Freddie Lenclud

Heuristic Stable’s Fortune Play outdueled Westrock Stables LLC’s Decelerator down the stretch to win the $77,270 Roxelana by a neck before a crowd of 27,787 on Friday night at Churchill Downs.

Trained by John Booker Jr. and ridden by Freddie Lenclud, Fortune Play covered the seven furlongs on a fast main track in 1:22.19.

Fortune Play, a 5-year-old daughter of Five Star Day, rated in fourth through fractions of :23.08 and :46.24 set by the early pace-setting duo of Alex G. Campbell Jr.’s The Underling and Decelerator. Lenclud moved for the leaders with three furlongs remaining, angled out for the drive entering the stretch, caught Decelerator with a sixteenth of a mile remaining and finally edged clear of that stubborn rival in the final yards.

Breaking from the gate as the 4-1 third-choice, Fortune Play returned mutuels of $10, $5 and $3.60. Decelerator finished second to return $6.40 and $4.60 with John Gunther’s Stage Magic another 3 ½-lengths back in third returning $7.40.

The victory was worth $46,560 and increased Fortune Play’s bankroll to $273,052 with a record of 5-7-5 from 27 starts.

Racing continues Saturday with a 13-race program highlighted by the 110^th running of the Grade III, $100,000-added Bashford Manor, which is scheduled to be run as Race 12 at 6:23 p.m. EDT. First post is at 12:45 p.m.

CONVEYANCE REMOVED FROM PREAKNESS CONSIDERATION – Three-time Kentucky Derby (GI)-winning trainer Bob Baffert reduced his list of Preakness prospects in half Friday morning by declaring Zabeel Racing International’s Southwest Stakes (GIII) winner Conveyance out of the second jewel of the Triple Crown.

“He’s not going,” Baffert said of the Kentucky Derby pacesetter who finished 15th in the mile and a quarter classic. “The plan now for Conveyance is to win a stake somewhere in the country with him.”
Karl Watson, Mike Pegram and Paul Weitman’s Lookin At Lucky, the Kentucky Derby favorite who finished sixth behind Super Saver, galloped a mile and a half after the renovation break under Peter Hutton.

"I am just taking it day by day with him,” said Baffert, who has won the Preakness four times. “He is still 51 percent (to go).”

In addition to Lookin At Lucky, eight other horses eyeing the Preakness galloped Friday morning at Churchill Downs.

Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, owned by WinStar Farm, galloped a mile and a sixteenth under Kevin Willey. Dogwood Stable’s Aikenite galloped a mile and three-eighths under Willey and is scheduled to work Sunday. Both colts are trained by Todd Pletcher.

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas’ two Preakness prospects, Robert Baker and William Mack’s Dublin and Westrock Stables’ Northern Giant, galloped a mile and a half before the renovation break with Arielle Witkowski handling both colts. Lukas plans to work both horses Sunday or Monday.

Donegal Racing’s Paddy O’Prado, third in the Kentucky Derby, and Donald Dizney’s First Dude each galloped 1 ½ miles for trainer Dale Romans. First Dude is scheduled to work Saturday morning with Tammy Fox in the saddle.

Robert LaPenta and Jack or Better Farm’s Jackson Bend, 12th in the Kentucky Derby, galloped a mile and three-eighths under Stacy Prior and Ike and Dawn Thrash’s Hurricane Ike, winner of The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial (GIII) on April 24, galloped a mile and a half shortly after the track opened at 6 a.m. Hurricane Ike is scheduled to work Monday.

APPRENTICE LENCLUD BAGS THURSDAY TRIPLE – Apprentice jockey Freddie Lenclud had an idea Thursday could be a good day at Churchill Downs.

"In the morning, I was looking at the paper and it looked like I had a couple of shots,” said Lenclud, a 23-year-old native of Lamdrecis, France. “I told my agent (Doc Danner) that three or four was a good number and he was laughing.”

When the day was done, Lenclud had three winners from seven mounts and became the first apprentice to win three races in a day at Churchill Downs since Julien Leparoux in the spring of 2006 when he won at least three races 11 times.

"To win three at Churchill Downs, that’s pretty good,” said Lenclud, who posted his first North American victory last July at Ellis Park. Lenclud rode 24 winners at the 2010 Oaklawn Park meeting, good for seventh in the rider standings, and rode five winners last month at Keeneland, good for a tie for ninth in a star-studded jockey colony.

“I’m not sure about the last time an apprentice rode three, but I am sure glad he did it yesterday,” said Danner, “because everybody was watching Churchill Downs.”

With a $947,641 Pick 6 carryover and a pool in the multiple-race wager that grew to $4,086,255, plenty of eyes were on Churchill Downs and two of Lenclud’s winners came in the Pick 6 sequence:  Dabossman ($10.40) in the sixth and Quiet by Seven ($5.80) in the seventh. The latter victory on the Matt Winn Turf Course was for trainer Michelle Nihei.

"I like a lot of things about him,” Nihei said of Lenclud, whom she uses often. “He works hard. He shows up in the mornings and I feel very confident that he knows the horses.

“He tries hard and he’s hungry. He works to get it done. He’s very patient and I think he’s got a little bit of ice in his veins and that’s important.”

IROQUOIS WINNER THISKYHASNOLIMIT HEADS NOMNEES TO MAY 15 MATT WINN – Cathy and Bob Zollars and Mark Wagner’s Thiskyhasnolimit, winner of last fall’s Iroquois (GIII) beneath the Twins Spires, heads a list of 20 nominations for the ninth running of the Matt Winn.

Scheduled for May 15, the $100,000-added Matt Winn is a seven-furlong sprint on the main track for 3-year-olds that was won last year by Capt. Candyman Can.

Idle since finishing sixth as the favorite in last year’s Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) that was won by Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, Thiskyhasnolimit is trained by Steve Asmussen. Asmussen has won the Matt Winn twice, scoring with Posse in 2003 and Razor in 2005.

Among the other stakes winners nominated to the Matt Winn training on the grounds are Robert and Lawana Low and Winmore LLC’s Cool Bullet and Donegal Racing’s Vow to Wager.

Cool Bullet, trained by Steve Margolis, won the Sugar Bowl this winter at Fair Grounds and in his most recent start won the Hansel at Turfway Park. Vow to Wager, trained by two-time Matt Winn winner Dale Romans, won the John Battaglia Memorial at Turfway Park in February via disqualification and ran second to Stay Put in an optional claiming race that opened the Kentucky Derby Day card.

Trainer John Sadler, who saddled Hurricane Ike to win the opening-day The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial (GIII), is pointing C R K Stable’s Privilaged to the Matt Winn. Privilaged ran third last out in the seven-furlong Swale (GII) at Gulfstream.

Entries for the Matt Winn will be taken Wednesday.

BARN TALK – Three-time Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Calvin Borel will be the Spring Meet’s first guest for “Get in the Game with Jill Byrne,” a regular Saturday interview and handicapping seminar hosted by the Churchill Downs racing analyst.

Saturday’s seminar is set for at 11:45 a.m. (EDT)  in the paddock.

Calvin Borel had twice seen Churchill Downs riding titles slip away by the slimmest of margins to Julien Leparoux, but the two-time Kentucky Derby winner turned the tables in the 2009 Fall Meet as he won four races on the meet’s final day to earn a dramatic 27-27 tie for “leading jockey” with his French-born rival as the historic track concluded the 21-day meet on Saturday.

While Borel and Leparoux shared the spotlight in their division, Steve Asmussen edged Dale Romans to collect his sixth “leading trainer” crown and Ken and Sarah Ramsey earned “leading owner” honors for a record 16th time beneath the Twin Spires.

The Fall Meet drew to a close with its “Stars of Tomorrow II” program of 12 races exclusively to 2-year-old Thoroughbreds.  Conducted under a sunny November sky with temperatures hovering near 70, the meet’s final day continued with a remarkable run of moderate weather during which only two turf races were lost to wet track conditions.

“Churchill Downs was blessed with great weather for most of the Fall Meet, but our track’s team members are most thankful for the support of our fans who enjoyed our racing on-track, at simulcast centers and in their homes, and to the many horsemen who enthusiastically participated in our racing program throughout those 21 days,” said Kevin Flanery, who completed his first meet as president of Churchill Downs.  “These are challenging times for our track and Kentucky’s signature horse industry, but the enthusiasm displayed by on-track patrons and horsemen during the meet proved again that Thoroughbred racing and Churchill Downs are very special parts of life in this region and our industry’s supporters want it to thrive and grow.  We sincerely thank everyone who contributed in any way to the success of our Fall Meet, and we look forward to April 24 and the start of Kentucky Derby Week and our 2010 Spring Meet.”

The 43-year-old Borel entered the meet’s final day facing a 27-23 deficit to Leparoux, who missed the meet’s last two days for a journey to Tokyo to ride in the Japan Cup. The Louisiana-born veteran capped his memorable closing day burst with a front-running, stakes record victory aboard WinStar Farm’s Super Saver in the 83rd running of the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes that deadlocked Borel and Leparoux with only one race remaining in the meet.  Borel had a chance to earn the title outright in that final race and briefly led in the stretch aboard longshot Outlaw Man, but finished second and his horse was ultimately disqualified to fourth because of an erratic stretch run.

Leparoux, a 26-year-old native of Senlis, France, earned his third Fall Meet title and sixth overall crown as he completed his second sweep of Spring and Fall Meet championships in a calendar year at Churchill Downs.  The shared title was Borel’s third, following an outright Fall Meet win in 1999 and a tie with Shaun Bridgmohan in 2006.

Bridgmohan finished third in the 2009 jockey race with 17 wins, while Leandro Goncalves compiled 16 victories and Francisco Torres finished with 15.  French-born Freddie Lenclud earned nine wins to earn honors as the meet’s leading apprentice jockey.

Asmussen, the runaway win leader among U.S. trainers in 2009, held off eight-time titlist Dale Romans 17-16 to earn his third Fall Meet “leading trainer” title and his seventh overall.  Like Leparoux, the 44-year-old Asmussen swept Churchill Downs’ 2009 Spring and Fall Meet crowns, a feat he had earlier accomplished in 2004 and 2007

Horses owned by the Ramseys earned nine victories during the meet to give the Nicholasville, Ky. couple a record eighth Fall Meet “leading owner” title and 16th overall, which is also a record.  The Ramseys’ 2009 title allowed them snap a tie with the late John Franks for the most Fall Meet “leading owner” crowns.

WinStar Farm, L.T.B., Inc., Heiligbrodt Racing and Brereton C. Jones each collected five wins and finished in a tie for the runner-up spot.

The meet’s most memorable race might have been Friday’s 135th running of the $400,000-added Clark Handicap (GII) in which Adele Dilschneider and Claiborne Farm’s Blame held off Misremembered, defending champion Einstein and Giant Oak in a blanket finish in which the four horses were separated by less than a length.  Jockey Jamie Theriot and trainer Al Stall, Jr. secured their first victories in the race that is as old as the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) and Kentucky Oaks (GI).

Other Fall Meet equine stars included Jerry Romans’ Sassy Image, who swept the Golden Rod (GII) and Pocahontas (GIII), the track’s top fall races for 2-year-old fillies,  and Kathy and Bob Zollars and Mark Wagner’s Thiskyhasnolimit, the Asmussen-trained winner of the Iroquois (GIII).  The 4-year-old Acoma scored her fourth stakes victory at Churchill Downs when she rallied to win the Cardinal (GIII) on turf, Mary’s Follies won the Mrs. Revere (GII) for 3-year-old fillies on grass and Robert Courtney’s Rahystrada scored the upset of the meet with a 56-1 shocker in River City Handicap (GIII).

John and Glen Sikrura’s Canadian invader Seranading won the 94th running of the $150,000-added Falls City Handicap and give trainer Josie Carroll her first stakes victory at Churchill Downs.  Get Stormy scored a narrow victory in the Commonwealth Turf (GIII) for 3-year-olds, while Malibu Prayer notched an upset win in the Grade II Chilukki and Amerman Racing’s Demarcation surprised in the Ack Ack (GIII).

ALBARADO HOPES FAST START CARRIES OVER TO BREEDERS’ CUP  WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS – Jockey Robby Albarado closed out the month of October on a high note by winning the riding title at the 17-day Keeneland meet with 25 victories.

He did not cool off when the calendar turned to November as he won four races on Sunday’s initial card of the 21-day Fall Meet. Albarado, who won his first Churchill Downs riding title in the 2008 Spring Meet, will head to California after today’s 10-race card to ride three horses in the Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

His mounts on Friday are Tapitsfly in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf for trainer Dale Romans, Beautician in the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (GI) for trainer Ken McPeek and on Saturday he rides Court Vision in the TVG Breeders’ Cup Mile (GI) for trainer Rick Dutrow.

Albarado, whose one Breeders’ Cup victory came aboard two-time “Horse of the Year” Curlin in the 2007 Classic at Monmouth Park, shared his thoughts on his three runners at Santa Anita

Albarado has partnered Tapitsfly in four of her six starts and was aboard for her two wins, including the P.G. Johnson at Saratoga. Tapitsfly will break from post position 10 in the 1 1/16-mile race.

The 10-hole will not be a problem for her because she has tactical speed and will be forwardly placed in the race,” Albarado said. “She worked very well over the turf course out there. Dale (Romans) is a great horseman and he knows what it takes to win these kinds of races and she is doing good. I think she is better on the grass and has a bigger turn of foot.”

Albarado rode Beautician in her debut, which she won here in June.

“I rode her the one time and then she was well matched against Hot Dixie Chick, which is the horse that I rode in two stakes at Saratoga, and I think she is phenomenal,” Albarado said. “She got knocked around a little bit in her last race at Keeneland (a fifth-place finish in the Darley Alcibiades) and didn’t get a chance to show how good she is. Hopefully she will get a clean trip out there.”

Albarado rode Court Vision for the first time in the Shadwell Turf Mile (GI) at Keeneland and posted a nose victory over Karelian. It was Court Vision’s first start in more than three months.

“The Shadwell was a good race for him coming back off the longer races and cutting back in distance,” said Albarado of Court Vision, who will break from post position one in the Mile. “I thought he was great. He will be coming at the end, that’s for sure.”

ONE CAROLINE RETURNS TO CHURCHILL DOWNS ON FRIDAY – It has been more than six months since One Caroline was last seen at Churchill Downs, but she will return on Friday following a van ride from her home base at Keeneland for Saturday’s 24th running of the $150,000-added Chilukki.

“She’ll be here tomorrow to school and then run Saturday,” said Jack Bohannan, assistant to trainer Rusty Arnold.

Owned by G. Watts Humphrey Jr. and the Louise Ireland Humphrey Revocable Trust-2008, One Caroline won her first two career starts during the 2008 Spring Meet at Churchill Downs and then started 2009 with three spectacular victories at Gulfstream Park, highlighted by a 6 ½-length score in the Grade II Rampart.

   The 4-year-old daughter of Unbridled’s Song suffered her only defeat when Miss Isella beat her by three-quarters of a length in the Louisville Distaff (GII) on May 1.

“She had a lung infection the day she lost,” Bohannan said. “She was one work away from the Fleur De Lis (on June 13) when she got hurt (chip). We were extremely disappointed because she had been training so well.”

One Caroline did not return to the track until September. She has had five works in preparation for the Chilukki with the most recent coming Sunday, a :49 half-mile move at Keeneland. 

“She has been working effortlessly and training as well as she ever has,” Bohannan said. “She does everything so easy.”

LENCLUD SETS HIS SIGHTS ON BIG APPLE IN WINTER – Apprentice Freddie Lenclud, who began riding in this country during this year’s Spring Meet at Churchill Downs, posted his first two victories beneath the Twin Spires on Wednesday afternoon.

“It was exciting,” said Lenclud, a 22-year-old native of France. “I really want to do well here because this is my home now.”

Lenclud won the first race on Talk to Nick ($16) and the ninth on Golden Country ($48.80).
After the Churchill Downs Fall Meet closes on Nov. 28, Lenclud is hoping to take his tack on the road to New York.

"I hope to go to Aqueduct when this meet ends,” Lenclud said. “They run five days a week there to only three days at Turfway Park. New York in the winter is a good place for a bug rider.”

WORK TAB – West Point Thoroughbreds’ Macho Again, winner of the Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) in June and narrow loser to “Horse of the Year” front-runner Rachel Alexandra in the Woodward (GI), worked five furlongs over a “fast” track in 1:02 after the morning renovation break for trainer Dallas Stewart. The work was the third fastest of 25 at the distance. Macho Again is being pointed to the Nov. 27 Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GII) at 1 1/8 miles on the main track. … Tom McCarthy’s General Quarters, winner of this spring’s Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (GI) and 10th-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI), worked three furlongs in :37.80, his third three-eighths move since returning to the track after having surgery to remove a chip from his right front knee.

Theodore Bates Jr.’s Golden Country reaffirmed his affinity for the main track at Churchill Downs by scoring an upset victory in Wednesday’s featured $50,597 Churchill Downs Governor’s Scholars Day Purse.

    Ridden by apprentice Freddie Lenclud, Golden Country assumed command shortly after the start of the seven-furlong sprint, surrendered the lead briefly in the run down the backstretch to Maltese Dog, regained the advantage on the far turn and then repulsed a couple of challenges to prevail by two lengths over A Diehl.

    Trained by Tom Bergin, Golden Country is a 4-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Menifee who has posted all three of his career victories at Churchill Downs. Golden Country earned $30,510 for the victory and increased his career bankroll to $118,024.

Golden Country covered the seven furlongs on a “fast” main track in 1:23.88 under Lenclud, who had a riding double on the afternoon.

Golden Country returned $48.80, $17.80 and $9. A Diehl, ridden by Robby Albarado, paid $5.60 and $3.80 with Posse Cat finishing third, another length back under Francisco Torres and returning $7.40 to show.

The 21-day Fall Meet resumes Thursday with a 10-race card beginning at 12:40 p.m. ET. There is a two-day Pick 6 carryover of $6,028.93 for Races 5-10 and a two-day Super Hi-5 carryover of $14,584.13 for the final race.

Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN) also operates Trackside at Churchill Downs, which offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 1, 2010. The track will conduct its 2009 Fall Meet from Sunday, Nov. 1 through Saturday, Nov. 28. Churchill Downs is scheduled to host the Breeders’ Cup World Championships for a record seventh time on November 5 and 6, 2010. Information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.churchilldowns.com.

- END -