handicap (GII) in his first start since his fifth-place run in the Foster.

"I think it proves how good the Stephen Foster field was this year,” Casse said. “It also further showed just how big Pool Play ran.”

Flat Out, a 5-year-old son of Flatter, received a Beyer Speed Figure of 113 for his demolition of his Suburban rivals.  That is the highest Beyer recorded this year for a race on traditional dirt at a mile or farther.

"We are really proud of him,” trainer Scooter Dickey said. “We really thought he would run well, but didn’t know he would whoop ‘em like that.”

Flat Out, who shipped to Dickey’s stable at Monmouth Park following his victory in Saturday’s Suburban, is also being pointed to the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

“We still don’t know just how good he is,” Dickey said. “I talked to the owner and we decided we’ll find out how good he is in the Breeders’ Cup.”

Bred in Florida by Nikolaus Bock, Flat Out has a career record of 4-1-0 from nine starts and earnings of $359,713. No decision has been made regarding his next start.   Flat Out has been plagued by quarter cracks that have limited in racing and training over the past two years, but his feet are fine right now.

“There are a lot of options,” Dickey said. “I think we’ll look to run him at either Saratoga or Monmouth, but we really haven’t discussed it much.”

BOREL, LANERIE SIZZLE WITH LEPAROUX OUT OF TOWN AND JOCKEY RACE TIGHTENS – Leading jockey Julien Leparoux traveled to New York on Saturday for a successful raid on Belmont Park and a victory aboard George Bolton and Stonestreet Stable’s The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial (GIII) runner-up Dominus in the Grade II Dwyer.

But if Leparoux was keeping track of happenings back home in Louisville, the seven-time leading rider at Churchill Downs witnessed fireworks by Calvin Borel and a flurry of wins by Corey Lanerie, his closest pursuer in the battle for leading rider honors in Churchill Downs’ 38-day Spring Meet.

Borel, the three-time Kentucky Derby winner and three-time leading jockey at its home track, tallied five wins in Saturday’s 13 races.  The memorable was capped by a dazzling win aboard Stoneway Farm’s Exfactor in the 110^th running of the $100,000-added Bashford Manor (GIII) for 2-year-olds.

“It was an awesome day,” Borel said.  “I’m riding some good babies (2-year-olds) this year.  Even my brother, Cecil, has a good baby.  I think it’s going to be another good year.”

Cecil Borel trains Brown Eyed Jozi, an eight-length winner under Calvin Borel in the colt’s second career start at Churchill Downs on June 18.

Borel’s big day lifted his Spring Meet win total to 32, good for fourth place in the race for leading rider.

As Leparoux returned to Louisville to prepare for Sunday’s races, he should have been able to again feel Lanerie’s breath on his neck.  A blistering three-week hot streak by Leparoux had allowed the French-born rider to overcome what had one point had been an 11-win lead by Lanerie and surge to a seemingly comfortable six-win advantage in the race for top jockey.  But Lanerie, bidding for his first Churchill Downs riding crown, got out the gate quickly on Saturday with three wins in the day’s first four races.  That burst narrowed Leparoux’s lead to 49-46 with head-to-head competition over two days and 23 races remaining in the Spring Meet.

Leparoux was scheduled to ride in 10 of Sunday’s 12 races and has mounts in all 11 races on Monday’s closing day program.  Lanerie was set to ride in 11 races on Sunday and all but one of Monday’s races.

MCGEE AND JAY EM ESS STABLE: A WINNING COMBINATION – Louisville-native Paul McGee has enjoyed a long run of success for Mace and Samantha Siegel’s Jay Em Ess Stable since he started training for that California-based operation in the early 1990’s, and the ongoing 2011 Spring Meet has provided more of the same for the owner-trainer team.

McGee, who will celebrate his 49^th birthday on July 10, has saddled seven winners during the meet and six were owned by Jay Em Ess Stable. Two Jay Em Ess horses won Saturday when Shameless took Race 7 and Reserved Indian won the ninth.  Both winners were ridden by Calvin Borel.

“I’ve trained for the Siegels for a long time and they’re great people to train for,” McGee said.

McGee, who has 294 career wins beneath the Twin Spires, has trained several high-quality horses for the Siegels, including Miss Pickums and Suave. Miss Pickums, the dam of Shameless, won the Grade II Golden Rod at Churchill Downs in 2000 on her way to $376,809 in career earnings. Suave, a multiple graded stakes winner of over $1.3 million, captured Churchill Downs’ Grade III Northern Dancer (now the Matt Winn) and lost by a narrow head to Magna Graduate in the 2005 Clark Handicap, which was then a Grade II event.

Jay Em Ess Stable is currently second in the owner standings with six wins, two behind Midwest Thoroughbreds Inc., and will have their final starter of the Spring Meet with Ready to Taunt in Sunday’s eighth race, a maiden-special at 1 1/8-miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course.

“He was just second in the same race a few weeks ago (May 22) and so we’re running him right back,” McGee said. “He should have a good shot.”

It will be the fourth start for the 3-year-old gelded son of More Than Ready, who debuted in June of 2010 at Churchill Downs on the main track. Following a 10-month layoff, Ready to Taunt ran third in a $50,000 maiden claiming race on Keeneland’s Polytrack prior to his runner-up effort on the Matt Winn Turf Course at Churchill Downs.

Sunday’s eighth race has a post time of 4:25 p.m. and Ready to Taunt, who will be ridden by Corey Lanerie, is 6-1 on the morning line.

WISE DAN A ‘GO’ FOR TURF DEBUT IN MONDAY’S FIRECRACKER ‘CAP – With just over 24 hours to go before the turf debut of Morton Fink’s homebred Wise Dan in Monday’s $175,000-added Firecracker Handicap Presented by GE (GII), trainer Charles Lopresti reported that all systems were “go” for what could be a pivotal race for his veteran stakes winner.

Wise Dan tuned up for his turf bow last Tuesday when he worked four furlongs in :48.80 around the dogs on the Matt Winn Turf Course in his first experience on grass.  On the same day Preston Stables LLC’s Flat Out, who dominated his foes in Saturday’s Suburban Handicap (GII) on at Belmont Park, breezed a half-mile over the same surface in :50.20.

“He’s doing good,” Lopresti said by telephone from Lexington on Sunday.  “He came out of that breeze good and his blood work is good.  It just depends on whether he likes the grass or not.

A Firecracker victory by Wise Dan would make him the first horse in its 19 renewals on grass to win the one-mile test for 3-year-olds and up without the benefit of a previous race on grass.  The quality of last week’s work over the Matt Winn Turf Course encouraged Lopresti to think that the homebred son of Wiseman’s Ferry possesses the ability to be a major factor in the race.

“Everybody told me that it was really a phenomenal work,” Lopresti said.  “I was watching up in the clocker’s stand and down the backside he (Wise Dan) didn’t know what he was doing at first.  It was like, ‘What am I supposed to be doing on this thing?’  Then when he hit the half-mile pole and went around the turn, I saw Jon lower down and he said he kicked it for home.

"Jon said he eased him up, because I didn’t want him to do too much with him.  I kind of like my outside post, and it wouldn’t bother me if we got a little rain because there was a good cut in the course the other day when he worked.”

Wise Dan has a record of 4-0-0 in nine races, with his biggest win to date coming in last fall’s Phoenix (GIII) at six furlongs over synthetic Polytrack at Keeneland.  He followed that effort with a good sixth place finish in which he finished fewer than three lengths behind the victorious Big Drama in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (GI) at Churchill Downs.

He is 0-for-3 in 2011, but has a pair of good fourth-place finishes in tough races this season.  He ran fourth to Dogwood Stable’s Aikenite in the Commonwealth (GII) at Keeneland and that rival returned to win the seven-furlong, $300,000 Churchill Downs (GII) on Kentucky Derby Day in his next outing.  After an eighth-place run in his first attempt at a two-turn distance in the 1 1/16-mile Alysheba (GIII) at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Oaks Day, Wise Dane rebounded with a good fourth-place finish in a seven-furlong allowance race on dirt at the Louisville track.  That stakes-quality race was won by multiple stakes winner Native Ruler and the runner-up was two-time Grade I winner General Quarters, the morning line favorite for Monday’s Firecracker.

The change in surface is a bit of a gamble by Lopresti, but a good run by Wise Dan will present new options for the 4-year-old gelding’s future.

“If he likes the grass, that’ll be good,” Lopresti said.  “It will be a pivotal race.  We’ll just figure out where to go from there.”

The field for the Grade II, $175,000-added Firecracker Handicap Presented by GE in post position order (with jockey, weight, and morning line odds) includes General Quarters (Jamie Theriot, 119, 3-1), Omniscient (Manoel Cruz, 113, 20-1), Mister Marti Gras (Shaun Bridgmohan, 115, 5-1), El Caballo (Corey Lanerie, 114, 9-2), Mystic (Jesus Castanon, 114, 12-1), Joshua Reynolds (Brian Hernandez Jr., 114, 30-1), Baryshnikov (Julien Leparoux, 117, 4-1), Plutonium (James Lopez, 112, 30-1), Strike Impact (Robby Albarado, 117, 8-1), Wise Dan (Court, 115, 6-1) and Lubash (Kent Desormeaux, 115, 12-1).

Mister Marti Gras is expected to scratch from the race, a move that would move Wise Dan down to post position nine in the Firecracker starting gate.

BARN TALK – Corey Lanerie, who rode Courtlant Farms’ Power World to a runner-up effort in the Grade III Bashford Manor on Saturday at Churchill Downs, hopped on a plane to Louisiana after that race to ride Brittlyn Stables Inc.’s Star Guitar in the $100,000 Louisiana Showcase Classic at Evangeline Downs for trainer Al Stall Jr.  Star Guitar won the race by 1 ¾ lengths at odds of 1-5. …

Leading rider Julien Leparoux recorded his 499^th Churchill Downs victory aboard Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC’s Raven Hawk in Friday’s eighth race for Steve Asmussen, the leading trainer of the Spring Meet. Leparoux will attempt to become just the tenth jockey to record 500 wins at Churchill Downs with one of his ten mounts Sunday (Races 1-6, 8-11). …

During the final two days of the Spring Meet, Churchill Downs will offer special all-day $1 Budweiser drafts and $1 hot dogs on the bricks of the paddock area to celebrate “Red, White, and Blues Weekend” Presented by GE. Also, there will be live blues music on the paddock stage between races each day from 2-6 p.m. V-Groove will play Sunday and Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons are set to perform on closing day, Monday, July 4. …

The 3^rd Annual Horsemen’s Golf Scramble at Glenmary’s Country Club on Monday, Aug. 29. Registration begins at 11 a.m. and the cost is $100 per player with four players to a team. Lunch will also begin at 11 a.m. and the shotgun start is at 12:30 p.m. Those interested may pick up a form from The Backside Learning Center and return it by Friday, Aug. 12.

WHO’S HOT – The hottest jockey over the last five racing days (June 25-July 2) is Calvin Borel (10-for-32). Bill Mott (4-for-8), Mike Maker (4-for-11) and Eddie Kenneally (4-for-13) are the hottest trainers over the same period. Mace and Samantha Siegel’s Jay Em Ess Stable (3-for-3) are the hottest owners.

WORKTAB – Ed Few’s Lil Cherokee, who won the Texas Thoroughbred Association Sale Futurity at Lone Star Park in his second career start, breezed five furlongs in 1:01.40 on a fast track under Brian Hernandez Jr. on Sunday morning at Churchill Downs for trainer Bret Calhoun. Lil Cherokee, a 2-year-old son of Cherokee Run, was scratched from Saturday’s Grade III Bashford Manor after the earlier scratch of Laurie’ Rocket placed him in the number one post for the race. “He’s perfectly healthy,” assistant trainer Dennis Geier said on Saturday.  “We just didn’t like the post.”

Dr. Joseph Witek’s homebred Joes Blazing Aaron breezed four furlongs in :51.80 on the main track for trainer Mike Maker on Sunday morning. A 3-year-old gelded son of Graeme Hall, Joes Blazing Aaron, who won the Palm Beach (GIII) at Gulfstream Park in March, was fourth in his most recent start, a 1 1/16-mile allowance race that was taken off the Matt Winn Turf Course because of rain and run over a “good” main track beneath at Churchill Downs on June 19.

WEATHER – Sunday: partly sunny with a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 91. Monday: partly sunny with a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 89. Tuesday: mostly sunny, 88. Wednesday: mostly sunny with a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 88. Thursday: partly sunny with a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 89. Friday: mostly sunny, 89. Saturday: mostly sunny, 89.

BUSY SUNDAY FOR STEPHEN FOSTER CONTENDERS – It was a busy Sunday morning for horses being pointed to compete in Saturday’s $500,000-added Stephen Foster Handicap Presented by Abu Dhabi (Grade I) as four contenders – including the Virginia H. Tarra Trust’s high weight Giant Oak – were on the main track at Churchill Downs for their final pre-race works.

Other Foster hopefuls who worked on Sunday over a fast Churchill Downs surface included Preston Stable LLC’s Flat Out, Twin Creeks Racing Stable LLC’s Mission Impazible and William S. Farish Jr.’s Pool Play.

Giant Oak was out early at 6;30 a.m. (all times EDT) and breezed five furlongs in 1:00.60.  Jockey Eddie Perez was in the saddle for trainer Chris Block as the 5-year-old son of Giant’s Causeway worked in company with the Jim Baker-trained Westshore.  Giant Oak was timed in fractional splits of :12.40, :24.60 and :36.40, and galloped out six furlongs in :1:14.20.

The move by Giant Oak was the second-fastest of 41 at the distance.  Sunday’s “bullet” for the distance was the :59.40 move by trainer Bob Baffert’s stakes-winning sprinter Ventana.

"He breezed real well,” Block said.  “Jimmy Baker was kind enough to give us some company, and he needs that to focus in.  It was a good five-eights and I like the way he’s doing.  He’s coming into it as good as I’ve seen him come into one."

Giant Oak won Churchill Downs’ $500,000-added Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GI) last fall via the disqualification of Successful Dan.  He followed his Clark triumph with an emphatic victory in the Donn Handicap (GI) at Gulfstream Park to start his 2011 season.

He will attempt to snap a two-race losing string in the Foster after he finished third in the New Orleans Handicap (GII) and fifth in the Alysheba (GIII) on Kentucky Oaks Day at Churchill Downs.

Shaun Bridgmohan has the Foster mount on Giant Oak, who has been assigned high weight of 122 pounds for Saturday’s 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds and up.

A large and competitive field is shaping up for the 30^th running of the Stephen Foster.  Although Giant Oak has a stretch-running style that is vulnerable to traffic issues, Block a big field could also work in his favor.

“We need a pace, and the shorter the field it seems that the pace doesn’t really set up well for us,” he said.  “I don’t a big field bothers me too much, because he comes around ‘em and he’s done that here before.  I’ve got a good rider and I feel good about it.”

Flat Out, runner-up in the Lone Star Park Handicap (GIII) on Memorial Day, worked five furlongs in 1:01.60 shortly after the track opened for training at 6 a.m.

The Scooter Dickey-trained son of Flatter had Corey Lanerie, the leading rider of the Spring Meet, in the irons as he covered the distance in fractions of :13.20, :25.20, :37.20 and :49.60.  Flat Out galloped out six furlongs in 1:15.

Dickey said Flat Out is close to “definite” for a Foster run.

“All systems are go,” Dickey said.  “Corey was pleased with the way he worked.”

Lanerie is committed for the Foster ride aboard Flat Out, whose career has been placed on hold several times because of quarter crack issues.  But Dickey said the 5-year-old’s feet are fine now.

"The horse is doing good, and he’s ready,” he said. “You don’t know with him.  He’s day-to-day if he gets another quarter crack.  But everything is good now.”

Mission Impazible, the winner of the New Orleans Handicap (GII) who ran 10^th to Super Saver in last year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI), worked five furlongs in 1:00.80 after the maintenance break for trainer Todd Pletcher.

The 4-year-old son of Unbridled’s Song was ridden by jockey Manoel Cruz as he worked in company with Micheal Tabor’s Excited, a 3-year-old filly being pointed toward Saturday’s $125,000-added Regret Presented by Etihad Airways (GIII).

"He shipped in a few days ago (from Belmont) and he's been doing good,” said assistant Michael McCarthy, who oversees Pletcher’s Churchill Downs stable.  “He's an easy horse to work with. Everything went really well this morning and he seemed to finish up full of himself."

Javier Castellano is expected to ride Mission Impazible for Pletcher, who is looking for his first victory in the Stephen Foster Handicap.

Pool Play, a Mark Casse-trained 6-year-old who will make a belated debut on traditional dirt in the Stephen Foster, breezed four furlongs in :48.80 under exercise rider Melanie Giddings.  Pool Play galloped out five furlongs in 1:03.

"We were just looking for something easy with him,” said assistant Norman Casse, the trainer’s son who oversees his father’s stable at Churchill Downs.

The younger Casse said Miguel Mena would ride Pool Play in the Foster.  The most recent effort by the son of Silver Deputy was a runner-up finish to Musketier in the 1 ½-mile Elkhorn (GII) on turf at Keeneland.

Trainer Clark Hanna reported that Don L. Benge’s A.U. Miner came out of a Saturday work well and remains “possible” to run in the Stephen Foster.  But the 6-year-old son of Mineshaft, a troubled fourth in his most recent start in last fall’s Breeders’ Cup Marathon at Churchill Downs, has been entered in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race on Friday’s “Downs After Dark” night racing program and could run there instead of the Foster.

Foster contenders stabled outside of Churchill Downs have been busy in recent days.

California-based Crown of Thorns turned up for his journey to Kentucky for the Stephen Foster on Saturday with a six-furlong work in 1:13.40 over a “fast” surface at Santa Anita.

Spendthrift Farm’s 6-year-old son of Repent won the Grade II Mervyn LeRoy at Hollywood Park last time out – the first victory for the talented, but often-injured veteran since a win in the Robert B. Lewis (GII) at Santa Anita in his 3-year-old season in 2008.  An injury after that victory knocked him out of consideration for the Kentucky Derby.  He had six well-spaced losses from his return to racing in 2009 through his 2011 debut in a seventh-place finish in Santa Anita’s Portrero Grande (GII), but those setbacks included four consecutive runner-up finishes in Grade I events.  One was a narrow loss in the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (GI).

Crown of Thorns is scheduled to travel to Churchill Downs for the Foster on a Tuesday flight from Southern California.  Other Foster contenders scheduled to be on the flight include Donald Dizney’s Alysheba (GIII) winner and 2010 Preakness (GI) runner-up First Dude and C R K Stable’s Gladding, the John Sadler-trained winner of Santa Anita’s San Antonio (GII) and runner-up in Lone Star Park’s recent Texas Mile (GIII).

First Dude and Gladding both worked Sunday in California.  The former worked five furlongs in :59.60 for trainer Bob Baffert at Santa Anita.  Gladding breezed six furlongs in 1:12 at Hollywood Park.

In New York, trainer Nick Zito worked Thoroughbred Legends Racing Stable’s Foster hopeful Equestrio a half-mile in :47 on Saturday at Saratoga.  The 4-year-old son of Elusive Quality, third in the five-horse blanket finish in his stakes debut in the Alysheba, will ship to Churchill Downs later in the week.

Meanwhile, Foster contender Duke of Mischief worked a half-mile in :48 at Florida’s Calder Race Course on Saturday in preparation for his Foster run.  The David Fawkes-trained son of Graeme Hall comes into the Foster off a 2 ½-length victory in the $1 million Charles Town Classic (GIII).

Godolphin’s Regal Ransom, winner of the UAE Derby (GII) and Super Derby (GII) in 2009, is scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs on Monday.  The Saeed bin-Suroor-trained son of Distorted Humor was nipped at the wire in his runner-up finish to First Dude in the Alysheba.

Horses considered likely for the Stephen Foster include: Apart (Al Stall Jr., 118); Crown of Thorns (Mandella, 121); Duke of Mischief (Fawkes, 118); Equestrio (Zito, 116); First Dude (Baffert, 119); Flat Out (Dickey, 114); Gladding (Sadler, 117); Giant Oak (Block, 122); Mission Impazible (Pletcher, 118); and Regal Ransom (bin Suroor, 117).

REGRET HOPEUL HOLIDAYSATTHEFARM IN GOOD FORM FOLLOWING LAYOFF – Glen Hill Farm’s homebred Holidaysatthefarm will make her Churchill Downs debut Saturday in the Grade III, $125,000-added Regret Presented by Etihad Airways, although her first start of the year at Churchill Downs will come later than trainer Tom Proctor had hoped.

The 3-year-old daughter of 2004 Kentucky Derby winner Smarty Jones has not raced since an eighth-place finish behind Dynamic Holiday in the Herecomesthebride (GIII) at Gulfstream Park on Mar. 13.  The three-month layoff that commenced after that setback was not Proctor’s original plan for Holidaysatthefarm.

“I wanted to run her on Kentucky Oaks Day (in the Edgewood at 1 1/16 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course), but she was scratched by the vets,” Proctor said. “Then I tried to run her in an allowance race, but it came off the turf, so I scratched her.”

Proctor prefers to look at the longer-than-expected break for his filly as a possible blessing in disguise.

"The layoff has actually done her good,” Proctor said. “This filly is doing really well.”

After being beaten by a combined 23 lengths in two starts at Gulfstream earlier this year, Proctor hopes Holidaysatthefarm will display a form in the Regret that is more comparable to her runner-up finish to Dynamic Holiday in February’s Florida Oaks at Tampa Bay Downs.

“I think she’ll like the turf course here,” Proctor said. “She didn’t run any good at Gulfstream in either of her races, even when she was third (beaten 12 lengths by Regret rival Kathmanblu in the Sweetest Chant on Jan. 22). But the race at Tampa … now that was a good race.”

Three-year-old fillies under consideration for Saturday’s 42^nd running of the Regret for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/8 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course: Bizzy Caroline (trained by Ken McPeek); Blushandbashful (John Terranova II); Bouquet Booth (Steve Margolis); Diva Ash (Dale Romans); Excited (Todd Pletcher); Gaya (Tom Amoss); Holidaysatthefarm (Tom Proctor); Kathmanblu (McPeek); My Phi Temper (Ronny Werner); and Sassy’s Dream (McPeek).

UNCLE BRENT FIRES ‘BULLET’ IN PREP FOR MATT WINN – Lynn Whiting, a Churchill Downs veteran best known as the trainer of the late W.C. Partee’s 1992 Kentucky Derby winner Lil E. Tee, was looking for a good work on Sunday from Charles Cella’s Uncle Brent in preparation for a start in Saturday’s $125,000-added Matt Winn Presented by Emirates Equestrian Federation (GIII).

The 3-year-old son of Pioneering did not disappoint as he breezed a “bullet” four furlongs in :46.80 over the fast main track. The breeze was the fastest of 37 moves at the distance. Manoel Cruz was in the irons for the work and will be aboard Uncle Brent in the Matt Winn.

"He’s a quality horse and I wanted to give him a sharp work,” said Whiting, who hopes to collect his first stakes victory beneath the Twin Spires since saddling Cat’s Career to a win in the 1997 Ack Ack (GIII). “He may have gone a tad too fast.  I would have preferred if he went 47 and change, but I guess he wasn’t too far from that. Overall it was a very nice work.”

Uncle Brent will enter the Matt Winn off a disappointing ninth-place finish behind Alternation in the Peter Pan (GII) at Belmont Park.

"It was a new track and he got tired,” Whiting said. “He was never able to change leads (in the Peter Pan) and that didn’t help. He’s a much better horse than what he showed that day.”

Uncle Brent has a record of 2-1-0 from four starts and earnings of $91,800. The biggest win of his career came in the $100,000 Northern Spur at Oaklawn Park, the Hot Springs, Ark. track where his owner serves as president.

Three-year-olds under consideration for Saturday’s 14^th running of the Matt Winn (formerly the Northern Dancer) for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles: Alstom (trained by D. Wayne Lukas); Bind (Al Stall Jr.); Dominus (Steve Asmussen); Infrattini (Paul McGee); Joe Vann (Todd Pletcher); Uncle Brent (Whiting) and Wilburn (Asmussen).

TRAINER SIMMS TO MAKE RARE STAKES APPEARANCE IN JEFFERSON CUP – Veteran trainer Garry Simms, who has waged a battle with melanoma since early 2010, spoke of his health issues a few weeks back and said: “There’s nothing that a fast horse can’t fix.”

Simms was speaking specifically of Tanzana, his winner of the 2010 Cradle Stakes at River Downs, but Simms hopes he has another “fast horse” in his barn in the promising Redboard.

Burr Travis Racing VI’s lightly-raced son of Flower Alley is being pointed to Saturday’s $100,000-added Jefferson Cup Presented by Abu Dhabi (GIII).  Redboard comes into his stakes debut after breaking his maiden on the Matt Winn Turf Course earlier in the meet under apprentice rider Marcelino Pedroza Jr.

"That was only his second start and his first time on the turf,” Simms said. “He won so impressively that day that I’m going to give him a shot in the Matt Winn.”

The 3-year-old gelding will be Simms’ first stakes starter beneath the Twin Spires since he saddled Wheelin Dealin for a fourth-place finish in the Churchill Downs Turf Sprint in 1995.

“I’ve had some other good ones in my career that could have run in stakes here,” Simms said. “But we’ve always taken the money when someone has wanted to buy the horse for a good number.

“With my current condition, I think we will keep him (Redboard) for awhile, but if the number is right then we may end up selling him, too. Obviously his price would go way up if he wins Saturday, and I really think he is going to run well.”

Redboard tuned-up for the Jefferson Cup with a five furlong work at Churchill Downs on Saturday in 1:03.60.

"It was a nice maintenance work for him,” Simms said. “He just ran a couple of weeks ago so we didn’t want him going too fast. It was perfect.”

Leandro Goncalves, who has ridden three winners at the 2011 Spring Meet, will be aboard Redboard in the Jefferson Cup.

Known horses under consideration for Saturday’s Jefferson Cup for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course: Banned (trained by Tom Proctor); Chalice (Kellyn Gorder); Chinglish (Mark Hennig); Derby Kitten (Mike Maker); Dream Warrior (Eddie Kenneally); Perregaux (Neil Howard); Redboard (Garry Simms); and Swagger Jack (Darrin Miller).

NOMINATIONS FOR CHURCHILL DOWNS’ FIRST ARABIAN RACE - Churchill Downs will hold its first for horses of the Arabian breed Saturday as part of the Stephen Foster Day Presented by Abu Dhabi card.

The $50,000-added The President of United Arab Emirates Cup (Grade I) will feature a field of Arabian horses ages 4 and up at the Kentucky Derby distance of 1 ¼ miles.

Nominees to the race include: A Ladys Man (trained by Lynn Ashby); Another Color (Renee Lafleur); Crownn Royal (Ashby); Dixies Valentine (Tracy Nunley); Full of Fiesta (Greg Ketter); Grilla (Bill Waldron); Ovour the Top (Ashby); T M Fred Texas (Ronald Martino); Vip (Martino); and Wodkka (Lafleur).

Grilla won an April installment of The President of the United Arab Emirates Cup at Keeneland.

CRUZ SAVORS FIVE-WIN DAY AT CHURCHILL DOWNS– If there were horsemen and racing fans who had not been convinced that jockey Manoel Cruz made the proper decision when he departed his longtime base at Florida’s Calder Race Course for a new Kentucky home at Churchill Downs, the transplanted rider’s day at the Downs on Saturday could have sealed the deal.

Cruz scored five wins on the program, topped by a victory aboard Magdalena Racing’s My Baby Baby in the $100,000-added Early Times Mint Julep (GIII) for his most successful day beneath the historic Louisville track’s Twin Spires.

“It was my biggest day here, but I hope it’s my first big day,” Cruz said.  “I want plenty of those big days.  That would make me happy and I’m going to work toward that.”

His spectacular day improved the Spring Meet victory total for the 41-year-old native of Brazil to 14.  He entered Sunday’s races tied with Jon Court for seventh in the leading rider standings.

Cruz had long considered a move to Kentucky, but was hesitant to leave the comfort of life at Calder, where he had dominated the riding colony in recent years.  But Kentucky-based trainer Ken McPeek finally convinced Cruz to make the move to the Bluegrass State, and veteran Steve Elzey was enlisted as his agent.

“I appreciate what Ken McPeek did to bring me here,” Cruz said.  “I wanted to come and he pushed me.  It was not easy to leave Florida.  I was leading jockey there every year and it was hard to leave, but I’m glad I did.”

A look at his Cruz’s Florida numbers makes it easy to understand his comfort level at Calder.  Cruz won six riding crowns at the track, which include three Calder meets and a trio of Tropical-at-Calder titles.  He won 1,371 races at Calder and added another 584 victories at the Tropical-at-Calder meet.  Those totals rank second all-time at the respective meets.  When the totals are combined, Cruz is Calder’s all-time leading jockey.

He had limited experience at Churchill Downs heading into his first spring in Kentucky. He had participated in a single Kentucky Derby prior to his move: an 11^th-place finish aboard Smooth Air in the 2008 Run for the Roses.  Saturday’s victory aboard My Baby Baby was his second stakes win of the meet, both for McPeek.  He had he piloted Salty Strike to win last week’s $100,000-added Dogwood (GIII).

At the conclusion of the Churchill Downs meet, Cruz and Elzey will head to New York to ride at the prestigious Saratoga meet.  Then it’s back to Kentucky for the fall at Keeneland and Churchill Downs.

“I always wanted to move to this place, and my opportunity came,” Cruz said.  “I love Kentucky and I’ve come to stay.  I’m going to do the best I can to work hard and do the job.”

BARN TALK – Early Times Mint Julep winner My Baby Baby will more than likely be retired following her first stakes victory at Churchill Downs, according to McPeek. The 6-year-old daughter of Bernstein has already begun her career as a broodmare and won the Mint Julep while in-foal to the two-time Horse of the Year Curlin on a Feb. 12 cover. …

My Baby Baby gave McPeek his third consecutive stakes win at Churchill Downs. McPeek had previously won the Grade III Dogwood with Salty Strike and the Grade III Aristides with Noble’s Promise on June 4. …

Leading rider Corey Lanerie collected three more wins Saturday at Churchill Downs. With 34 wins this spring, Lanerie is now 10 ahead of Shaun Bridgmohan, who is currently second in the jockey standings. Lanerie has never won a riding title at the Louisville track. …

WORKTAB – Zayat Stables LLC’s Joe Vann, who won the Grade III Illinois Derby prior to a fourth place finish in the Grade II Peter Pan in his most recent start, worked five furlongs over a “fast” Churchill Downs track in 1:01.40 for trainer Todd Pletcher. The 3-year-old son of Silver Deputy recently shipped to Churchill Downs from New York and is under consideration for Saturday’s Matt Winn.

Charles E. Fipke’s Seeking the Title, who won the 2010 edition of the Grade III Iowa Oaks and finished eighth in the Grade II La Troienne Presented by Blackberry/RIM in her most recent start, worked four furlongs in :47.60 Sunday morning for trainer Dallas Stewart.

Michael Tabor’s Excited, winner of the Hilltop Stakes at Pimlico on May 20, completed a five furlong work in 1:01.40 while working in company with Stephen Foster hopeful, Mission Impazible, after the renovation break Sunday for trainer Todd Pletcher.

Karl Watson, Mike Pegram, and Paul Weitman’s Ventana, who won the Grade III Maryland Sprint Handicap at Pimlico in her most recent start, worked five furlongs in :59.40, which was the fastest time of 41 workers at the distance Sunday.

Dundalk 5 LLC’s Dundalk Dust, who captured the Grade II Falls City Handicap beneath the Twin Spires last November, breezed six furlongs in 1:14 for trainer Chris Block on Sunday morning.

WHO’S HOT – The hottest jockeys over the last five racing days (June 4-11) are Corey Lanerie (9-for-35), Julien Leparoux (7-for-24) and Manny Cruz (7-for-32). Ken McPeek (4-for-12) and Tom Amoss (3-for-4) are the hottest trainers over the same period. The hottest owners are Maggi Moss (2-for-2) and Charles E. Fipke (2-for-5).

WEATHER – Sunday: mostly sunny, 83. Monday: mostly sunny, 83. Tuesday: partly sunny with a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 85. Wednesday: mostly cloudy with a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 87. Thursday: partly sunny with a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 85. Friday: mostly sunny, 89. Saturday: partly sunny with a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 90.