Tom Amoss

Stoneway Farm’s Exfactor charged down the stretch, made the lead with just over an eighth of a mile remaining and drew clear to win the 110^th running of the Grade III, $111,500 Bashford Manor for 2-year-olds by 2 ¾-lengths on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

Trained by 71-year-old Bernie Flint and ridden by three-time Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Calvin Borel, Exfactor covered the six furlongs on a fast track in 1:10.30. It was the second win in the Bashford Manor for the Flint-Borel duo, as the pair previously teamed up to win its 2008 edition with William Carl’s Screen Your Friend.  Borel, who rode five winners on Saturday, scored his third Bashford Manor win overall as he won the race in 2000 aboard Phillips Racing Partnership’s Duality.

The 5-1 third-choice in the field of seven, Exfactor returned mutuels of $12.60, $5.20 and $3.60. Courtlandt Farms’ Power World rallied from sixth to finish second under Corey Lanerie and returned $4.80 and $3.60, while Dumbarton Stable’s Friscan, who set a rapid early pace under Shaun Bridgmohan, held for third and returned $4.60 to show. It was a neck further back to Klaravich Stables Inc. and William Lawrence’s Sum of the Parts, the 4-5 Bashford Manor favorite who broke in the air, but rushed to challenge Friscan for the early lead before giving way in the stretch.

The victory was worth $67,748 for Exfactor and increased the bankroll for the Kentucky-bred son of Exchange Rate to $109,348.  The winner’s career record stands at 2-1-0 in three starts.

Exfactor broke last in the field of seven and stayed there as Friscan and Sum of the Parts led the field through a quick opening quarter in :21.59.  Borel asked Exfactor for his run with three-eighths of a mile remaining and began to pick off horses as he swung five-wide entering the stretch. Friscan and Sum of the Parts led the field into the stretch, but Exfactor was rolling on the outside, stuck his head in front with an eighth of a mile to go and quickly drew away.  Power World rallied from sixth and closed well in the stretch to gain the runner-up spot, but could not threaten Exfactor.

Chalybeate Springs finished fifth, and was followed past the finish by Bonaparte and Hot Speed. Lil Cherokee, Green Mouse, Tarpy’s Goal and Laurie’s Rocket were late scratches.

Racing continues beneath the historic Twin Spires of Churchill Downs on Sunday, July 3 with a 12-race program that begins at 12:45 p.m. EDT.                                                                  

BASHFORD MANOR QUOTES

Bernard Flint, trainer of Exfactor (Winner)

“The game plan was (Stoneway Farm stablemate) Bonaparte was supposed to go to the front and carry the front end.  But apparently it was quite hot out there and he couldn’t get there.  But that’s OK because he was sick a couple of weeks ago and I had missed a work or two with him, so sometimes you’ve got to go with the one that’s best ready and that was Exfactor.”

Q: You were very confident before the race that Exfactor was going to run well …

“It was a question of whether I was going to hang around on the front end or go from behind (with Exfactor) and today I decided I’m going to go from behind – that’s it.  We have two horses and that’s the purpose for an entry – for one to go on and set the pace, but the other one couldn’t even set the pace.  It was vicious out there.  It was an extremely good race with good horses, and it’s a pleasure to have something like that in the barn.  I thank Mr. Stone for going out and buying these horses.”

Q: Is it more special at this time in your life and career to win a race like this with a young horse?

“This late in your life, you don’t usually get the opportunities.  Everybody forgets about the old man, but the old man don’t forget what he learned.  Mr. Stone must be congratulated for having enough faith in me to come back to me and give me a second chance.  Hey, I’m tickled.”

Q: How much potential does this horse have?

“It’s unlimited, because if I can keep him coming from behind like that we’ve got the Breeders’ Cup right here.  He’s a special horse, he’s been a special horse, but I didn’t have him ready to run the first time. … You can’t squeeze the lemon – you’ve got to be careful with what you do.

“The best 2-year-olds in the country have always come out of Churchill Downs. I don’t care what anybody says, whatever price they were or whatever it is, it’s the pinnacle of 2-year-old racing.  And I’m just tickled to death at my age to have a horse like this.  It doesn’t happen to a 71-year-old man, OK?  But Mr. Stone had enough faith in me to say ‘Let’s go out and let’s go get ‘em.’

“It’s really a joy to win at home, but it’s even a bigger joy to have a truly good 2-year-old.  No one ever commits suicide if they’ve got an untried 2-year-old, and when they’ve got a stakes-winning or graded stakes-winning 2-year-old, for sure you’re not going to commit suicide.”

Q: What do you think might be next?

“I’m going to see how he came out of this race and hopefully we’ll go on to Saratoga and we’ll wait here and lay in the woods and wait ‘til Breeders’ Cup.”

 

James Stone (Stoneway Farm), owner of Exfactor (Winner)

Q: What does this win mean for you?

“This means everything because we haven’t been here in seven or eight years.  I guess we won the Stonerside Beaumont (at Keeneland) back in ’02, ’03, along in there.  It’s that old country song, ‘If it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.’  But it’s changed.  I’m back to my first trainer, Bernie.  We went through 54 trainers, but we’re back and he’s got all my horses.

“He’s got great eyes for picking just the physical horse.  Don’t show him the pedigree.  He just looks at the horse.  We hooked up about a year or year and a half ago, and he’s got 30 horses in the racing stable, all told.

“You’ve got to have someone you can communicate with.  That doesn’t mean Bernie and I always agree or he does it my way.  He does it his way, but at least we have a great rapport and I’ve been taught more by Bernie Flint than any other individual in the horse business.”

"We’re just rollin’, we’re just loving it.  We’re having fun.  Whatever comes, it’s a pleasure.”

Calvin Borel, jockey on Exfactor (winner)

“I let him drop back out of there.  I knew they’d have a little speed, :21 and :45, that’s pretty good fractions for a 2-year-old.  I just said, ‘If we’re going to teach him, teach him right.  That’s what Mr. Carl (two-time Kentucky Derby winner trainer Carl Nafzger) always told me.  I’ll tell you what, he’s a nice colt and we’re trying to form him to be a nice colt to get on down the road and do bigger things.  So I let him break and was just comfortable.   He felt real, real good coming to the (quarter) pole, so I rode him with a lot of confidence.  He showed up and gave me that punch.  At the wire he was getting a little late, but not bad.  I was very impressed.”

Q: What do you think Exfactor learned out of this race?

“A lot.  I’ve been working him a long time and he’s very versatile.  If you want him there (near the lead), he’s there, but he’ll sit back and make one run.  I like that in a horse.  Today was big plus for him.  They’ll do it in the morning sometimes by themselves, but in the afternoon will they do it?  You’ve got to check ‘em out and hope it works out if you want a good one that will fit down the road, and I think this colt can do it.”

Corey Lanerie, jockey of Power World (second): “My horse was good; he broke good today. He was maybe a little keener than I thought he would have been. But I was in a good spot and at the five-sixteenths (pole) I thought I had them. (Jockey) Calvin (Borel on Exfactor) came around me and swept by me. I kind of cut through a little bit and saved a little more ground but I just couldn’t catch him today.”

Neil Howard, trainer of Power World (second): “I thought he ran good. (Trainer) Bernie Flint’s horse (Exfactor) had been on my mind since he broke his maiden. That was a nice race first-time out. Obviously it would have been great to win it, but I love what I’m seeing with this colt for the future … you know, seven-eighths (of a mile) and the races this fall. He’s a nice colt, I think. I hope at least. This was a good group of two-year-olds.”

Leandro Goncalves, jockey of Sum of the Parts (fourth as the favorite): “He didn’t come out of the gate too good, just like during the first time when he broke a step slow. But (Bonaparte) broke out and (Hot Speed) came in and squished me a little bit. After that, he didn’t really relax for me at all. He got bumped from both horses, got mad and tried to run off the whole way. He didn’t have much finish and that’s why. I was never able to get him to relax for me and he didn’t finish strong like he had been training in the morning or like he did first time out. He’s a good horse, though. He’s just a young horse, very competitive and tried too hard. He just needs to learn to relax.”

Gold Mark Farm LLC’s Culotte and Stoneway Farm’s Queen Teuta, who finished 1-2 when they faced each other in the first race of their respective careers, loom as likely favorites when eight lightly-raced 2-year-old fillies meet in Saturday’s 111^th running of the $100,000-added Debutante Stakes (Grade III) at Churchill Downs.

The six-furlong race is the nation’s first graded stakes event for 2-year-old fillies and the featured 10^th race on the next-to-last Saturday program of the Churchill Downs Spring Meet.  Post time for the first of 11 races on Saturday is 12:45 p.m. (Eastern).

The connections of the eight fillies set to compete in Saturday’s Debutante hope their fillies can live up to the standards of excellence established by a roster past Debutante winners that include Bewitch and Alcibiades, two outstanding champions of the first half of the 20^th century.  Recent winners include two-time champion Silverbulletday, a Hall of Fame filly who won the 1998 Debutante and the 1999 Kentucky Oaks (GI), and multiple stakes winners Chilukki and Cashier’s Dream.  Fillies that competed in recent Debutante runnings but failed to win include 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, third in the ’08 Debutante; Countess Diana, the 1997 2-year-old filly champion who suffered the only loss of her championship season in a runner-up run the Debutante; and Serena’s Song, who finished fourth in 1994 but retired as racing’s all-time female earnings leader.

Culotte, a daughter of Sky Mesa trained by Tom Amoss, could end up as the favorite in the 2010 renewal of the Debutante because of her dazzling racing debut in a 4 1/2-furlong maiden race at Churchill Downs on May 13.  She started quickly and led throughout as the 2-1 favorite to score an emphatic 5 ½-length win over Debutante rival Queen Teuta.  The latter, a daughter of Theatrical trained by veteran Bernie Flint, rebounded to win her next start at 4 ½ furlongs on June 3.

Culotte will break from post seven under jockey Leandro Goncalves, while Queen Teuta and jockey Calvin Borel will start from post two.  Both fillies are set to carry 118 pounds.

There are no fillies in the Debutante’s field of future stars with more than two career starts, and only one member of the field is a veteran of stakes competition.   That filly is Wayne Sanders and Larry Hirsch’s Shocktime, a Texas-bred daughter of Langfuhr who invades from the Lone Star State off a pair of lopsided victories for trainer Bret Calhoun.

Shocktime won her two previous races at Lone Star Park by a combined margin of 21 ¾ lengths.  In her most recent start the homebred filly cruised to a 12 ¾-length win in the filly division of the $93,000 Texas Thoroughbred Association Sales Futurity on June 11.  She covered five furlongs that day in :58.61, a clocking that was faster than the winning time turned in by stablemate Lil Cherokee one race earlier in the Futurity’s division for colts and geldings.

Miguel Mena, who won last week’s $500,000-added Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) aboard William Farish Jr.’s Pool Play, will ride Shocktime, who will carry high weight of 120 pounds.

Another out-of-state threat is posed by R N R Stable’s Defy Gravity, a Maryland-based daughter of Bandini who comes in to the Debutante off an easy victory in a 4 ½-furlong maiden race at Pimlico on May 8.  Trainer Valerie Testerman’s filly finished third in her career debut on April 15, but rolled by six lengths in her second and most recent outing.

Wesley Ho has been in the saddle for both of Defy Gravity’s starts and will travel to Churchill Downs to ride in her stakes debut.  Defy Gravity breaks for post eight and carries 118 pounds.

Other Debutante contenders include Terry Allen’s Five Star Momma, an impressive winner of her June 10 debut at Churchill Downs for trainer Scooter Dickey, and Barry King’s Flashy Lassie, a Garry Simms-trained filly from the first crop of Flashy Bull who won her May 13 debut beneath the historic Twin Spires by nine lengths.  Corey Lanerie will ride Five Star Momma from the rail post, while Kent Desormeaux and Flashy Lassie will start from post five.

The field for the 111^th Debutante (from the rail out with jockey, weight) includes: Five Star Momma (Lanerie, 118), Queen Tueta (Borel, 118), Tippy Toes (Julien Leparoux, 116), My Due Process (Robby Albarado, 116), Flashy Lassie (Desormeaux, 116), Shocktime (Mena, 120), Culotte (Goncalves, 118) and Defy Gravity (Ho, 118).

FAWKES EXPECTS DUKE OF MISCHIEF BE TROUBLE FOR FOSTER OPPONENTS - A start in Saturday’s Grade I Stephen Foster Presented by Abu Dhabi was not the original plan for Alex and JoAnn Lieblong, Marilyn McMaster and Fawkes Racing, Inc.’s Duke of Mischief, but everything changed following a sharp work at Calder Race Course on June 4.

“The race on our radar was the Cornhusker (Grade III at Prairie Meadows on June 25),” trainer David Fawkes said. “He’s been training extra good though and so we decided to bring him here. The work on June 4 (five furlongs at Calder) was great. He went :59.60 and galloped out in about 1:12. You don’t go 1:12 at Calder unless you can really, really run. If they work good over that track then they usually run good (in the afternoon).”

Duke of Mischief, a 5-year-old son of Graeme Hall, will enter the Stephen Foster off a 2 ¼-length win in the Grade III, $1 million Charles Town Classic on April 16.  Fawkes’ veteran defeated a strong field that included runner-up Game on Dude, who would return to finish third in the Lone Star Park Handicap (GIII), and third-place Tizway, who came back to win the Grade I Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park in his next start.

"I think everyone thought they were going to get an easy field (in the Charles Town Classic), but that’s not what happened,” Fawkes said. “I think every horse in that race was a graded stakes winner. It was a very tough race.”

Duke of Mischief arrived at Churchill Downs on Tuesday afternoon and the Stephen Foster will be his third start over the Louisville track. He was previously eighth in last year’s running of the Stephen Foster won by Blame and was fifth in the Clark Handicap (GI) won by Foster rival Giant Oak.

“He’s doing really well and hopefully he has more success here this time than he’s had in the past,” Fawkes said.

The Stephen Foster field (with jockey, weight and morning line odds) from the rail out includes: Flat Out (Corey Lanerie, 114, 30-1), Crown of Thorns (Tyler Baze, 121, 4-1), Apart (Julien Leparoux, 118, 5-1), Worldly (Manoel Cruz, 113, 30-1), El Caballo (James Graham, 115, 15-1), Regal Ransom (Alan Garcia, 117, 6-1), Equestrio (Jose Lezcano, 116, 12-1), Pool Play (Miguel Mena, 116, 20-1), Duke of Mischief (Joe Bravo, 118, 6-1), Giant Oak (Shaun Bridgmohan, 122, 7-2) and Mission Impazible (Javier Castellano, 118, 9-2).

AFTER BLAME’S FOSTER, THIS YEAR’S MODEL IS DIFFERENT FOR STALL – After winning last year’s $500,000-added Stephen Foster Handicap with Adele Dilschneider and Claiborne Farm’s Blame, trainer Al Stall Jr. is back with Dilschneider’s Apart to bid for a second straight triumph in the race.

The two horses have many similarities: both carry Dilschneider’s gray silks with blue cross sashes, both horses came into the Foster off prep wins in the William Donald Schaefer Handicap (GIII) at Pimlico, each earned stakes wins at Churchill Downs the previous fall (Blame in the then Grade II Clark Handicap, Apart in the Grade III Ack Ack), both came into their respective Fosters as 4-year-olds and both are homebred sons of Claiborne stallions (Blame is by Arch, while Flatter is the sire of Apart).

But several things need to occur before a comparison between Blame and Apart can be taken any further.  Blame scored a dazzling victory in Foster that established Stall’s colt as one of the top older horses in America, a status that was validated in the fall when he outlasted Horse of the Year Zenyatta in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) over the same track to earn the Eclipse Award for America’s top older horse.

Apart, on the other hand, enters the Foster as a colt with a solid resume highlighted by a Grade II win in the Super Derby and a pair of Grade III victories.  But Stall’s 2010 Stephen Foster with Blame was a race of fulfilled expectations, while this year’s run by Apart can be more accurately described as a race of opportunity.

“I’m way more relaxed (than last year),” Stall said Friday as he watched Apart stand in a backstretch starting gate at Churchill Downs.  “It’s been like that every time we’ve run him this year.  It’s been very comfortable.  We just get him in a race, get him over there and run and see what happens.  With Blame we were all nervous all the time, thinking of what would be.”

Apart’s victory in the Schaefer snapped a four-race losing streak that began last year at Churchill Downs  in an eighth-place behind Giant Oak in the Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GI), a roughly run race after which he was elevated to seventh by stewards because of the action within that 11-horse field.  All of Apart’s races this year have been good, including three outings at New Orleans’ Fair Grounds: runner-up finishes in the New Orleans (GII) and Louisiana Handicaps and a third in the Mineshaft Handicap (GIII).

While that record is well short of perfect, Stall believes Apart is a better horse than he was last fall, but the Foster will go a long way toward answering the question of just where the bay colt fits in this year’s wide-open division of American older horses.

“There’s no question he’s a better horse (than last year),” Stall said.  “His pedigree says he’ll get better with age.  It’s nothing we’re doing.  We’re just throwing oats at him and letting him develop on his own.  We’re spacing his races and trying to keep him going forward.

“This race will dictate where he goes: high road, low road or middle road.  He’s a race-to-race horse.  We have no plan for him.  He’s just got to earn his way to wherever he goes next.”

One encouraging fact for Stall is Apart’s record at Churchill Downs, where he is 2-1-0 in five races that include his Ack Ack win.  His lone poor outing at the track was last fall’s Clark, but Stall said the colt had an excuse that day – one he attributes to trainer error.

“He was sick,” Stall said.  “He’s legit – he just doesn’t throw a clunker for no reason.  He had been sick a little bit before the race, and we thought after two or three days it had run its course.  … But he survived it.”

Julien Leparoux will ride Apart, who will break from post three in the 11-horse field for the 1 1/8-mile Foster.  The consistent colt’s overall career record stands at 5-3-1 in 12 races with earnings of $640,018.

REGRET A PIVOTAL RACE FOR GAYA – AMOSS’S ‘ZENYATTA’ – When the field of eight 3-year-old fillies breaks from the gate in Saturday’s 42^nd running of the $125,000-added Regret Presented by Etihad Airways (GIII) on the Matt Winn Turf Course, trainer Tom Amoss will focus his gaze on the back of the pack.

Amoss exactly where Harris Thoroughbreds LLC’s Gaya, the filly he is most interested in, will be during that first run down the stretch in the 1 1/8-mile race.

“She is a deep closer,” Amoss said.  “I kiddingly – kiddingly – refer to her as my Zenyatta, because she closes so exceptionally well.  She is so far back she looks hopelessly beat.”

The gray daughter of Quest brings a three-race winning streak into the Regret that includes a maiden win and allowance victory at Fair Grounds, followed by a one-mile allowance win over a yielding course at Indiana Downs on May 21.  The Regret will be Gaya’s stakes debut, although that milestone comes later than Amoss had hoped."

She was entered to run in the stake Derby Weekend here at Churchill (the Edgewood), but she got sick,” Amoss said.  “That was obviously a huge disappointment to us.  But in terms of the Regret, it’s a mile and an eighth and I think that will suit her very well.”

The Regret field is headed by Kathmanblu, a stakes winner on turf and dirt who finished a troubled third to More Than Real in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (GII) last fall at Churchill Downs.  The field also includes Edgewood winner Diva Ash; Bouquet Booth, a stakes winner on dirt in the Delta Princess (GIII) and Silverbulletday; and Excited and Blushandbashful, the 1-3 finishers in the recent Hilltop Stakes on the turf on the Preakness undercard at Pimlico.

With that group of accomplished rivals awaiting her, the race should tell Amoss much about his filly.

“Tomorrow is going to decide if she’s a legitimate horse or not,” Amoss said.  “At this point we don’t know if she’s a legitimate horse.  Tomorrow’s race has a very good field and we’ll find out if we have just a good allowance horse, or a horse that can maybe be competitive in bigger races throughout the summer.”

Gaya, who will break from post seven under jockey James Graham, has a record of 3-2-0 in six races with earnings of $87,601.

The field for the Regret, from the hedge out (with jockey, weight), includes: Bizzy Caroline (Manoel Cruz, 116), Diva Ash (Robby Albarado, 116), Bouquet Booth (Shaun Bridgmohan, 118), Holidaysatthefarm (Jose Lezcano, 116), Kathmanblu (Julien Leparoux, 122), Excited (Javier Castellano, 116), Gaya (James Graham, 118) and Blushandbashful (Freddie Lenclud, 116).

ARABIAN RACE WILL BE NOTHING NEW FOR RACE-CALLER JOHNSON – To say that Churchill Downs track announcer Mark Johnson has experience calling Arabian races would be an understatement. The 45-year-old native of Lincolnshire, England has definitely called his fair share of Arabians during his years as a track announcer.

“I was the track announcer for all Arabian races in England for about 18 years,” Johnson said. “I was also the Racing Post’s Arabian correspondent for the same length of time.”

Johnson has not called an Arabian race for a couple of years, but will get the opportunity to in Saturday’s Grade I, $50,000-added The President of United Arab Emirates Cup, the first Arabian race in the history Churchill Downs.

“I am immensely excited,” Johnson said. “It will be a great spectacle and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Some people who are more familiar with Thoroughbred racing may overlook The President of United Arab Emirates Cup on a card that features four graded stakes races for Thoroughbreds.  But Johnson says the Arabian race, scheduled as the day’s sixth event, is loaded with quality horses.

"It’s a Grade I race and a couple of the best Arabian horses in the country will be running,” Johnson said. “Dixies Valentine is at the top of the distaff division and Grilla is probably the best long-distance Arabian in America.”

Bill Waldron’s Grilla will be ridden by an Arabian-specialist in Bill Hollick, but Calvin Borel, winner of three runnings of the Kentucky Derby, will take the mount aboard Dixies Valentine. In fact, all horses but Grilla and T M Fred Texas will be ridden by riders in the Churchill Downs jockey colony.

"I’ve ridden a few of them and it’s not completely different,” Borel said. “They’re a little bit smaller and go slower (than Thoroughbreds), but at the end of the day it’s still a horse race.”

Leading rider at the meet Corey Lanerie will be aboard Cre Run Enterprises LLC’s Ovour the Top.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Lanerie said. “I think it’s going to be fun. Maybe I’ll win the second Grade I of my career.”

Lanerie’s first and only Grade I win came aboard Hooh Why in the 2009 Ashland at Keeneland.

The field for The President of United Arab Emirates Cup for Arabians, 4-year-olds and up at 1 ¼ miles on the main track from the rail out (with jockey, weight): T M Fred Texas (Santos Chavez, 118), Dixies Valentine (Borel, 118), Another Color (Constantino Roman, 123), Ovour the Top (Lanerie, 118), Crownn Royal (Brian Hernandez Jr., 123), Vip (Aldo Canchano, 118), Wodkka (Marcelino Pedroza Jr., 123) and Grilla (Hollick, 123).

DREAM WARRIOR MAKES STAKES DEBUT IN JEFFERSON CUP - Anthony Chok’s Dream Warrior, who will make his stakes debut in Saturday’s $100,000-added Jefferson Cup Presented by Abu Dhabi (GIII), has not always shown the signs of being a stakes-caliber horse.

He was purchased at the 2009 Keeneland September Sale for $1,000, which is the minimum price a horse may be sold for at Keeneland, and finished ninth and seventh in his first two career starts.

Dream Warrior was placed on the turf for his third start and his debut on the new surface was a winning one, drawing away by over four lengths in a maiden special at Calder Race Course last October. He followed that win with a disappointing eighth-place finish in a Calder allowance, but rebounded to take an allowance over Churchill Downs’ Matt Winn Turf Course on May 20. It was after that race that the Eddie Kenneally barn began to believe that Dream Warrior was a horse with stakes potential.

“He kind of surprised in his last race with how well he ran,” said Brendan Walsh, assistant trainer and exercise rider for Kenneally. “He really ran a nice race. He’s been training great since then and I expect him to run well Saturday.”

Dream Warrior has had two works over the main track at Churchill Downs in preparation for a start in the Jefferson Cup. His most recent work – a half-mile move over a fast track :47.60 on June 10 –  was the fastest four furlong effort of 60 at the distance.

The 3-year-old Kentucky-bred son of 2000 Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus has a record of 2-0-0 from five starts with earnings of $49,264. Corey Lanerie, the Spring Meet’s leading rider, will be aboard Dream Warrior in the Jefferson Cup.

The field for the Jefferson Cup, from the hedge out (with jockey, weight), includes: Live In Joy (Manoel Cruz, 117), Redboard (Leandro Goncalves, 117), Dream Warrior (Lanerie, 117), Banned (Jose Lezcano, 121), Swagger Jack (James Graham, 117), Perregaux (Robby Albarado, 117), Benergy (Javier Castellano, 117) and Great Mills (Julien Leparoux, 117).

Note: Live in Joy (5^th), Swagger Jack (6^th) and Great Mills (10^th) competed in Wednesday night’s $200,000 Oliver Stakes at Indiana Downs and are unlikely to start Saturday.

ILLINOIS DERBY WINNER EXPECTED TO START IN MATT WINN – Zayat Stables LLC’s Joe Vann, who won the Grade III Illinois Derby at Hawthorne Park prior to finishing fourth in the Peter Pan (GII) at Belmont Park in his most recent start, is expected to run in Saturday’s $125,000 Matt Winn Presented by Emirates Equestrian Federation (GIII) at Churchill Downs.

Although he was entered Wednesday for the Matt Winn, the Todd Pletcher-trained 3-year-old son of Silver Deputy was also being considered for the Iowa Derby (GIII) next Saturday at Prairie Meadows.

“As of right now, we are still running (in the Matt Winn),” assistant trainer Michael McCarthy said Friday morning.

Joe Vann shipped in from Belmont last week and had his first work over the Churchill Downs track June 12. He covered five furlongs over a fast track in 1:01.40, which was the eighth fastest of 41 workers at the same distance that morning.

A start with Joe Vann in the Matt Winn (Race 10) would give the Pletcher barn a chance to sweep the late, stakes triple Saturday. Michael Tabor’s Excited will run in the Grade III Regret (Race 11) and Twin Creeks Racing Stable LLC’s Mission Impazible will start in the Grade I Stephen Foster (Race 12).

The Matt Winn field, from the rail out (with jockey, weight), includes: Alstom (Calvin Borel, 116), Infrattini (Corey Lanerie, 116), Wilburn (Mike Smith, 116), Supreme Ruler (Jon Court, 116), Uncle Brent (Manoel Cruz, 120), Chalice (Julien Leparoux, 116), Scotus (Alan Garcia, 116) and Joe Vann (Javier Castellano, 120).

BARN TALK – Nominations for the 110^th running of the Grade III, $100,000-added Bashford Manor for 2-year-olds at six furlongs on the main track at Churchill Downs will close Saturday. The Bashford Manor, which is scheduled to be run Saturday, July 2, was won last year by Stonestreet Stables LLC’s Kantharos under Robby Albarado for trainer Steve Asmussen. …

Nominations for the 21^st running of the Grade II, $175,000-added Firecracker Handicap for 3-year-olds and upward at one mile on the Matt Winn Turf Course will close Saturday. The Firecracker Handicap, which is scheduled to be run on Monday, July 4, was won last year by Michael Cooper and Pamela Ziebarth’s Tizdejavu under Jesus Castanon for trainer Greg Fox. …

Donegal Racing’s O’Prado Again, a 2-year-old son of El Prado-IRE who was purchased for $350,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling sale, will make his first start in Saturday’s seventh race for trainer Dale Romans. Jerry Crawford of Donegal Racing named the colt in honor of the recently retired Paddy O’Prado, a Grade I winner with more than $1.7 million in career earnings. …

To Honor and Serve’s 4-year-old half-brother named Dream Steeler will make his debut in Saturday’s eighth race for trainer Mike Maker and owner Twin Creeks Farm. To Honor and Serve, a 3-year-old son of Bernardini, was a multiple Grade II winner at 2-years-old and was on the 2011 Kentucky Derby trail before being sidelined with a strain to the suspensory ligament of his left foreleg. …

WHO’S HOT – The hottest jockeys over the last five racing days (June 9-16) are Corey Lanerie (8-for-36), Julien Leparoux (7-for-20) and Manoel Cruz (6-for-27). Tom Amoss (4-for-6) and Mike Maker (3-for-8) are the hottest trainers over the same period. The hottest owners are Brereton C. Jones (2-for-2), A.L. Luedtke (2-for-2), Maggi Moss (2-for-2) and Kenneth L. and Sarah K. Ramsey (2-for-5).

WORKTAB – Columbine Stable’s J.B.’s Thunder, who won the Grade I Dixiana Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland before finishing ninth in the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs in his most recent start, worked four furlongs in :49.60 on a fast main track beneath the Twin Spires on Friday morning for trainer Al Stall Jr. 

W.S. Farish and Skara Glen Stables’ Close Ally worked four furlongs in :51.60 Friday morning for trainer Neil Howard. Close Ally finished second to Glen Hill Farm’s Banned in the Grade II American Turf Presented by Ram prior to a second place finish to Thirtyfirststreet in the $200,000 Lone Star Derby on May 30.

WEATHER – Friday: partly sunny with a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 87. Friday night: mostly cloudy with a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 72. Saturday: partly sunny with a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 89. Sunday: partly sunny and hot with a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, 91. Monday: mostly sunny and hot, 95. Tuesday: mostly sunny and hot, 94. Wednesday: partly sunny with a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 92. Thursday: partly sunny with a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 88.  

Gold Mark Farm’s Backtalk charged past Flatter Than Me inside the sixteenth pole to win the 108th running of the $110,500 Bashford Manor Stakes (GIII) for 2-year-olds by a length at Churchill Downs on Friday.

            Ridden by Miguel Mena and trained by Tom Amoss, Backtalk covered the six furlongs on a fast main track in 1:11.08 in defeating seven rivals. The victory was worth $66,455 and increased Backtalk’s earnings to $90,095 for two wins in two starts.

            Soundman, ridden by Jamie Theriot, was quickest out of the gate and led the field through the first quarter-mile in :21.98 and the half-mile in :45.84 with Flatter Than Me in closest pursuit under Robby Albarado. Mena had Backtalk about five lengths off the lead racing in a pack with Grand Slam Andre and Brassy Boy.

Entering the stretch, Flatter Than Me surged past Soundman. Mena angled Backtalk out from behind Flatter Than Me and squeezed by on the inside of Grand Slam Andre for clear sailing to draw clear and give Amoss his second victory in the race to go with Lone Star Sky’s triumph in 2002.

Backtalk is a son of 2004 Kentucky Derby winner Smarty Jones out of the Affirmed mare Apasionata Sonata and a half-brother to graded stakes winner Bsharpsonata. With the victory, Backtalk became the first U.S. graded stakes winner for Smarty Jones.

Backtalk returned payoffs of $3.60, $2.60 and $2.20. Flatter Than Me paid $3.60 and $3.20 in finishing 1 ½ lengths ahead of Brassy Boy, who paid $4 to show under Corey Lanerie. Completing the field in order were Grand Slam Andre, Soundman, Westrock Gold, Vito Filitto and Even Wilder.

Racing resumes Saturday with an 11-race program beginning at 12:45 p.m. (all times EDT). Highlighting the card will be the 19th running of the $150,000-added Firecracker Handicap (Grade II) featuring defending champion Thorn Song in the eight-horse lineup. The Firecracker goes as Race 10 with a 5:29 p.m. post time.

POST-RACE QUOTES – THE BASHFORD MANOR

TOM AMOSS, trainer of BACKTALK (winner)

            “I really thought that the extra distance going to six furlongs would be a benefit to him based on how he ran the first time. Around the turn, I wasn’t so sure that he was into it. A lot of that is education and the fact that it was only his second start. When he got out of tight quarters and when he was in the clear you saw him spurt and I think that’s a real positive sign for the future and more distance. We’ll see where it leads us.”

            Q: He had to overcome a lot today . . .

            “It was a rough trip. He stumbled out of the gate and he was in tight quarters and had to bull his way through down the lane. I was watching it live and . . . I hoped the trip was clean enough and that we didn’t have a problem. Fortunately, it was. Look, this was a great learning experience for him and it will help him moving forward.”

            Q: Is his large size a benefit when in tight quarters?

            “It had to. You know, to get in there and make room for himself, his size has to be a big part of it.

“You know Smarty Jones was the first Derby winner that I asked a trainer if I could come see him. I did that the day after the [2004 Kentucky] Derby. I went in the stall with him and he was much more refined than this horse. This horse is a much bigger horse than Smarty Jones was. But that’s about the only thing they got in common.

“Smarty Jones needed a good horse and hopefully this is it.”

Q: What’s next?

“Oh, I don’t know. We’ll sit down together as a team and make some decisions together.”

MIGUEL MENA, jockey of BACKTALK (winner)

            “My horse stumbled out of the gate, but luckily he got on his feet. I was kind of worried because he was running so green between horses. He has so much talent and when I asked him to run he really gave it to me and responded very well. He is such a great horse. He is going to keep learning and have a bright future.”

MERRILL SCHERER, trainer of FLATTER THAN ME (runner-up)

“He ran good, but the winner is an unbeaten horse – you never know what he is.”

Q: What will you do with Flatter Than Me?

“I’ll take him to Saratoga and try ‘em.  You might as well get beat by the best.  He deserves a chance against those horses.”

ROBBY ALBARADO, jockey on FLATTER THAN ME (runner-up)

“He ran a great race.  He’s got a lot of potential to be a very nice horse.  He’s fast enough and he rates kindly.  He’s got all the keys to be a good one.”

Q: Were you surprised that he rated so well – he showed so much speed in his earlier races?

“He’s a deceptive horse for as big as he is.  If he can harness some of that speed I think he’ll go a lot further and be a better horse.”

Q: Did you think Flatter Than Me was a winner in upper stretch?

“Oh yeah, no doubt – when I kicked for home I thought he was a winner.  That’s taking nothing away from the winner – he’s a very nice horse.  He’s a very nice Smarty Jones colt – and Smarty Jones liked this track.”

HAL WIGGINS, trainer of BRASSY BOY (third)

“I think he’s going to be OK.  He might be a step below these.  I thought (Tom) Amoss’ horse (Backtalk) ran a big, big race, and Merrill (Scherer)’s horse (Flatter Than Me) run a big race – he broke bad last time and I thought he would run good.  Amoss’ horse finished very, very strong –- he’s gonna be the horse that comes out of this bunch, I believe.”

Q: What will you do with Brassy Boy now?

“I don’t know – we might give him a little break.  I’ll kind of look around and see.  The little colt tried.  He was closer earlier than I thought he’d be, but Corey (Lanerie) said he’s kind of learning.  He doesn’t know what to do quite yet and he put himself into it a little early, but he’s going to be all right.  We’ll have some fun with him.”

SHAUN BRIDGMOHAN, jockey on GRAND SLAM ANDRE (fourth)

“When he broke he made a left-hand turn, but once he straightened up he was good.”

Q: He ran well after that – did you ever think you had a chance after that start?

“Down the backside I got him to the outside and he grabbed the bridle a little bit and was starting to do things the right way.  Even in the middle of the turn, I still had horse and I was sitting on him, but for a young horse it was a lot to overcome.”

-30-

Gold Mark Farm’s Backtalk, an impressive debut winner, and Millsap Stables’ homebred Brassy Boy, unbeaten in two career starts, head a field of nine 2-year-olds entered for  Friday’s 108th running of the Bashford Manor (Grade III) at Churchill Downs.

    The six-furlong test on the main track will be the 10th race on Friday’s 11-race card that opens with a 2:45 p.m. (all times EDT) first post time. Post time for the Bashford Manor is 7:24 p.m.

    A $250,000 purchase as a yearling, Backtalk rallied wide from off the pace to win at first asking by 2 ¾ lengths over nine rivals in a five-furlong race on June 11. Backtalk is from the second crop of foals by 2004 Kentucky Derby winner Smarty Jones and a half-brother to graded stakes winner Bsharpsonata.

    Tom Amoss, who trained 2002 Bashford Manor winner Lone Star Sky, trains Backtalk, who tuned up for the Bashford Manor with a half-mile work in :50 on Tuesday over a fast track. Miguel Mena will ride Backtalk and break from post position five.

    Brassy Boy broke his maiden for a $30,000 claiming tag going 4 ½ furlongs at Churchill Downs on May 29.  He then won a five-furlong allowance test on June 11 over a strong field that included Bashford Manor rivals Soundman and Flatter Than Me.

    Trained by Hal Wiggins, Brassy Boy is an Arkansas-bred by Storm and a Half out of the Dixie Brass mare Brass Doll. Brassy Boy, who worked three furlongs in :36.80 on Tuesday morning, is the fifth foal of Brass Doll and a full brother to stakes winners Brassie Prince and Doll and a Half.

    Corey Lanerie, who won the 2007 Bashford Manor aboard Kodiak Kowboy, has the call on Brassy Boy, who will break from post three under top weight of 120 pounds.

    Soundman, who has a record of 1-1-1 in three races, is one of two Bashford Manor contenders trained by D. Wayne Lukas, the Hall of Fame trainer who has won the Bashford Manor a record five times.  Lukas will also saddle Westrock Gold.

    Two other trainers with multiple Bashford Manor wins, Steve Asmussen and Todd Pletcher, will shoot for their third victories in the race. Asmussen sends out Grand Slam Andre and Pletcher will be represented by Mission Impazible.

    The field for the Bashford Manor, from the rail out, is as follows: Grand Slam Andre (Shaun Bridgmohan, 118 pounds), Westrock Gold (Julien Leparoux, 118), Brassy Boy (Corey Lanerie, 120), Mission Impazible (John Velazquez, 118), Backtalk (Miguel Mena, 118), Even Wilder (Jon Court, 116), Soundman (Jamie Theriot, 118), Vito Filitto (Calvin Borel, 116) and Flatter Than Me (Robby Albarado, 118).

As trainer Tom Amoss stood in the winner’s circle at Churchill Downs following his 300th victory under the historic Twin Spires of the home of the Kentucky Derby, he recalled his first journey to the Louisville track.
    The 47-year-old New Orleans native picked a good day for that first visit.
    “I always, when I started training, aspired to train here at Churchill Downs,” said Amoss.  “My first day of racing at Churchill Downs was the 1979 Kentucky Derby that Spectacular Bid won.  I was a senior in high school and I came up with (fellow trainer) Al Stall and his family.  That morning, the morning of the race, I rode (trainer) Frank Brothers’ pony on the track. I always thought it would be wonderful to train here one day.”
    Amoss made it to Louisville and Thursday’s milestone win in the fifth race with Maggi Moss’ McGlamery Road made him just the ninth trainer in Churchill Downs history to achieve 300 victories at the track.  The eight who preceded him are: Bill Mott (615 wins), D. Wayne Lukas (466), Dale Romans (460), Bernie Flint (411), Jack Van Berg (335), Angel Montano Sr. (319), Steve Asmussen (314) and Forrest Kaelin (309).
    “I’m very proud it and I’m very proud for my staff,” Amoss said.  “These guys have all been with me a long time. Anybody that comes to the barn sees the same faces and I really feel we did it together.  It’s a good deal for everybody.”
    Among those 300 wins are a couple of personal highlights.  Amoss ranks last spring’s victory by Moss’ Indian Chant in the Aristides (GIII) at the top of that roster.
    “That was a wonderful win,” Amoss said.  “That’s something that was really exciting to me and to the staff.  That and maybe Lone Star Sky’s (2002) Bashford Manor (Grade III) win.  Those two are the ones that quickly come to mind.”
    Amoss, who won last year’s Spring Meet training crown to go with an earlier spring crown he earned in 2002, has 36 horses in training at Churchill Downs.  His horses have run well at the meet with a record of 4-7-3 in 19 starts entering Friday’s 10-race program – an in-the-money rate of 74 percent.  His win total is tied for third in the “leading trainer” race behind co-leaders Steve Asmussen and Wesley Ward, each of whom has six wins heading into Friday’s racing at Churchill Downs.
    Along with his success at Churchill Downs, Amoss has enjoyed tremendous success at Fair Grounds in his hometown of New Orleans.  Amoss has exactly 800 wins at Churchill Downs’ sister track in the Crescent City.

STEWART AIMS MACHO AGAIN TO GRADE I STEPHEN FOSTER – West Point Thorughbreds’ Macho Again came out of a disappointing fifth-place finish in the $150,000-added Alysheba (GIII) on Kentucky Oaks Day in good shape and is now being pointed toward the $600,000 Stephen Foster Handicap (GI), the track’s top race for older horses on Saturday, June 13.
    The Dallas Stewart-trained runner-up to Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) Big Brown in the 2008 Preakness (GI) was favored in the Alysheba following an impressive win over a “sloppy” track in the $500,000 New Orleans Handicap (GII) at Fair Grounds on March 14.  But he was far back early behind a slow pace in the 1 1/16-mile Alysheba and was never contention, although he did close ground late to finished just 4 1/2 lengths behind the victorious Bullsbay.
    But Stewart liked what he saw when the son of Macho Uno returned to serious training on May 11 with a half-mile work in :49 over a “fast” local surface.  
    “He’s doing good,” Stewart said.  “He was probably up against it with the pace last time.  He ran well and was coming on, and maybe a little more distance will help him out. He’s ready to roll.”
    The 1 1/8-mile Foster is expected to attracted two-time Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (GI) winner Einstein, the runner-up to two-time “Horse of the Year” Curlin in the 2008 Stephen Foster.
    The Alysheba marked the first time in four starts that Macho Again had finished worse than second at Churchill Downs.  He scored an emphatic 5 ½-length victory in his career debut here in late October of 2007 and notched an upset victory in last year’s Derby Trial prior to his outstanding run in the Preakness.  His other loss here was a narrow defeat to eventual Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (GI) winner Monba in an allowance race that followed his maiden win in the fall of his 2-year-old season.
    Macho Again’s career slate stands at 5-4-0 in 17 races with earnings of $1,078,323.  His New Orleans ‘Cap win is his only victory in three 2009 starts.
    Stewart has never won the Stephen Foster Handicap, but did saddle Dollar Bill for a runner-up finish behind Godolphin’s Street Cry in 2002.

SPICE ROUTE TOPS WEIGHT ASSIGNMENTS FOR LOUISVILLE HANDICAP, BRASS HAT PROBABLE STARTING HIGH WEIGHT – Spice Route, winner of Keeneland’s Elkhorn (GIII) in his most recent start and the runner-up to Marsh Side in last fall’s Canadian International (GI) at Woodbine, has been assigned high weight of 121 for next Saturday’s 72nd running of the $100,000-added Louisville Handicap (GIII) at Churchill Downs.
    Co-owned by Harlequin Stable, Ralph Johnson and trainer Roger Attfield, the 5-year-old son of King’s Best is not considered a likely starter in the 1 ½-mile race over the Matt Winn Turf Course, but would concede from three to 11 pounds to the 27 other horses nominated to the race.
    Veteran Better Talk Now, winner of the 2004 John Deere Breeders’ Cup Turf (GI) at Lone Star Park, and Churchill Downs-based veteran Brass Hat, winner of the 2006 Donn Handicap (GI) at Gulstream Park and runner-up in that year’s $5 million Dubai World Cup (GI) before being disqualified for a medication violation, were weighted at 118 pounds by Churchill Downs Racing Secretary Ben Huffman.
    Brass Hat, an 8-year-old gelding owned and bred by Fred Bradley and trained by Bradley’s son William “Buff” Bradley, is scheduled to run in the Louisville and is expected to be its starting high weight.  He finished a late-running third to Spice Route in the Elkhorn and prior to that was a fast-closing fifth to Proudinsky in the Mervin Muniz Jr. Handicap (GII) at Fair Grounds.
    The son of Prized closed strongly off a very slow pace to finish fourth to Lattice in last year’s running of the Louisville.
    Others considered likely for the race include Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Furthest Land, a 4-year-old Smart Strike gelding won finished eighth to Einstein in the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (GI), and Kim and John Glenney’s Transduction Gold, who was assigned 114 pounds.
    
BARN NOTES – Two-time Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Calvin Borel will not be adding to his milestone victory total for a couple of days as he has traveled to Pimlico to ride Kentucky Oaks (GI) winner Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness.  Borel became only the fourth rider to win 900 races in the 135-year history of Churchill Downs to win 900 races when he piloted Patton’s Creek Farm’s War Eagle Lady to a 14 ¾-length romp in Thursday’s sixth race.  Borel, who won Fall Meet riding titles at Churchill Downs in 1999 and 2006, ranks fourth in total wins at the track and trails only retired Hall of Famers Pat Day (2,482 wins) and Don Brumfield (925) and active veteran Larry Melancon (907).  The 42-year-old native of St. Martin, La. will return to Churchill Downs on Sunday. … Also out of town on Friday and Saturday to ride in Preakness weekend races at Pimlico are leading rider Julien Leparoux and Jamie Theriot, who ranks second in the Spring Meet standings. Robby Albarado, sixth in the standings heading into Friday’s racing, will ride at Pimlico on Saturday. … Leparoux had a pair of wins on Thursday to increase his lead over Theriot in the early stages of the battle for the Spring Meet’s leading jockey to 22-16. … With no live racing on Wednesdays for the remainder of the Spring Meet, Churchill Downs will offer free general admission for ITW simulcast wagering on Wednesdays through the remainder of the Spring Meet. … Secret Gypsy, winner of the Distaff (GII) at Aqueduct but last of nine to Informed Decision in the Humana Distaff (GI) on Derby Day, breezed four furlongs over a “good” track in :49.20 on Friday.  It was the first work for trainer Ronny Werner’s 4-year-old daughter of Sea of Secrets since her disappointing Derby Day outing.
    
ENJOY THE PREAKNESS SIMULCAST ON SATURDAY AT CHURCHILL DOWNS – Churchill Downs will take on a Pimlico-feel for a simulcast of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, complete with yellow, white and black bunting and flowers and live Dixieland and Big Band music.
Fans will get a choice of a free Mine That Bird or Rachel Alexandra button while supplies last in the paddock area. Also, Black-Eyed Susan specialty drinks and coastal food specials will be sold at select locations throughout the facility. And between races in the paddock area, the “World’s Largest Black-Eyed Susan” will be on display, and select customers will get a chance to compete in “Crab Races” – they’ll be in costumes dressed as crabs – with the final scheduled for later in the day on the Matt Winn Turf Course.
Post time for Churchill Downs’ Preakness simulcast is 6:15 p.m. (all times EDT)
Early arrivals to Churchill Downs on Preakness Stakes Day can take part in the new “Get in the Game” Handicapping Seminar that will feature informative and in-depth analysis of races and handicapping topics. Churchill Downs racing analyst Jill Byrne hosts the seminar each week and will be joined Saturday by jockey Brian Hernandez Jr.   The seminar is held paddock area at 11:45 a.m. (note: event will be held in the ITW area on the second floor of the clubhouse if there is inclement weather).

WEEKEND ACTIVITIES IN CHURCHILL DOWNS’  JUNIOR JOCKEY CLUB –  Decorating paper horses highlight this weekend’s activities at Churchill Downs’ Junior Jockey Club located near the Guest Services Booth inside Gate. 10. Coloring books, crayons, individual games and reading material are available as well, and Churchill Downs’ mascot Churchill Charlie will be on hand both Saturday and Sunday for photographs between 2-2:30 p.m. The Junior Jockey Club, designed for children age 3-10, is open every Saturday and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Two-time Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Calvin Borel became only the fourth rider to win 900 races in the 135-year history of Churchill Downs when Patton’s Creek Farm’s War Eagle Lady romped to a 14 ¾-length victory in Wednesday’s sixth race.

One race earlier, Tom Amoss became the ninth trainer in track history to saddle 300 local winners when Maggi Moss’ McGlamery Road prevailed in the fifth.

“I hope this is the start to a great weekend,” said Borel, who is scheduled to ride Kentucky Oaks champ Rachel Alexandra in Saturday’s 134th running of the $1.1 million Preakness Stakes – the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown. Two weeks ago, Borel rode Mine That Bird to an upset win in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands, but Borel and his 19-year agent Jerry Hissam agreed to ride the 20 ¼-length Oaks champ in the Preakness.

Only Pat Day (2,482 wins), Don Brumfield (925) and Larry Melancon (907) have won more races at Churchill Downs than Borel, a 42-year-old native of St. Martin, La. who won local riding titles at the 1999 and 2006 Fall Meets.

Amoss, the 47-year-old New Orleans native who won Spring Meet training titles in 2002 and ’08, joined an elite cast of horseman to win at least 300 races at Churchill Downs: Bill Mott (615), D. Wayne Lukas (466), Dale Romans (460), Bernie Flint (411), Jack Van Berg (335), Angel Montano Sr. (319), Steve Asmussen (314) and Forrest Kaelin (309).

Jockey Robby Albarado, a finalist for last year's Eclipse Award as America's leading jockey who ranks seventh among the all-time riding leaders at Churchill Downs, earned his first "leading rider" title under the historic Twin Spires as the home of the Kentucky Derby wrapped up its 52-day Spring Meet on Sunday, July 6. 

Trainer Tom Amoss won two races on the meet's closing day to nail down his second title of leading trainer, and Ken and Sarah Ramsey continued their assault on the Churchill Downs record book as the Nicholasville, Ky., couple won a record 13th "leading owner" crown. 

Albarado, 34, ended the meet with 73 victories. The highlight was clearly his victory aboard reigning "Horse of the Year" Curlin in the $1 million Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) on June 14, but Albarado said earning his first "leading rider" crown since his arrival at Churchill Downs in 1996 was special. 

"It means a lot," Albarado said. "I know I'm at a point in my career where ‘leading rider' titles probably won't make a difference in my business that I've established, but it was one of my own personal goals, and I'm glad I got it accomplished here at Churchill." 

Albarado won his meet-leading 73 races from 287 mounts, a significantly smaller total than those of runner-up Miguel Mena, who won 65 races from 364 mounts. He is generally considered to be more selective in regard to the quality of the mounts he selects, but Albarado said his first championship meet belies that assumption. 

"I've been injured quite a few times, so I've got to be a little more selective," he said. "A lot of trainers think I don't give 100 percent on all of the horses, but I do. I've won $5,000 claiming races here this meet - I've won them all in all different areas of it. So it kind of instills a little confidence in the trainers also that I can ride seven or eight a day and make it happen." 

Albarado now has 753 career victories at Churchill Downs. Julien Leparoux, the riding leader in the 2007 Spring Meet, finished third with 56 victories and was followed by Calvin Borel (52), Jamie Theriot (48) and Shaun Bridgmohan (44). Six of Albarado's victories came in stakes competition, including a victory aboard Einstein in the $500,000-added Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (GI) on Kentucky Derby Day.

The New Orleans-born Amoss opened the meet on a hot streak and closed with a rush to collect his second "leading trainer" crown - and his first outright title. He had previously tied with Dale Romans for the Spring Meet title in 2002. Amoss' stable collected 35 victories from 87 starts - a 40 percent win rate for a barn in which 72 percent of its starters finished in the top three in their races. 

"We caught fire and we were able to keep it going all meet, which is truly a credit to everybody in the barn," Amoss said by telephone. "I've got probably five managerial people that have been with me for more than 15 years each, and this is a proud moment for all of us." 

Amoss wrapped up the meet with victories by Alfred Kent ($4) in the fifth race and Our Dancer ($7) in the 10th. The highlight of the Spring Meet for Amoss was a victory in the $125,000 Aristides (GIII) with Maggi Moss' Indian Chant. 

"This is a special feeling," said Amoss. "This is a prestigious meet. Not to take anything away from any of the other titles we've won, but this is big. It's really important to us and there's a great deal of satisfaction amongst everybody." 

The strong closing day performance by Amoss allowed him to pull away from runner-up Steve Asmussen, the 2007 Spring Meet leader who finished with 30 victories. Ken McPeek was next with 26 wins. 

The "leading owners" title for Ken and Sarah Ramsey was their record 13th overall and their seventh Spring Meet crown. They earned their first Churchill Downs Spring Meet title in 2000 and have taken seven of the nine spring titles since. The latest title allowed the Ramseys to tie legendary Calumet Farm's record for the most Spring Meet "leading owner" crowns. 

"Did you notice how long we're delaying leaving the winner's circle?" asked a beaming Ken Ramsey in special winner's circle ceremony. "It never gets old." 

Sarah Ramsey accompanied her husband to the winner's circle ceremony. Mrs. Ramsey was in a wheelchair as she made her first appearance at Churchill Downs since she suffered a stroke early last year. "She told me that if we won another ‘leading owner' title that she'd come to the track with me," Ken Ramsey said. 

The Ramseys horses finished with a record of 20-11-17 in 75 starts, which reflects a winning rate of 27 percent and 64 percent of their horses recorded top-three finishes. Maggi Moss, the leading owner in the 2007 Spring Meet, finished second with 15 wins while Richard, Elaine and Bert Klein were third with 10 victories. 

The 2008 Spring Meet got off of to a memorable, if bittersweet, start with a dominant 4 ¾-length victory by IEAH Stable and Paul Pompa Jr.'s Big Brown in the 134th running of the $2 million-guaranteed Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI). The Derby victory was the third for jockey Kent Desormeaux and the first for trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. But the day was marred by a fatal injury suffered by Fox Hill Farm's filly Eight Belles well past the finish of the "Run for the Roses." A crowd of 157,770 witnessed the Derby - the second-largest attendance in the history of the race. 

One day earlier Brereton C. Jones' Proud Spell scored an emphatic five-length victory in the 134th running of the $500,000-added Kentucky Oaks. Kentucky native J. Larry Jones scored his first Oaks victory with the daughter of Proud Citizen, who was ridden by Gabriel Saez. Despite heavy rain that fell throughout the afternoon, a crowd of 100,046 attended the Oaks, which marked the 10th time in 11 years that Kentucky Oaks attendance had topped the 100,000 mark. 

Competing with those spectacular races for the honor of meet highlight was the 27th and richest running of the $1 million Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) for 3-year-olds and up. Reigning "Horse of the Year" Curlin cruised to an easy 4 ¼-length victory under Albarado in his first race since a victory in the $6 million Dubai World Cup (GI) in March. Einstein finished second on the dirt in the Stephen Foster, and returned to finish second to Thorn Song in the $200,000-added Firecracker Handicap (GII) on July 4. Other notable stakes efforts included wins in the Crown Royal American Turf (GIII) and Jefferson Cup (GII) by the 3-year-old turf start Tizdejavu, the meet's only two-time stakes winner; Intangaroo, who notched an upset in the Grade I Humana Distaff on Kentucky Derby Day; Pure Clan in the Regret (GIII); Dreaming of Anna in the Early Times Mint Julep (GIII); Pyro in the Northern Dancer (GIII); Hystericalady in the Fleur de Lis (GII); Ginger Punch in the Louisville Stakes (GII); Elite Squadron in the Louisville Stakes (GII); Lattice in the Louisville Handicap (GIII); Acoma in the Dogwood; Say You Will in the Locust Grove (GIII); Garden District in the Debutante (GIII); and Screen Your Friend in the Bashford Manor (GIII).

 

Churchill Downs' 26-day Fall Meet is scheduled for Oct, 26-November 29.

As usual, Calvin Borel went about his business Sunday morning with a smile on his face.

Working horses for his brother Cecil, Borel was back at it with a milestone victory in his back pocket: career victory No. 4,500.

The victory, which made him the 32nd North American rider to reach 4,500, came aboard Screen Your Friend in the Bashford Manor (GIII) for Borel's first stakes win of the meet and 36th overall under the Twin Spires.

"I have liked him all along," said Borel, who has ridden the colt three times including his maiden score on June 4. "It was good to see him take that step up yesterday."

Borel, who hurt his knee when he came off a horse during training hours on June 13, is going to take some time off when the meet closes Sunday.

"I am going to ride a few weekends around the country, but for the most part just rest it over the summer," Borel said. "It is still a little sore."

Which means the climb to 5,000 wins will get off to a slow start.

"That's my next goal," said Borel, 41. "Hopefully I can get it in three years."

Presently, there are 22 North American riders in the 5,000-win club. Sitting just ahead of Borel on the all-time North American list is Kentuckian Don Brumfield with 4,573 victories.

 

SCREEN YOUR FRIEND DOING WELL AFTER BASHFORD MANOR WIN - William Carl's longshot Bashford Manor winner Screen Your Friend came out his victory in Saturday's stakes debut in good order according to Georgia Jackson, assistant to trainer Bernie Flint.

"He's doing good this morning," Jackson said. "It was a great way to end the meet for us. We started slow, but finished with nine wins."

Among the nine wins was a victory by Saltgrass Trail on June 11 that gave Flint his 400th score at Churchill Downs.

However, Flint was not able to enjoy either victory at the track because he was at home recovering from back surgery.

"He tried to get out here a couple of weeks ago, but those things just take time," Jackson said.

 

CHAMPION CURLIN SCHEDULED FOR MONDAY WORK - Reigning "Horse of the Year" Curlin is scheduled to work on Monday at Churchill Downs in preparation for a scheduled debut on the turf next weekend either at Belmont Park or Arlington Park.

The Steve Asmussen-trained son of Smart Strike, an easy winner this year of the $6 million Dubai World Cup (GI) at Nad Al Sheba and the $1 million Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) at Churchill Downs, is scheduled to work over the main track in Asmussen's second set of horses on Monday. Curlin should step onto the one-mile dirt oval at approximately 6:15 a.m. (EDT).

Curlin breezed seven furlongs on the Matt Winn Turf Course in 1:31.20 last Tuesday in his first training effort over the surface. With an eye toward a possible run in France's famed Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in early October, Asmussen plans for Curlin to make his turf debut on Saturday, July 12 in either the $500,000 Man O' War (GI) at Belmont or the $200,000 Arlington Park Handicap (GIII) at the Illinois track.

Published reports have had Asmussen leaning toward the New York race, but licensing issues related to the colt's minority ownership must be settled in either jurisdiction to allow the winner of the 2007 Breeders' Cup Classic Powered by Dodge (GI) to compete.

 

TOP RIDERS HEADED TO SARATOGA, PRESQUE ISLE - With the close of the 52-day Spring Meet on Sunday, the leading jockeys in the rider standings will be heading to various destinations.

Headed to Saratoga are leading rider Robby Albarado, Julien Leparoux, Shaun Bridgmohan and, for the first time, Jamie Theriot. Miguel Mena and Jesus Castanon, who have combined for 93 victories for agent Steve Elzey, will be headed to Presque Isle.

Leparoux, who guided Churchill Downs-based Pure Clan to victory in the American Oaks Invitational (GI) on Saturday for trainer Bob Holthus, will return to Hollywood Park this coming Saturday to ride Fab Oak Stable's Nownownow in the Grade II Swaps Stakes. Leparoux rode Nownownow to victory in the inaugural Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf last fall at Monmouth Park.

Mena and Castanon leave Tuesday for Presque Isle, where Mena has mounts beginning Wednesday and Castanon on Thursday.

Larry Sterling Jr., who with 11 victories is tied for 11th in the rider standings, is going to Arlington Park to rejoin the Chicago circuit on which he has been a regular since 1998.

Other riders in the top 10 -- Corey Lanerie, Brian Hernandez Jr., and John McKee - are slated to go to Ellis Park, which is set for a belated opening on Friday, July 11.

"It's great to have a job," Hernandez said of the agreement reached that will preserve the meet at Ellis Park. "We got lucky."

 

TRAINER, JOCKEY TITLE CHASES DRIVE TO RESOLUTION - The race for leading trainer is down to a two-man race as both Tom Amoss and Steve Asmussen picked up a victory each on Saturday.

Amoss enters Sunday's final program with a 33-30 lead on Asmussen, but Asmussen has seven horses entered on the 11-race card to only three for Amoss.

Amoss is seeking his first outright title at Churchill Downs. A 46-year-old native of New Orleans, Amoss shared the 2002 Spring title with Dale Romans.

Asmussen, who enters Sunday's card with 299 career victories at Churchill Downs, won both trainer titles at Churchill Downs in 2007 in addition to the 2004 Spring title and Fall crowns in 2001 and 2004.

With two victories Saturday, Robby Albarado may have put a vise grip on his first leading rider title. Entering Sunday's card, Albarado holds a 70-63 lead over Miguel Mena, who was blanked on Saturday.

Albarado has seven mounts Sunday; Mena has 10.

 

BARN TALK - It's on to Saratoga for West Point Thoroughbreds' Phosphorescent, stylish winner of his career debut Saturday for trainer Dale Romans. A son of Rock Slide, Phosphorescent won the first six-furlong maiden race for 2-year-olds at the meet in 1:11.38. "He is going to run in one of those stakes at Saratoga," Romans said. Ironically, the winner of the first such race last summer was Pyro, who has turned into a three-time graded stakes winner. "I hope he is as good as Pyro," Romans said. ... The other half of the split baby race was won by Winchell Thoroughbreds' Zion in 1:11.89 for trainer Steve Asmussen. Winchell Thoroughbreds also owns Pyro. ... Trainer D. Wayne Lukas is two wins away from 4,500. He has four horses entered on Sunday. ... Trainer David Vance has 2,999 career victories. He has two horses entered on Sunday's card. "I'm ready for it, I just hope the horses are," Vance said Sunday morning regarding the 3,000 mark, a figure attained by 21 North American trainers.... Ken and Sarah Ramsey, who have locked up their 13th overall leading owner title, have four horses entered Sunday. The Ramseys have 19 winners this meet and they own the record 21 winners for a meet of 57 days or fewer.

 

WORK TAB - Arindel Farm's 2006 3-year-old filly champion Wait a While, pointing for the July 26 Diana Handicap (GI) at Saratoga, worked five furlongs on a "fast" track in 1:01.60 for trainer Todd Pletcher. ... West Point Thoroughbreds' Derby Trial winner Macho Again, runner-up in the Preakness (GI) and fifth in the Belmont Stakes (GI), worked a half-mile in :49.20 for trainer Dallas Stewart. ... Gainesway Thoroughbreds' Ocean Colors, the next-to-last foal of 1988 Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors, worked five furlongs in 1:02.40 for trainer Steve Asmussen.

 

2008 SPRING MEET LEADERS

Through Saturday, July 5 Jockeys Starts 1-2-3

Robby Albarado 281 70-44-38

Miguel Mena 355 63-49-50

Julien Leparoux 298 54-55-49

Calvin Borel 294 51-42-38

Jamie Theriot 284 48-37-39

Shaun Bridgmohan 224 44-42-32

Jesus Castanon 268 30-28-31

Corey Lanerie 229 21-33-30

Brian Hernandez Jr. 202 18-29-23

John McKee 150 14-21-20

Trainers

Tom Amoss 84 33-15-13

Steve Asmussen 140 30-26-21

Ken McPeek 85 26-14-11

Mike Maker 70 20-14-11

Dale Romans 147 19-27-24

Ian Wilkes 54 15-13-7

Eddie Kenneally 64 12-10-10

Paul J. McGee 52 12-8-6

Greg Foley 68 10-10-9

Cody Autrey 56 10-9-11

Steve Margolis 50 10-7-11

Robert O'Connor II 23 10-3-4

D. Wayne Lukas 63 10-2-6

Bret Calhoun 26 10-2-5

Owners

Ken and Sarah Ramsey 71 19-11-15

Maggi Moss 33 14-7-5

Zayat Stables, LLC 55 9-12-11

Richard, Elaine & Bert Klein 39 9-7-7

Jay Em Ess Stable 26 6-4-2

Heflin & Driver Racing 29 5-5-6

Heiligbrodt Racing Stable 17 5-1-0

Seven (7) owners tied at four (4) wins

 

Zayat Stables' Thorn Song and Patricia Cunningham and Melissa Green, Lessee's Einstein, the one-two finishers in Friday's $200,000-added Firecracker Handicap (GII), were reported to be doing well Saturday morning by their connections.

"He came out of the race good," trainer Dale Romans said of Thorn Song, who gave Romans his third stakes victory of the meet, a total matched only by Steve Asmussen.

Romans will go for his fourth stakes win on Sunday when he sends out Jacks or Better Farm's Bayou's Lassie in the Locust Grove Handicap (GIII). Bayou's Lassie gave Romans one of his earlier stakes victories when she took the Churchill Downs Distaff Turf Mile (GIII) on Derby Day.

Romans stands fifth in the trainer standings with 17 wins, far below his average since 2000 of 29 during the Spring Meet. However, he has more seconds (27) and thirds (24) than any trainer at the meet.

"It hasn't been all that bad," said Romans, whose lowest spring total this decade was 18 wins in 2000. "We have won three stakes and the money's been good."

Trainer Helen Pitts said that Einstein was "ticked off that he lost. He hates to get beat."

Einstein is being pointed to the Aug. 9 Arlington Million (GI) at a mile and a quarter. The Firecracker was run at a mile and Thorn Song took the field wire to wire.

"The scratches (of Inca King and A.P. Xcellent) killed us," Pitts said. "But he ran good and got a piece of it. We've got five weeks now (until the Million) and he comes back at a distance he likes."

MILESTONES MAY AWAIT LUKAS, BOREL ON SATURDAY - Hall of Fame trainer and four-time Kentucky Derby (GI) winner D. Wayne Lukas, bearing down on career victory 4,500, has three horses entered on Saturday's card.. Should Lukas not hit the milestone on Saturday, he will have four more chances on Sunday.

Sixth all-time in victories among North American trainers, Lukas' career total stood at 4,498 victories heading into Saturday's races at Churchill Downs.

Jockey Calvin Borel boosted his career win total to 4,496 on Friday's Independence Day card by riding two winners. Borel is named on nine mounts Saturday as he attempts to become the 34th North American rider to reach 4,500 victories.

Carl Pollard's Minewander finished eighth in Friday's eighth race, denying trainer David Vance the opportunity to become the 22nd North American trainer to reach 3,000 victories. Vance has no horses entered Saturday, but two on Sunday.

Vance's Sunday runners are Citizen John in the fourth and Northeast Harbor in the seventh. Both are owned by Pollard, with whom Vance teamed to score the biggest victory of his career: the 2000 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (GI) with Caressing at Churchill Downs. The duo also teamed to win Churchill Downs' Humana Distaff (GI) in 2005 with My Trusty Cat.

WHIRLIE BERTIE READY TO MAKE THE NEXT STEP - Richard, Bertram and Elaine Klein's Whirlie Bertie ran her win streak to three - all during the Churchill Downs Spring Meet - with a 1 ¾-length victory in Friday's eighth race. The victory has the Kleins and trainer Steve Margolis eagerly looking ahead.

"This is a nice filly," Margolis said. "We are thinking about the Monmouth Oaks (a Grade III event on Aug. 9) or maybe the Alabama (at Saratoga on Aug. 16). One is five weeks and one is six."

Whirlie Bertie got in to Friday's non-winners of three lifetime allowance test when the mile and a sixteenth race was moved to the main track.

"If she had not run yesterday, we had nominated her to the Serena's Song, a small stake at Monmouth on July 13," Margolis said.

In winning her first two starts at Churchill Downs, Whirlie Bertie had scored in wire-to-wire fashion. On Friday, she stalked the pace under Shaun Bridgmohan and then repulsed several challenges in the stretch.

"She got a little hot in the paddock, but once we put the saddle on her, she was OK," Margolis said. "The thing I liked was how she responded when challenged. In her other two races, she won as she pleased, but yesterday Shaun put her in a good spot and when Neil's horse (Highest Class trained by Neil Howard) came to her, she took off again.

"Her dam (Grade II winner De Bertie) was a dead closer and Bert thought she would be like that. But she has tactical speed ... that's the Stormin Fever ... and that's a big advantage."

A run at the Alabama would offer the Kleins a chance at some Saratoga redemption. In 2002, their Allamerican Bertie set the pace in the mile and a quarter event before being collared in deep stretch by Kentucky Oaks (GI) winner and eventual 3-year-old filly champion Farda Amiga, who won by three-quarters of a length.

ALBARADO, AMOSS OPEN BREATHING ROOM IN RACES FOR TOP RIDER, TRAINER - Jockey Robby Albarado opened a little breathing room in his quest for his first riding title at Churchill Downs with a victory aboard Forest Command in Friday's ninth race.

Albarado's nearest competitor, Miguel Mena, was blanked on Friday's card and enters Saturday's 11-race program trailing Albarado 68-63. Both riders have 10 mounts each on Saturday's card, while on Sunday, Mena has 10 mounts to Albarado's seven.

Albarado, a finalist for the 2007 Eclipse Award for America's top jockey, has perennially been one of Churchill Downs' top jockeys since his arrival at the historic track in 1996, but has never won riding crown under the Twin Spires.

Tom Amoss increased his lead over Steve Asmussen to 32-29 in the race for leading trainer with the victory by Cactus Conie in Friday's third race. However, it may not have been the knockout punch Amoss was seeking from his four Friday entrants on a day when Asmussen and Ken McPeek (with 26 wins) had only one starter each.

Asmussen has seven entrants and McPeek six on Saturday's card; Amoss has two. On Sunday's closing 11-race program, Asmussen has seven entrants; Amoss and McPeek three each.

BARN TALK - Trainer Dallas Stewart was all smiles Saturday morning after Silverfoot's victory in the Grade III Stars and Stripes on Friday at Arlington Park. The victory snapped a 10-race losing streak for the 8-year-old gelding that dated back to the 2006 Louisville Handicap, which he won for the third time. "The White Horse!," Stewart exclaimed. "He has been training like a winner all along and doing the right things. He had just been a victim of paceless races with :51 and :52 halves." On Friday Silverfoot, owned by Chrysalis Stables, got a :49.40 half-mile pace and rallied to score a two-length victory. ... Running last in the Stars and Stripes as the favorite was Adele Dilschneider and Claiborne Farm's Lattice, trained by Al Stall Jr. "He vanned all night back to Keeneland and we'll go over and check him out," Stall said. "Julien (jockey Julien Leparoux) said he didn't have any horse." ... Bill Troilo's victory in Friday's nightcap aboard Who Done That gave the 47-year-old native of Philadelphia his 255th career win at Churchill Downs. That ties him with Craig Perret for 19th all time. Lurking right behind with 252 victories at Churchill Downs is Julien Leparoux, who is riding Pure Clan for trainer Bob Holthus in Saturday's American Oaks Invitational (GI) at Hollywood Park. Leparoux is scheduled back for closing day on Sunday when he is named on nine mounts on the 11-race card. ... Kent Desormeaux's victory aboard Thorn Song in the Firecracker Handicap was his 15th stakes victory at Churchill Downs, a total that includes three Kentucky Derby victories (Real Quiet, 1998; Fusaichi Pegasus, 2000; Big Brown, 2008). It also was the 4,496th victory of his Hall of Fame career. A total of 22 North American riders have reached the 5,000-win plateau.

WORK TAB - Zayat Stables' Eaton's Gift, winner of the Grade II Swale Stakes this winter, worked a half-mile over a "good" track in :49.20 for trainer Dale Romans. ... Racecar Rhapsody, fourth in the Preakness (GI) in his most recent start, worked five furlongs in 1:03 for trainer Ken McPeek. Other 3-year-olds working for McPeek were Miller Cradle winner Old Man Buck and Colonial Turf Cup (GIII) runner-up Nistle's Crunch, who both worked six furlongs in 1:13.20.

 

2008 SPRING MEET LEADERS

Through Friday, July 4

 

Jockeys Starts 1-2-3

Robby Albarado 271 68-43-37

Miguel Mena 346 63-48-49

Julien Leparoux 298 54-55-49

Jamie Theriot 275 48-37-38

Calvin Borel 285 47-42-38

Shaun Bridgmohan 215 43-40-28

Jesus Castanon 260 28-28-31

Corey Lanerie 220 19-31-29

Brian Hernandez Jr. 193 17-29-20

John McKee 150 14-21-20

Trainers

Tom Amoss 82 32-15-13

Steve Asmussen 133 29-24-19

Ken McPeek 79 26-13-10

Mike Maker 66 20-13-9

Dale Romans 143 17-27-24

Ian Wilkes 52 16-13-7

Eddie Kenneally 63 12-10-10

Paul J. McGee 52 12-8-6

Cody Autrey 56 10-9-11

Greg Foley 66 10-9-9

D. Wayne Lukas 60 10-2-5

Four (4) trainers tied at nine (9) wins

Owners

Ken and Sarah Ramsey 67 19-10-13

Maggi Moss 32 13-7-5

Zayat Stables, LLC 53 9-12-11

Richard, Elaine & Bert Klein 38 8-7-7

Jay Em Ess Stable 23 6-4-2

Heflin & Driver Racing 29 5-5-6

Heiligbrodt Racing Stable 17 5-1-0

Six (6) owners tied at four (4) wins