Matt Winn Stakes

Stostreet Stables and Harold McCormick’s Preakness Stakes (Grade I) and Kentucky Oaks (GI) winner Rachel Alexandra returned to trainer Steve Asmussen’s Barn 38 at Churchill Downs on Sunday morning following a flight from Baltimore.
Scott Blasi, Asmussen’s chief assistant, accompanied the 3-year-old daughter of Medaglia d’Oro on the flight.  Blasi led her off the van at 10:20 a.m. (all times EDT) and back to barn, where she was walked and bedded down in Stall 24.
“She traveled great,” Blasi said. “She’ll be left alone the rest of the day; that’s what she wants. She’ll definitely walk for three days so the earliest she’d go back to the track would be Wednesday. We’ll just continue to evaluate her and keep our options open.
Rachel Alexandra, ridden again by Calvin Borel, defeated Kentucky Derby winner Mine that Bird by a length in the second jewel of racing’s Triple Crown.
“We’re very pleased with how she ate last night and her attitude is good and she’s physically in good shape. We’re just very fortunate to be in this position. She’s all class and all heart. All of the credit goes to her.”
The Preakness marked Rachel Alexandra’s first start for Asmussen, and the victory over males lifted her career record to 8-2-0 in 11 races with earnings of $1,618,354. The Preakness victory came just shy of a year after her career debut on May 22, 2008 at Churchill Downs, when he finished sixth in a field of nine 2-year-old fillies in the only poor effort of her career.  She has now won six consecutive races, a string that started in late November with a 4 ¾-length romp in the Golden Rod (GII).
Rachel Alexandra became the second Kentucky Oaks winner in three years to defeat males in a Triple Crown race in her next start.  Rags to Riches won the 2007 Oaks and returned to defeat the Asmussen-trained Preakness winner and eventual two-time “Horse of the Year” Curlin in the Belmont Stakes (GI).
Asmussen was due back in Louisville Sunday afternoon and was scheduled to saddle horses in Churchill Downs’ Races 8 and 10. Meanwhile, winning jockey Calvin Borel had six mounts, starting with Race 4.

WIGGINS WATCHES PREAKNESS AT CHURCHILL, BEAMS OVER RACHEL AND STAFF – She had been out of his barn for just over a week, so it was clearly a bittersweet experience for veteran trainer Hal Wiggins as he watched Rachel Alexandra, his horse of a lifetime, become the first filly in 84 years to win Saturday’s Preakness, the second jewel of the Triple Crown.
    Wiggins had just saddled Lucky Trio Stable’s Betty Bye to finish fourth in the 11th race at Churchill Downs – a race won by the Steve Asmussen-trained Girls Do Rule, which should have been the “Omen of the Day.”  Then Wiggins settled into the Horseman’s Service Center adjacent to the paddock to watch Rachel Alexandra’s bid for history.
    “When the gates opened, I was pulling for her,” Wiggins said.  “Down the backstretch I was expecting her to be behind a horse or two, but she just bounded out of there.  Where she was, I just thought she was in perfect position.
    “I’m just really, really proud of her and Calvin. Racing is real fortunate to have him out there like that.  There’s nothing phony about him – it’s all genuine.   People see that and they realize that, and I’m just tickled for him.  I’ll tell you, if anyone deserves it he does.”
    Wiggins was also impressed by Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, who closed strongly to lose by only a length to Rachel Alexandra.
    “I’ll tell you what, I was really proud of that Derby horse,” Wiggins said.  “Some of those guys were saying he might be a one-race wonder and that the wet track (on Derby Day) might have had something to do with it, but he showed he was legitimate.  He really did.”
    Rachel Alexandra’s new trainer, Steve Asmussen, has praised Wiggins’ work in the development of Rachel Alexandra, whose final race for Wiggins was her record-smashing 20 ¼-length victory in the Kentucky Oaks on May 1.  Asmussen did so again on NBC Sports’ national telecast of the Preakness on Saturday.
    “I appreciate that,” Wiggins said.  “It’s a tribute to the crew here at the barn.  I appreciate that, I really do.”

MATT WINN DUO WELL AFTER STIRRING FINISH – The respective camps of Capt. Candyman Can and Cash Refund reported that both horses were doing well on the morning after their stirring stretch duel in Saturday’s $106,900 Matt Winn Stakes.
    Joseph Rauch and David Zell’s Capt. Candyman Can rallied in the stretch to wear down Richard, Elaine and Bert Klein’s previously unbeaten Cash Refund to win the seven-furlong race for 3-year-olds by three-quarters of a length.  The winning time over a “fast” track was 1:09.75.
    Capt. Candyman Can, who was ridden by Javier Castellano, won his fourth stakes race – and third this year – for trainer Ian Wilkes.  Earlier wins came in the Hutcheson (GII) at Gulfstream Park and the Bay Shore (GIII) at Aqueduct, and Wilkes said his hard-fought win in the Matt Winn had earned the gelded son of Candy Ride a rest.    
    Saratoga’s $300,000 NetJets King’s Bishop (GI) at seven furlongs on Aug. 29 remains the top near-term objective for Capt. Candyman Can.  
    “I may just go to Saratoga with him, I may not run him beforehand,” Wilkes said.  “He runs so hard for me.  I think I’ve got to fill his tank a little.”
    Capt. Candyman Can remained unbeaten in races shorter than a mile and perfect in three starts at seven furlongs.  His career record improved to 5-0-1 in eight races with earnings of $410,423.
    Cash Refund lost for the first time in three career races, but impressed in his stakes debut as he battled for the lead throughout and was determined in the run through the stretch before he gave way late to the winner.  Trainer Steve Margolis said the Petionville gelding walked on Sunday and was “bright and alert” on the morning after the first real test of his young career.  
    Cash Refund had won his first two races by a combined 13 ¾-lengths.  The Klein homebred went off as the narrow favorite in the Matt Winn, mostly due to a dazzling allowance victory on the first day of the Spring Meet when he won by seven lengths and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 110.  The winner earned a Beyer Figure of 99 on Saturday.
    “It was a good effort,” said Margolis.  “He fought all the way to the end.  He was on the inside and it took him a little longer to put away the Holthus horse (Dance Caller, who faded to finish last of five), and when Ian’s horse came as a challenger, he didn’t just lay down.  That horse was already a proven three-time stakes winner, so I don’t think it was any disgrace at all to lose to him.”
    Margolis said Cash Refund would probably appear next in the $200,000 Jersey Shore (GIII), a six-furlong race for 3-year-olds at Monmouth Park on July 5.
    A victory in the Matt Winn by the promising gelding would have been a boost to the Kleins, but it would also have provided Margolis with an elusive milestone: his first stakes victory at Churchill Downs.
    “I had that horse Request for Parole and was second in a couple of stakes races with him, and Change Up was second and third,” Margolis said.  “So I’ve got to get that elusive first stakes win at Churchill.  Hopefully we can do that soon.”
    Margolis’ next bid for a local stakes win will come next week when he saddles Gold Square’s Lady Chace in the Winning Colors (GIII).  That six-furlong race for older fillies and mares will be the highlight of the Memorial Day racing program on May 25.

BARN TALK – James C. Spence’s homebred Flying Pegasus, idled by an infection since a sixth-place finish in the Louisiana Derby (GII), returned to serious training with an easy three-furlong breeze in :38 over a “fast” track on Sunday.  The Ralph Nicks-trained son of 2000 Kentucky Derby Fusaichi Pegasus finished second to Friesan Fire in the Risen Star (GIII) in his only other start this year and was a runner-up to Charitable Man in last year’s Belmont Futurity (GII). … Zayat Stables’ Z Fortune, 10th to Big Brown in the 2008 Kentucky Derby, breezed five furlongs on Sunday in 1:01.80 … Leading jockey Julien Leparoux returns Sunday after two days of Preakness Weekend riding at Pimlico with a diminished lead in the battle for leading rider of the Spring Meet.  Leparoux led the surging Miguel Mena 22-18 heading into Sunday’s racing.  … Two-time Preakness-winning trainer Steve Asmussen won two races on Saturday at Churchill Downs to open an 8-6 lead over Bill Mott, Greg Foley and Wesley Ward in the race for “Leading Trainer”.  … 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.

Louisville-based owners and breeders Richard, Elaine and Bert Klein have raced some very talented horses at Churchill Downs through the years, but few have attracted the early attention generated by their 3-year-old gelding Cash Refund.
The talk surrounding the unbeaten son of Petionville figures to intensify if he notches a third consecutive victory when he makes his stakes debut in Saturday’s eighth running of the $100,000 Matt Winn Stakes for 3-year-olds.  The Steve Margolis-trained Cash Refund won his two prior starts by a combined margin of 13 ¾ lengths, has  been so impressive that Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia made him the close 8-5 second choice in the field of five in the Matt Winn.
The more accomplished Capt. Candyman Can – the Ian Wilkes-trained winner of Gulfstream Park’s Hutcheson (GII), Aqueduct’s Bay Shore (GIII) and Churchill Downs Iroquois (GIII) – got the narrow nod as the 6-5 morning line favorite.  Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. has been in the irons for his earlier romps and will ride again in Saturday’s seven-furlong outing.
The fact that Cash Refund has won his first two starts by gaudy margins was enough to attract attention from horsemen and racing fans, but what has really generated the buzz around Margolis’ gelding was the dazzling Beyer Speed Figure of 110 earned in his most recent race, a seven-length allowance romp at six furlongs on the opening day of Churchill Downs’ Spring Meet.
“The horse has done everything right and we were very happy with his race,” Margolis said.  “He rated nicely and when Brian asked him to run, he just kind of ran away from them.  Of course we know that was just an entry-level allowance, but the Beyer and the Ragozin figures he got were very good.”
Margolis said the Kleins weighed a couple of options for Cash Refund’s next step, but decided the Matt Winn worked best despite the imposing presence of Capt. Candyman Can.
“We feel this is the right opportunity at the right time while we’re here at Churchill to take a shot in the race on Saturday,” he said.  “Ian’s horse is a very, very good horse and he’s an accomplished three-time stakes winner and he’s a serious horse.”
Like Allamerican Bertie, De Bertie and so many of the stakes winners campaigned by the Kleins, Cash Refund is a homebred.  Out the Mystery Storm mare Swept Away, Cash Refund puzzled his connections when he first came to the track last summer with a seeming lack of interest in his training.  Margolis said he just did not appear to be “an unhappy horse,” and that led to the decision in late summer to geld Cash Refund.  He was turned out on a farm for a few weeks after that and returned to Margolis’ care at Churchill Downs during the 2008 Fall Meet and resumed serious training over the winter at New Orleans’ Fair Grounds.   
Cash Refund was a different horse when he returned to serious training at Fair Grounds, but tipped his hand to Margolis with a work from the gate with the veteran True Course, a six-year-old veteran who is a minor stakes winner and has earned nearly $250,000 in his career. 
“I worked him with True Course and two other babies, and Cash Refund wouldn’t let anyone by him,” recalled Margolis.  “His workouts were really positive and he was doing it pretty easily, so we were looking forward to seeing him run.”
Cash Refund finally made it to the starting gate and did not disappoint as he rolled to an easy 6 ¾-length victory.  Then came his dominant victory on the opening day of the Spring Meet at Churchill Downs and the glittering Beyer Speed Figure registered on a track that otherwise turned out mostly slower times throughout that day.
Margolis’ best horse to date was the sprinter Cajun Beat, a gelding that won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (GI) at Oak Tree at Santa Anita as a 3-year-old.  It’s too early to know how good Cash Refund might be, but Saturday’s Matt Winn – which also includes stakes winners Dance Caller and Zigaree and impressive allowance winner Conchacer in its field of five – could further validate the high opinion of the gelding held by his owners and trainer.
“I’m so happy for the Kleins,” Margolis said.  “He’s really developed a personality now and he’s coming into this race as good as we could ask.  If he runs the way he’s been training, it’ll be a good horse race.”

RIVER CITY CO-CHAMP DEMARCATION TRAINING SHARPLY FOR RETURN – Amerman Racing’s Demarcation, mostly quiet since his dead-heat victory with Karelian in last fall’s River City Handicap (GIII) on the Churchill Downs turf, turned heads on Tuesday with a very sharp five-furlong work on the Matt Winn Turf Course. 
    The 5-year-old gelded son of Gulch had jockey Julien Leparoux in the saddle as he zipped 5/8ths of a mile around the dogs on “firm” turf in 1:00.60.  It was easily the fastest move of the day on the grass and the eye-catching move came in his first work for trainer Paul J. McGee since Demarcation ran sixth to Proudinsky in the Mervin Muniz Jr. Handicap (GII) on the grass at Fair Grounds.
    The gap in serious training for Demarcation was due to a quarter crack that McGee said is no longer a concern.  Although that problem has been cleared up, the swift workout time by Demarcation came as a surprise to McGee.
    “I told Julien he’s not a very good work horse,” McGee said.  “I said if you just let those reins dangle, he’ll go in 1:06.  He’s just that kind. So Julien kind of rode him all the way around there.”
    After his effort in the Muniz, in which Demarcation was beaten by just 2 ¾ lengths, McGee had hoped to run his veteran in an allowance race on the Keeneland turf with a summer goal of competing in the $150,000 Firecracker Handicap (GII).  But the quarter crack emerged and changed that plan. 
    Following Tuesday’s work the one-mile Firecracker at the top of Demarcation’s summer agenda and McGee hopes to prep his veteran in an allowance race sometime next month.
    “He’s back to doing good now,” said McGee. “It was just that quarter crack that kept him out.”
    Demarcation has a career record of 6-3-5 in 21 races aand has earned $266,833.

BARN TALK – Jockey Julien Leparoux notched career victory 1,000 on Wednesday when he piloted Janet Dunlay’s My Little Connor ($6.20) to a 1 ¾-length victory for veteran trainer David Vance in the third.  Leparoux picked up one more victory in the day’s ninth race to extend his early lead in the race for leading rider of the Spring Meet.  Leparoux ended the day with 20 victories for a four-win cushion over Jamie Theriot. … Wednesday was a good day for Leparoux’s family as brother-in-law Tony Farina notched a victory in the second race with Margaux Farm’s Special Clearance ($30.80).  Farina is married to Leparoux’s sister, Virginia. … Two-time Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Calvin Borel notched three wins on Wednesday’s card to push his Spring Meet victory total to 13.  Borel will ride Kentucky Oaks (GI) winner Rachel Alexandra in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes (GI), the second jewel of the Triple Crown. … Saturday’s eighth race at Churchill Downs has been named “The Chuck Olmstead Memorial” to honor the popular Louisville newsman who died March 10 after working 34 years as a reporter for WHAS-11.  Along with being a longtime fan of Thoroughbred racing, He was a veteran of WHAS-11’s Kentucky Derby telecasts and Olmstead and his signature hat were broadcast fixtures in the paddock on Derby Day … Kentucky Derby veteran Sam P. worked four furlongs over a “sloppy” track on Thursday for trainer Todd Pletcher.  Sam P. finished ninth to Street Sense in the 2007 “Run for the Roses” … 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.
   
ADVANCE PREAKNESS BETTING AVAILABLE ON FRIDAY – Churchill Downs will offer advance wagering on Saturday’s $1.1 million Preakness Stakes all day Friday. Also, the Black-Eyed Susan/Preakness Double – similar to the Oaks/Derby Double – will link Friday’s Grade II, $150,000 Black-Eyed Susan (Pim 12 at 5:50 p.m. ET) and Saturday’s Preakness (Pim 12 at 6:15 p.m. EDT).
Churchill Downs will have 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 who pass through admission gates will receive their choice of a free Mine That Bird or Rachel Alexandra button while supplies last. 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.
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. Hosted by Churchill Downs racing analyst Jill Byrne with a weekly special guest, the series will take place Saturdays in the paddock area (note: it will be held in the ITW area on the second floor of the clubhouse if there is inclement weather) at 11:45 a.m. . .

NEXT “FRIDAY HAPPY HOURS” SET FOR MAY 15 – This week’s “Dress to Impress” Friday Happy Hours at Churchill Downs will showcase live music by Radio Radio. The popular Spring Meet promotion, which takes place most Fridays from 4-7 p.m. in the paddock area, also features $2 Budweiser Select, $2 select specialty drinks and $2 hot dogs. Also, one female in the crowd will be chosen as “best dressed” and win a $250 gift certificate to a Louisville area boutique.

Three-time graded stakes winner Capt Candyman Can looms as the betting favorite in Saturday’s 8th running of the $100,000-added Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs, but that proven veteran could face a major challenge from unbeaten newcomer Cash Refund.

    Owned by Joseph Rauch and David Zell, Capt. Candyman Can comes into the seven-furlong test for 3-year-olds off an impressive victory in the $200,000 Bay Shore (GIII) at New York’s Aqueduct.  But the intriguing Cash Refund, owned by the Louisville-based stable of Richard, Elaine and Bert Klein, has yet to be tested as while winning his two career starts by a combined margin of 13 ¾ lengths.

    Both of the likely favorites for the Matt Winn are geldings, so there’s a chance that the first meeting between the promising young sprinters could be the first chapter in a long rivalry.

    The Matt Winn attracted a field of only five horses, which could be attributed to the presence of the accomplishments of Capt. Candyman Can and the promise displayed by Cash Refund, but all five bring solid credentials into the race   It is scheduled as the 10th of 11 races on the Saturday’s Preakness Day program at Churchill Downs that begins with a first race post time of 12:45 p.m. (EDT).  

The race honors Col. Matt Winn, the legendary general manager and president of Churchill Downs who served at the track from 1902 to 1949.  Winn is credited with building the Kentucky Derby (GI) into an international sports icon and leading Churchill Downs to its status as one of America’s legendary sports shrines.  

Capt Candyman Can emerged as a star and a potential candidate for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands last fall when he scored an impressive victory in the Iroquois (GIII) and followed it with a third-place run in the Kentucky Jockey Club (GII), both at Churchill Downs.  The Ian Wilkes-trained son of Candy Ride started this season with victory in Gulfstream Park’s seven-furlong Hutcheson (GII), but dropped off the Derby Trail following a fourth-place run behind Quality Road in the one-mile Fountain of Youth (GII).  The April 4 Bay Shore marked both a return to a shorter distance and the gelding’s top form, and Wilkes plans to keep him running short for the foreseeable future.
“He’s hasn’t been beat a seven furlongs or shorter,” said Wilkes.  “He’s only lost at a mile or longer.”     

Javier Castellano, who rode Capt. Candyman Can for the first time in the Bay Shore, will travel to Churchill Downs to ride in the Matt Winn.  Capt. Candyman Can, a winner of four of his seven races with earnings of $344,145, will carry high weight of 123 pounds and concedes from four to six pounds to his rivals.

Although he is making his stakes debut, Cash Refund could be the most significant threat to Capt. Candyman Can.  The homebred son of Petionville romped to a 6 ½-length victory in his debut at Fair Grounds on Feb. 19, and then demolished a field of allowance foes by seven lengths at Churchill Downs on April 25.

Steve Margolis trains Cash Refund, who will be ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr.

If the favorites should falter, Frank Fletcher Racing Operations’ Dance Caller or Whispering Oaks Farms LLC’s Zigaree could be there to pick up the pieces.  

Dance Caller won the one-mile Northern Spur at Oaklawn Park in his most recent start for veteran trainer Robert Holthus.  Prior to that race the son of Concorde’s Tune ran a good fourth as the favorite behind Citizen and Kentucky Derby contender Flying Private in Oaklawn’s Mountain Valley, and finished second to Silver City in Oaklawn’s Dixieland.  Larry Sterling Jr. will ride Dance Caller.

Zigaree, a gelded son of Congaree trained by Steve Asmussen, won the Minstrel Stakes on turf at Louisiana Downs, but finished fourth in a return to the dirt in the Inaugural Stakes on April 10 at Evangeline Downs.  Shaun Bridgmohan will ride for Asmussen, who won the Matt Winn in 2003 with Posse and Razor two years later.

The remaining member of the Matt Winn field – Savoy Stables LLC’s Conchacer – also brings solid credentials into the race.  The Dale Bennett-trained son of Congaree has won two of three starts, all at Tampa Bay Downs, and comes into Saturday’s race off a 7 ½-length romp in a 6 ½-furlong allowance race.  Miguel Mena will ride.

The field for the Matt Winn, from the rail out with jockey (and assigned weight) includes: Zigaree, Bridgmohan (119); Dance Caller, Sterling (119); Cash Refund, Hernandez (117); Capt. Candyman Can, Castellano (123); and Conchacer, Mena (117).

PREAKNESS CONTENDERS RACHEL ALEXANDRA, PIONEEROF THE NILE DEPART CHURCHILL DOWNS FOR BALTIMORE – The exodus of Churchill Downs-based contenders for Saturday’s 134th running of the $1 million Preakness (Grade I) was completed on Wednesday when major contenders Rachel Alexandra and Pioneerof the Nile stepped onto separate vans around 12:30 p.m. (EDT) on Wednesday for the short trip to Louisville International Airport for their flight to Baltimore.
    Those major players figure to be the top two betting choices in Saturday’s second jewel of racing’s Triple Crown.  Post positions for the 1 3/16-mile Preakness will be drawn this afternoon at Pimlico.
    Kentucky Oaks (GI) winner Rachel Alexandra, running for the first time for new owners Stonestreet Stables and Harold T. McCormick, was led from the barn of new trainer Steve Asmussen to her waiting van by assistant trainer Scott Blasi.  She had galloped and stood briefly in the starting gate on her final morning of training before traveling to take on the boys in the Preakness.
    Assistant Jim Barnes accompanied Zayat Stables LLC’s Pioneerof the Nile, runner-up to Mine That Bird in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) and winner of the Santa Anita Derby (GI), to his van.  The son of Empire Maker also galloped and spent a little time standing in the starting gate on his final morning of Preakness preparations at Churchill Downs.
    Also leaving Churchill Downs for the flight to Baltimore was Adele Dilschneider’s Terrain, the fourth place finisher in the Toyota Blue Grass (GI) and third in the Louisiana Derby (GII) for trainer Al Stall Jr.
    Mark Allen and Dr. Leonard Blach’s Mine That Bird traveled to Baltimore in trainer Bennie “Chip” Woolley’s horse trailer on Tuesday.  Also making the trip to Pimlico by van on Tuesday were owner-trainer Tom McCarthy’s Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (GI) winner General Quarters, who finished 10th in the Kentucky Derby, and the D. Wayne Lukas-trained duo of Flying Private, last of 19 in the Kentucky Derby, and Marylou Whitney’s Luv Gov, who notched his first career victory in Churchill Downs maiden race on the Kentucky Derby undercard.

‘CANDYMAN’ READY FOR CHURCHILL DOWNS RETURN – A lot has happened to Joseph Rauch and David Zell’s Capt. Candyman Can since he stamped himself as one of the top 2-year-olds on the grounds – and in the country – during the Fall Meet at Churchill Downs.
    After a win in the Iroquois Stakes (GIII) and a gritty third-place run in the Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) over this track, trainer Ian Wilkes gave the Candy Ride gelding the opportunity to prove himself as a candidate for the Kentucky Derby.  The first step, a victory in the seven-furlong Hutcheson (GII) at Gulfstream Park, was promising, but he faltered in a fourth-place run behind Quality Road in the one-mile Fountain of Youth (GII) over the same track.  The latter convinced Wilkes that 1 ¼ miles on the first Saturday in May was not the goal that Capt. Candyman Can should pursue.
    “Seven furlongs, I think, is the max he wants to go,” Wilkes said.  
    Capt. Candyman Can returned to form, and to the national racing consciousness, with a sharp victory in the seven-furlong Bay Shore (GIII) at Aqueduct.  On Saturday he’ll be back at the seven-furlong distance when he starts as the likely favorite in the $100,000-added Matt Winn Stakes for 3-year-olds over his home track at Churchill Downs.
    Wilkes said the Bay Shore was a big step for Capt. Candyman Can, who is being pointed toward a run in the seven-furlong King’s Bishop (GI) this summer at Saratoga.
    “He’s got a lot of talent,” Wilkes said.  “The win was good just to prove that we were doing the right thing with him in taking him back short.”
    With Capt Candyman Can’s focus back on one-turn distances, the Matt Winn – which is being run for the second time at seven furlongs – was a natural spot for Wilkes’ young star.
    “I don’t have to ship him, that’s the good thing about it,” Wilkes said.  “We’re in our own backyard, he likes this track and it’s worked out perfect.”
    Capt. Candyman Can tuned up for the Matt Winn with a sharp five-furlong work in 1:00.60 on Monday, the second-fastest of 19 works at the distance that day.  The steady gelding brings a record of 4-0-1 in seven races and earnings of $344,145 into Saturday’s Matt Winn.

VETERAN SILVERFOOT GEARS UP FOR ANOTHER CAMPAIGN – When the $100,000-added Louisville Handicap (GIII) is run over the Memorial Day holiday weekend at Churchill Downs, do not expect the veteran Silverfoot to be among those who enter the starting gate for the 1 ½-mile turf test.
    But just because Chrysalis Stables LLC’s gray – now nearly white – campaigner will not be competing in his favorite race should not be interpreted as a sign that the now 9-year-old son of With Approval will not be chasing lofty goals this year.
    Silverfoot, winner of three consecutive runnings of the Louisville Handicap from 2004-06 and fifth behind the victorious Lattice a year ago, is just gearing up for a campaign that will span the final six months of 2009.  He worked a solid six furlongs around the dogs on the Matt Winn Turf Course on Tuesday in 1:16.80, and trainer Dallas Stewart likes what he sees in the old boy.
    “He’s doing great,” Stewart said. “He’s nine years old.  We’re just going to give him steady workouts for the rest of the month and sometime in mid-June he’ll be ready.”
    Silverfoot managed only one win in 10 starts in 2008, but that was a victory in the $175,000 Stars and Stripes (GIII) at Arlington Park.  He finished a good fourth to the front-running Spirit One in the Arlington Million (GI) and was beaten just 2 ½ lengths by the winner in that important race.
    “He ran really well in the Stars and Stripes, and had a bad trip in the Arlington Million,” Stewart said.  “So that’s kind of the schedule we’re looking at, hoping we’ll have him back on target for that this year.”
    After those good efforts at Arlington Park in 2008, Silverfoot ended his season with a fourth-place run as the favorite in the Kentucky Cup Turf (GIII) at the all-turf Kentucky Downs and a fifth-place finish behind Always First in Keeneland’s Elkhorn (GIII).
    “We give him a break every year – every year he gets a couple of months off,” Stewart said.  “After the Kentucky Cup and the Keeneland race, we just turned him out.  But he’s sound.”
    Silverfoot has a career record of 10-1-2 in 34 races and has earned $909,515.  He has won five of seven races over the Churchill Downs turf.