Scott Blasi

Thiskyhasnolimit, returning from six months on the sidelines because of injury, rallied in the stretch under jockey Shaun Bridgmohan to wear down favored Cool Bullet to win the ninth running of the $108,000 Matt Winn Stakes for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs at Churchill Downs.

    Cathy and Bob Zollars and Mark Wagner’s son of Sky Mesa had not raced since Nov. 28, when he finished sixth as the favorite to eventual Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver in the Grade II, $150,000 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs.  Thiskyhasnolimit won by three-quarters of a length and paid $5.80, $3 and $2.40 as the second betting choice in a field of six horses.  Cool Bullet, the favorite ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., was well clear of the rest of the field for the runner-up spot and paid $2.80 and $2.20.  Privilaged, the pacesetter ridden by Jon Court, paid $2.80 to show.

    Trained by Steve Asmussen, who won the Matt Winn for the third time in its nine runnings, Thiskyhasnolimit, covered the seven-furlong distance over a fast track in 1:22.29.  The victory improved the winner’s career record to 3-1-1 in seven races and increased his career earnings to $204,439.

    Thisskyhasnolimit broke sharply and momentarily grabbed the early lead before he surrendered the lead to Privilaged and settled into fourth under Bridgmohan.  Privilaged held the advantage into the far turn, leading the field through fractions of :22.40 for the first quarter and :45 to the half-mile, when he drew off from longshot Southern Danger and Cool Bullet started to move on the leader.  Cool Bullet moved three-wide to grab the lead in the stretch, but was quickly challenged to his outside by Thiskyhasnolimit , who surged past that rival with an eighth of a mile to run and slowly edged clear in the run to the finish.
    
    Vow to Wager rallied from last to finish fourth, and was followed by Silver Craft and Southern Danger.

    The race is named for Kentucky Derby and Churchill Downs legend Col. Matt Winn, who served as president and general manager of the historic track from 1902-49.  Known by the media as “Mr. Derby,” Winn is credited with building the Kentucky Derby into America’s greatest race and one of the world’s great sports events.

MATT WINN QUOTES

SHAUN BRIDGMOHAN (jockey, THISKYHASNOLIMIT, winner): “I had a wonderful trip. My horse ran good. He’s a real nice horse and he’s been training really well. I did expect that type of effort.”

SCOTT BLASI (assistant trainer, THISKYHASNOLIMIT, winner): “He has been training well and thought he would run well today. He is definitely moving in the right direction after the layoff from his last race. We will see how he cools out before deciding on a race for him, but we would like to keep him between seven-eighths to a mile.”

BRIAN HERNANDEZ JR. (jockey, COOL BULLET, second): “We had a perfect trip. We had the two horses get hooked up in front of us and we sat outside behind them and got by both of them pretty easy. (In the stretch) we didn’t bump (with Thiskyhasnolimit); they just came together and didn’t even brush. Neither horse got off stride.”

STEVE MARGOLIS (trainer, COOL BULLET, second): “He (Cool Bullet) ran a good race, [Thiskyhasnolimit] had a little more today. Brian [Hernandez Jr.] rode a great race, no complaints. I’ll talk it over with the owners to see where he runs next, but we will take a look at the Jersey Shore at Monmouth Park.”

NOTES: Trainer Steve Asmussen collected his third Matt Winn victory. He also won the race in 2003 with Posse and in 2005 with Razor. . .Thiskyhasnolimit was clocked in a stakes record 1:22.29. It was only the second year the race has been run at the seven furlong distance and his time eclipsed Capt. Candyman Can’s 1:22.89 in 2009. . .Jockey Corey Lanerie won four races at Churchill Downs for the first time on Saturday: “It was great, it always feel good when you win, especially when you win four. This is my first time winning four at Churchill Downs. I’ve done it before in Texas several times.”

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 host the 137th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 7, 2011 and the Kentucky Oaks on Friday, May 6, 2011. The track’s 2010 Spring Meet continues through Sunday, July 4. Churchill Downs is scheduled to host the Breeders’ Cup World Championships for a record seventh time on Nov. 5 and 6, 2010. Churchill Downs tickets are available at Tickets.ChurchillDowns.com or by calling (502) 636-4400. Additional information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at ChurchillDowns.com.

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Stonestreet Stables and Harold McCormick’s Rachel Alexandra, the reigning Horse of the Year preparing for a start on Friday in the $400,000-added La Troienne Stakes (GII), will work early Monday at Churchill Downs.

"She’ll work in the morning,” said Scott Blasi, assistant to trainer Steve Asmussen.

The 4-year-old daughter of Medaglia d’Oro has posted an official workout each of the past three Mondays. Majority owner Jess Jackson said earlier in the weekend that Monday’s breeze will be a “light” one and that “it’s not going to be a bullet.”

The timed workout is expected in the early morning under Churchill Downs’ new permanent lights, likely within the hour of training that opens at 5:45 a.m.(all times EDT). “We’ll see what the weather does,” Blasi said.

Rachel Alexandra has typically gone out with the second group of horses from Asmussen’s barn but was out with the first set Sunday, completing her exercise by 6 a.m.

“She galloped two miles,” Blasi said, describing the effort as “great.”

The La Troienne, formerly known as the Louisville Stakes, is a 1 1/16-mile race for older fillies and mares on Kentucky Oaks Day. It was on the same racing program last year that Rachel Alexandra scored a record-smashing 20 ¼-length victory in the Oaks.

In her 4-year-old debut, the March 13 New Orleans Ladies at Fair Grounds, Rachel Alexandra finished second to Zardana, who is also probable for the La Troienne.  The loss snapped a nine-race win streak for Rachel Alexandra that dated to a victory in the Golden Rod Stakes (GII) at Churchill Downs in November 2008.

Both Jackson and Asmussen had expressed concerns before that setback that their star filly was not completely fit following a six-month layoff. Prior to the New Orleans Ladies, Jackson gauged Rachel Alexandra’s fitness level to Joe Drape of The New York Times as “about 85 percent.” On Saturday, he described her fitness to Churchill Downs publicity staff as “85 percent to 90, maybe 95.”

Probable starters for the La Troienne (with trainer), according to the Churchill Downs racing office, include: Be Fair (D. Wayne Lukas), Careless Jewel (Josie Carroll), Distinctive Dixie (Wally Dollase), Morena (PER) (Michael Matz), Rachel Alexandra (Asmussen), Unrivaled Belle (Bill Mott) and Zardana (John Shirreffs).

Rachel Alexandra was undefeated in eight races during her 2009 Horse of the Year campaign, including five consecutive Grade I races and three victories over males. She followed her historic Kentucky Oaks win with a victory over Kentucky Derby (GI) winner Mine That Bird  in the Preakness (GI), the middle jewel of racing’s Triple Crown. She again defeated 3-year-old males, including Belmont Stakes (GI) winner Summer Bird, in the Haskell Invitational (GI) at Monmouth Park, and capped off her legendary season with a win  over older males in the Woodward (GI) at Saratoga.  Her victory was the first by a female over older males of that prestigious.  Rachel Alexandra’s season also earned her the 2009 Eclipse Award that honored her America’s champion 3-year-old filly.

Friday’s running of the La Troienne is the first renewal of the race for older fillies and mares since its name was changed to honor one of the greatest broodmares in the history of American racing.  La Troienne’s offspring included champion Black Helen and 1940 Kentucky Derby runner-up and Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner Bimelech.  Her notable descendants included Kentucky Derby winners Sea Hero and Go for Gin, Kentucky Oaks winner Princess Rooney, and champions Easy Goer, Buckpasser, Busher, Pleasant Tap, Caerleon and Woodman.  Churchill Downs had previously honored La Troienne by placing the great mare’s name on a race for 3-year-old fillies.  That race was renamed last year in honor of ill-fated 2008 Kentucky Derby runner-up Eight Belles and is part of the Kentucky Derby Day stakes schedule.

Amanda Joy “AJ” Michalka, the 18-year-old actress/singer who’ll portray Penny Chenery’s daughter Kate in Walt Disney Studio’s forthcoming motion picture “Secretariat”, took time between takes Thursday at historic Churchill Downs to visit superstar 3-year-old filly Rachel Alexandra at Steve Asmussen’s Barn 38.

“I’ve always loved horses and I’m a fan of horse racing,” said Michalka, a teen star who is best known as one half of the pop duo 78violet (formerly Aly & AJ) with her older sister Alyson. “To actually be here at Churchill Downs and film a movie about Secretariat with this tremendous cast and crew is truly exciting. But to meet Rachel Alexandra up close and personal was a special treat. She is so amazing; watching her run just gives you goose bumps.”

Michalka, also a Disney Channel regular who’ll make her motion picture debut in Peter Jackson’s “The Lovely Bones” later this year, spent time chatting with Asmussen, his chief assistant Scott Blasi and Amy Kearns, who is part of Rachel Alexandra’s 24/7 security detail.

“My kids definitely knew her and thought it was pretty cool that she met Rachel,” Asmussen said.

Rachel Alexandra, owned by Jess Jackson’s Stonestreet Stables and Harold McCormick, returned to her Churchill Downs home base early Wednesday morning following a summer campaign on the East Coast.

The flashy filly, who put forth a Secretariat-like performance in this spring’s Kentucky Oaks with a 20 ¼-length romp in the Kentucky Oaks this spring, beat 3-year-old males in the Preakness Stakes and Haskell Invitational and, most recently, became the first female to beat older males in the prestigious Woodward Stakes at Saratoga on Sept. 5. As a result, the winner of eight races in eight starts this year is the early favorite to be crowned the sport’s “Horse of the Year.”

Scenes for “Secretariat” shot at Churchill Downs and Louisville are expected to conclude Friday and production will move from Kentucky to the old Evangeline Downs racetrack in Lafayette, La. next week. A movie executive said filming was expected to last through November and the finished product would likely be released sometime in the fall of 2010.

“Secretariat”, the story about the one-of-a-kind, world-famous 1973 Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown winner and his owner, stars Diane Lane as Chenery, Secretariat’s owner, and John Malkovich as Lucien Laurin, the trainer of “Big Red”.

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DOWNS AFTER DARK RECEIVES STRONG REVIEWS – The talk of the backstretch Saturday morning was all about the night before … the debut of night racing at Churchill Downs that brought out a crowd of 28,011.

    “The racing department did a fine job and everything was smooth on that end. It pumped us up having all the people come out to see us,” said trainer William “Buff” Bradley, whose lone starter of the night came in the 11th race that went off at 11:11 p.m. “I wish it could be like that every day.”

    “I knew it would be popular and I am sure they will address any glitches that occurred,” trainer Neil Howard said.

. “I ran at 7:30 and it wasn’t dark yet,” said veteran Kentucky-based trainer Steve Penrod. “I like to walk over with my horses and I can usually count the people in the stands. I couldn’t do that last night.  I hope they all come back.”

Chip Woolley, trainer of Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird who is based in New Mexico, liked what he saw.

“I thought for the first time, they did an awesome job. It was a great, great deal,” Woolley said. “I got here about 7 o’clock and when I turned the corner driving in I saw all the people on the balconies and it looked just like Derby Day.”

Robby Albarado, who rode two winners on the card, was back out working horses Saturday morning despite the late finish to the program.

“I usually go to bed between 11 and 11:30, but I didn’t procrastinate too long when I got home last night,” Albarado said. “It was a little bit different for us with the people and the lights. It was a nice crowd, a young crowd and hopefully a lot of them will come back.”

MISS DIANE MAKES FAVORABLE FIRST IMPRESSION FOR SCHERER – For $27,000, trainer Merrill Scherer plucked a 2-year-old Montbrook filly out of the April sale at Ocala for himself, Centaur Farms and Dan Lynch. On Friday night, he got to see what he had in the filly named Miss Diane.

What he saw was the fastest 4 ½ furlongs of the meet when Miss Diane outdueled Ad Litem by a neck in :50.99.

“She fought horses off two times in the race that was impressive,” Scherer said. Not many 2-year-olds can do that. She kept trying.”

The :50.99 clocking included a final sixteenth of a mile in 5.67 seconds.

“I didn’t know it was the fastest time of the meet, but she might have broken the track record if she had broken from the gate,” Scherer said. “She shot up like a skyrocket at the break and then she re-broke again.”

Miss Diane had two solid works at Churchill Downs before the debut, including a bullet move of :47 for a half-mile on June 5.

“She was fast every time I worked her and just ready to run,” said Scherer, who was surprised to come away with the filly for only $27,000. “I just got her papers the day before, which is why I entered both (Yes It’s Valid also was entered) in case they didn’t get here.”

So, what’s next for Miss Diane?

“Not a clue,” Scherer said.

OCEAN COLORS DAZZLES IN TURF DEBUT – Expectations have always been high for Ocean Colors, the next-to-last foal of 1988 Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors. The expectations heightened when she romped at first asking last June at Churchill Downs.

    Owned by Gainesway Thoroughbreds, Ocean Colors made her grass debut Friday night and it was a smashing success as she won the five-furlong sprint in :57.10 by 2 ½ lengths.

    “She ran big last night and she’s fine this morning,” said Scott Blasi, assistant to trainer Steve Asmussen. “I am not sure what we are going to do next with her, because there are not that many races that fit her at five and five and a half furlongs.”

MILESTONE WATCH – Greg Foley, who has 298 career victories at Churchill Downs, can become the 12th trainer in track history to reach the 300-win mark on Saturday with two horses entered: Oh Charlie Boy in the fifth and Cajun Prize in the 10th. Foley, who saddled his first winner at Churchill Downs during the 1981 Spring Meet, also has two horses entered on Sunday: Q Mac’s Phone in the sixth and Hickory Dee in the 10th.

BARN TALK – Saturday is the deadline for nominations for the final three stakes of the Spring Meet. Closing that day will be the $100,000-added Bashford Manor (Grade III) for 2-year-olds going six furlongs on the main track to be run July 3, the $150,000-added Firecracker Handicap (Grade II) at a mile on the Matt Winn Turf Course for 3-year-olds and up on July 4, and the $100,000-added Locust Grove Handicap (Grade III) for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up also going a mile on the turf on closing day July 5.

WORK TAB – Luv Gov and Flying Private, fifth and sixth respectively in the June 6 Belmont Stakes (Grade I) for trainer D. Wayne Lukas, returned to the work tab Saturday morning with half-mile works. Working over a track labeled “good”, Luv Gov was clocked in :48.60 with Flying Private, fourth to Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness (GI),  posting a :50.60 time. … Terrain, working toward a Friday start in the Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows, covered a half-mile in :49.60 for trainer Al Stall Jr. Also heading to Iowa on Wednesday for Stall will be My Pal Charlie for the Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Breeders’ Cup Handicap (Grade II) and Bear Now for the Iowa Distaff Breeders’ Cup. … Debut winner Beautician, nominated to next Saturday’s Debutante (Grade III), worked a half-mile in :49 over a sloppy track for trainer Ken McPeek, the seventh fastest of 70 at the distance.

BUSY MORNING FOR CLASSIC WINNERS: RACHEL ALEXANDRA POSES FOR VOGUE; MINE THAT BIRD GALLOPS – The whole morning Friday was decidedly not business as usual for Kentucky Oaks (Grade I) and Preakness (Grade I) winner Rachel Alexandra at Churchill Downs.
    The first part of the morning was routine: a trip to the track at 6:20 for one time around the main track under exercise rider Dominic Terry.
    Four hours later, the cameras were out and the backdrop was up between Barns 36 and 38 for a photo shoot of Rachel Alexandra by acclaimed fashion photographer Steven Klein.  His images of the Oaks and Preakness winner are set to be published in the August issue of Vogue.  
Klein may be best known for his striking photos of such pop icons as Madonna, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Britney Spears, Natalie Portman and Justin Timperlake.  His work has appeared in Vogue and W and in ads for Calvin Klein and Dolce and Gabbana.  
    “Done photo shoots before, but first one for Vogue,” said Scott Blasi, the assistant to trainer Steve Asmussen who held the shank on the star filly while Klein shot his images just after noon.  
    Among those looking one were Barbara Banke, the wife of Stonestreet Stables’ Jess Jackson, the filly’s majority owner.
Klein’s session with Rachel Alexandra grew out of a trip to the Preakness by Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour.  
“She was there at the Preakness and was inspired, like so many other women were,” said Carolina Shaw, senior vice president for Public Relations, Family & Brand Communications for Jackson Family Enterprises.
A 10’x16’ plywood wall was erected next to the Asmussen barn to serve as the backdrop for the photo shoot of the Preakness winner, who had to be awakened in her stall when was time for her star turn before the camera.
    There were no photo shoots for Kentucky Derby (Grade I) winner and Preakness runner-up Mine That Bird who quietly went about his business of galloping twice around the main track under exercise rider Charlie Figueroa before the renovation break.
    Trainer Chip Woolley said that co-owners Mark Allen and Leonard Blach may be here on Monday to watch Mine That Bird’s final work before the June 6 Belmont Stakes .
    “They may be coming in Sunday night, I’m not sure,” Woolley said as Mine That Bird walked back to Barn 42 after his morning exercise.
    Woolley said that Mine That Bird would work after the renovation break Monday morning and that jockey Calvin Borel would be aboard. Borel is leaving immediately after the work for a 10 a.m. flight to New York.
    Woolley is scheduled to fly out at 7:15 Tuesday morning with Mine That Bird leaving on Wednesday. “I’ll check in on him Tuesday morning early and then take off,” Woolley said.

WELL-TRAVELED SEMAPHORE MAN MAKES FIRST CHURCHILL STOP ON SATURDAY – In 27 starts during his five-year racing career, Double Bogey Stable’s Semaphore Man has raced at 10 tracks.
    On Saturday in the 21st running of the $100,000-added Aristides (Grade III), Churchill Downs will become the 11th.
    “After he won the Count Fleet (on April 10 at Oaklawn Park), we thought about trying him on the turf in the five-eighths race (the Aegon Turf Sprint on May 1),” trainer Kelly Von Hemel said. “But he was awful tired after that and we gave him a little time.”
    A model of consistency throughout his career, the 7-year-old Semaphore Man has finished worse than fourth only four times in those 27 starts. Two of those came on Polytrack at Keeneland and Turfway Park last year, the worst such finishes since 2005.
“He works good on it in the mornings at Arlington Park, but the afternoons are a different story,” Von Hemel said. “He liked Keeneland better than Turfway, but I don’t think he’d run on it again. If he did it would be at Arlington because he trains well on it.”
Semaphore Man shipped to Arlington after the Count Fleet where Kelly’s father, Don, oversees his training. Semaphore Man shipped to Churchill Downs on May 20 and worked a half-mile here on Tuesday in :49.40 for the Aristides.
While the horse is here, the trainer is not.
“We have six in here that night,” Von Hemel said from his home base at Prairie Meadows where he has 52 horses stabled. “Five of them (run) for me and one for my dad. Lynn (Whiting) will saddle my horse there.”
Semaphore Man will face 10 rivals in the six furlongs Aristides and break from post position six under Jesus Castanon as he tries to give Von Hemel a second sprint stakes victory under the Twin Spires.
    Von Hemel sent out Miss Macy Sue to score in the 2007 Winning Colors, a race in which she ran second last year. A victory by Semaphore Man would tie Von Hemel with his brother Donnie, who has won two Churchill Downs stakes – the 1992 Clark Handicap with Zeeruler and the 1994 Mrs. Revere with Mariah’s Storm.

PRETTY PROLIFIC RETURNS SATURDAY FOR BAKER – One of the more impressive debut winners at Churchill Downs last summer was Tom Walters’ Pretty Prolific, who broke her maiden by 3 ½ lengths going five furlongs on June 22.
    After a brief break, trainer Jim Baker sent Pretty Prolific straight into stakes company and the daughter of Lion Heart ran third in the Grade II Adirondack at Saratoga. Two more stakes tries followed and 2008 closed with a runner-up finish in allowance company on “Stars of Tomorrow II” day on Nov. 29.
    Six months later, Pretty Prolific makes her belated 2009 debut in Saturday’s seventh race.
    “She was a breeze away from running at Oaklawn and we had to take a tiny flake out of her ankle,” Baker said. “I am glad I stopped on her. She has grown and really filled out. She about 100 pounds bigger and she has been working lights out.”
    Three bullet works since May 10 signify Pretty Prolific’s readiness for the six-furlong test.
    “All we need now is a little luck,” Baker said.
    There is one other debut winner from last summer in the field of nine: Ocean Colors, the next-to-last foal of 1988 Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors.
    Owned by Gainesway Thoroughbreds Ltd. and trained by Steve Asmussen, Ocean Colors romped by 5 ¼ lengths in her five-furlong debut on June 13. Like Pretty Prolific, Ocean Colors raced next in a stake at Saratoga but faded to last in the six-furlong Schuylerville (Grade III) in what was her last start of 2008.
    Ocean Colors ran fourth at Keeneland on April 18 in her 2009 debut.

WOOLLEY JOINS JILL BYRNE FOR ‘GET IN THE GAME’ SEMINAR –Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Chip Woolley Jr. will be Churchill Downs racing analyst Jill Byrne’s guest for Saturday’s “Get In The Game” handicapping seminar. 
    Woolley notched his first Kentucky Derby victory in his first attempt with longshot Mine That Bird, who finished second in the Preakness and is scheduled to run next in the Belmont Stakes, the third jewel of the Triple Crown..
Saturday’s seminar is set for noon (all times EDT) in the paddock and is free with regular track admission.  Admission gates open at 11:30 a.m.

MILESTONE WATCH – Lynn Whiting, who saddled Lil E. Tee to win the 1992 Kentucky Derby, will bid to become the 10th trainer in Churchill Downs history with 300 victories at the track when he sends out Action Seeker in today’s eighth race. Whiting will have another shot at the mark Saturday, if needed, when he sends out Niobrara in the second race.
    Also on Saturday, trainer David Vance, who like Whiting has 299 Churchill Downs victories, can hit the 300 mark with Kiss Mine in the ninth.
    Robby Albarado, seeking to become the 56th North American jockey with 4,000 victories, has six mounts Friday on which to build on his 3,998 career total.

BARN TALK – Calvin Borel, who won 13 races over Memorial Day Weekend, now has 917 career victories at Churchill Downs and is only eight behind Don Brumfield for second place all-time at the track. Pat Day is the all-time Churchill Downs wins leader with 2,482.  Brumfield, a member of racing’s Hall of Fame, was the last jockey to win the Kentucky Oaks, Kentucky Derby and Preakness in the same year.  Brumfield won the 1966 Oaks on Native Street, and took the Derby and Preakness on Kauai King.
General Quarters, who finished 10th in the Kentucky Derby and ninth in the Preakness, returned to Barn 37 late Friday morning after spending a couple of days at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington. “We just sent him over there to deal with some little issues,” owner-trainer Tom McCarthy said.
    Trainer Gary Thomas said that Golden Yank, fourth-place finisher in last Sunday’s feature race, would likely point to the $300,000 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap (Grade II) in Iowa on June 27 at 1 1/8 miles.
    Brass Hat, winner of last Saturday’s Louisville Handicap (Grade III), is scheduled to return to trainer Buff Bradley’s barn on Monday. “He’s been at the farm, bucking and playing every day,” Bradley said.

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

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

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

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

It was a day for racing royalty at Churchill Downs on Wednesday as Preakness (Grade I) and Kentucky Oaks (GI) winner Rachel Alexandra returned to track for a gallop and Mine That Bird, winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) and a fast-closing runner-up in the Preakness,  continued to show his spirit during his first gallop since Saturday’s race.

    Rachel Alexandra, the first filly in 84 years to win the Preakness and the second Kentucky Oaks winner in three years to defeat males in a Triple Crown race in her next start, galloped a mile over a “fast” track for trainer Steve Asmussen.  It was her first trip from the track since her dazzling victory in Saturday’s Preakness at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course and her return to Churchill Downs on Sunday.  

    Assistant trainer Scott Blasi said Rachel Alexandra would stand in the starting gate before she gallops on Thursday, so she will go to the track around 7:15 a.m.  (all times EST).  She normally heads to the track with Asmussen’s second set of horses around 6:15 a.m.

    Rachel Alexandra is scheduled to work on Monday, May 25.

    Double Eagle Ranch and Buena Suerte Equine’s Mine That Bird galloped 1 ½-miles in his second trip to the one-mile oval at Churchill Downs since he returned to the scene of his greatest triumph Monday evening.  Exercise rider Charlie Figeuroa was in the irons as the Birdstone gelding went through his energetic gallop and appeared to be none the worse for wear after huge efforts in the first two races of the Triple Crown.

    “The horse is just doing super – he’s on his game,” said trainer Bennie “Chip” Woolley Jr.  “We’re really surprised that he’s as fresh as he is after two good, hard races.  The fortunate this for us is he only runs three-eighths of a mile, so he doesn’t use himself as hard as a lot of horses.  So we’re pretty happy with where we’re at.”

    Mine That Bird has been playful in both trips to the track since his return from Baltimore and Woolley said the Derby winner clearly loves his surroundings at Churchill Downs.

    “Yesterday we just jogged him backwards and he was fresh and bright-eyed,” said Woolley.  “But today he was really froggy out there, wanting to buck and play.  And that’s kind of unlike him, because he’s more of a laid-back kind of horse.  But I think he’s just really on his game right now and feels good.  So we’ll figure out this week, and let him be the judge, and set up a work here pretty soon.”

    Woolley said Mine That Bird would not work before early next week.

    Regarding his search for a rider for the June 6 Belmont Stakes, the third jewel of the Triple Crown, Woolley said he and co-owners Mark Allen and Dr. Leonard Blach have decided to wait until early next week before they make that choice.  Calvin Borel was aboard for his 6 ¾-length romp in the Kentucky Derby, but chose to ride Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness.  Mike Smith rode Mine That Bird in the Preakness, but has a previous commitment on June 6 that will knock him out of the Belmont.

    Mine That Bird is set to return to the track for a gallop on Thursday.  He usually heads to the track between 7:15 and 7:30 a.m., which would put him on the track at approximately the same time as Rachel Alexandra during Thursday’s training.