Cash Refund

Richard, Bertram and Elaine Klein’s Cash Refund turned back a stretch-long challenge from Riley Tucker and drew off to win Sunday’s $55,220 feature race for 3-year-olds and up by a length at Churchill Downs.

    The victory gave trainer Steve Margolis his 100th career win at Churchill Downs.

    Also reaching a milestone Sunday was trainer Steve Asmussen, who became the fifth trainer in Churchill Downs history to accumulate 400 victories. Stonestreet Stable’s Wilburn won the ninth race to give Asmussen No. 400. The only trainers ahead of Asmussen are Bill Mott (641), Dale Romans (521), D. Wayne Lukas (481) and Bernie Flint (426).

Ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan, Cash Refund and Chief of Affairs, ridden by Miguel Mena, dueled through a first quarter-mile in :21.23 over a sloppy main track. Leaving the backstretch, Cash Refund shook clear of Chief of Affairs only to have Riley Tucker and Kent Desormeaux range up to his outside.

The duo matched strides to deep stretch where Cash Refund surged clear to complete the six furlongs in 1:10.07. The victory was the first of four consecutive triumphs on a five-win card for Bridgmohan, now with 11 winners through the first 10 days of the 39-day meet. Calvin Borel was the most recent rider to have five victories on the card, accomplishing the feat on April 24, 2010.

    A homebred son of Petionville out of the Mystery Storm mare Swept Away, the 5-year-old Cash Refund improved his career mark to 13-7-1-2 and increased his bankroll to $307,479 with Sunday’s $35,880 check.

    Cash Refund returned $7 and $3.40. There was no show wagering. Riley Tucker returned $3.40 to place. Chief of Affairs finished third another 2 1/4 lengths back with River Bear last in the field of four.

    Racing resumes Thursday with a nine-race program that begins at 12:45 p.m. (ET). There’s a $9,468.40 Super Hi-5 carryover in the finale, which requires bettors to pick the top five finishers in perfect order.

THE “DUKE” HOPES TO FOLLOW IN BIG DRAMA’S FOOTSTEPS – After Duke of Mischief finished second in the Carl G. Rose Classic Handicap at Calder on Nov. 13, trainer David Fawkes did not really expect to be on the road any time soon with the 4-year-old colt.

“He didn’t do much running that day,” Fawkes said Tuesday morning after getting Duke of Mischief settled in Barn 45 for a run in Friday’s $500,000-added Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GI). “The other horse (Birdrun) got away from him and (jockey Eibar) Coa wrapped up on him. He was going to go on the shelf for a while, but I thought he had one more in him so we’ll give it a shot.”

The trip to Louisville was the second of the month for Fawkes, who brought Harold L. Queen’s Big Drama here to capture the $2 million Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Sprint (GI) on Nov. 6.

“I hauled him back myself and it sure made the drive a lot easier,” Fawkes said of his first Breeders’ Cup victory. “When we got back, they had a big sign for him at the barn.”

This is Duke of Mischief’s second trip to Churchill Downs this year, having made a June trip in which he finished eighth behind Blame in the Stephen Foster Handicap (GI).

“He was trapped inside the whole race and he doesn’t like to be down inside like that,” Fawkes said. “You look at his races and the best ones are when he can loop around four- or five-wide. We are hoping for a better trip this time.”

Duke of Mischief, who is owned by Alex and JoAnn Lieblong, breeder Marilyn McMaster and Fawkes Racing Inc., will be ridden by Coa on Friday and carry 116 pounds. Duke of Mischief will break from post position 11.

As for Big Drama, Fawkes said the 4-year-old colt owned by Harold Queen is “doing really good. We are pointing for the (Jan. 29) Sunshine Millions and then hopefully the Golden Shaheen (March 26 in Dubai).”

PATIENCE PAYS OFF FOR DOLLASES WITH DISTINCTIVE DIXIE – It took Distinctive Dixie seven tries to break her maiden and it took eight attempts in stakes company to enjoy her initial success at that level of competition, but it appears now that the 5-year-old daughter of 2000 Kentucky Derby (GI) winner Fusaichi Pegasus is hitting her best stride.

She is getting better with age,” said Cincy Dollase, wife of trainer Wally Dollase. “We knew that going in. The Fusaichi Pegasuses get better as they get older and with them it is mostly mental.”

Distinctive Dixie, who will carry high weight of 120 pounds in Thursday afternoon’s Falls City Handicap (GII), is coming off a 1 ½-length score in the Chilukki (GII) in her most recent start. Robby Albarado, who was aboard for the Chilukki victory, will be aboard again Thursday.

Even though she is a 5-year-old, the plan is to race a full season in 2011 with Distinctive Dixie, who is owned by the Robert and Beverly Lewis Trust.

“Plan A is to race next year,” Dollase said. “The horses come first with the Lewises and they like to see their horses perform.”

Beverly Lewis will be watching from California on Thursday with a family gathering planned at Newport Beach. What she may see if an off track for her mare, who has compiled a record of 5-6-3 in 18 races with earnings of $383,154.

“She has trained well on the mud,” Dollase said of Distinctive Dixie, who shows a runner-up finish on a track labeled as “wet-fast” in the Bayakoa this spring at Oaklawn Park. “But everybody has to run on the same track. I just hope it dries out and it is a nice day.”

CASH REFUND TO MAKE TURF DEBUT THURSDAY, WEATHER PERMITTING – It has been nearly three weeks since the Breeders’ Cup World Championships were run here and horses that ran in that memorable two-day event are beginning to make their initial starts back.

One of those is Richard, Bertram and Elaine Klein’s Cash Refund, who finished eighth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. Cash Refund is entered in Thursday’s fifth race, a five-furlong allowance sprint on the Matt Winn Turf Course.

“It looks like he might have to run in the mud,” trainer Steve Margolis said with a nod toward a forecast that indicated rain in the Louisville area through Thursday night.

Cash Refund would be taking his grass debut if the race stays on the turf.

“We worked him on it over at Keeneland before the Breeders’ Cup and he worked well,” Margolis said. “He came out of the Breeders’ Cup fine and he is doing well. I talked it over with Richard and he said as long as he is doing well to take a shot.”

BARN TALK – With five racing days left in the 21-day Fall Meet, two of the three human races appear to be safely locked up. Owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey have had six winners, four more than a host of other owners. The Ramseys own a record 16 leading owner titles. Steve Asmussen has saddled 12 winners this meet, five more than his closest pursuer, Todd Pletcher. Asmussen is seeking his fourth consecutive leading trainer title, fifth Fall Meet title and ninth title overall.

That leaves the chase for leading rider that has come down to a two-man battle between Julien Leparoux and Robby Albarado. Leparoux holds a 22-18 advantage and is named on 29 mounts the next three days while Albarado is named on 27. Leparoux, who won leading Fall Meet riding titles outright in 2007 and 2008 and shared the title last fall with Calvin Borel, also has three spring titles on his resume. Albarado, who was leading rider during the 2008 Spring Meet, never has won a fall riding title. …

Leparoux continues his march up the all-time win list at Churchill Downs. His 22 victories at the current meet have elevated his total to 444, which is 12th all time. In his immediate sights at No. 11 is Mike McDowell (452). No. 10 on the all-time list is Patrick Johnson (465).  Kent Desormeaux, whose 10 victories are good for a tie for fourth in the rider standings, has 99 career wins at Churchill Downs. …    

Asmussen’s 12 victories put him at 390 all time at Churchill Downs, fifth best. The only trainers ahead of Asmussen are Bill Mott (639), Dale Romans (511), D. Wayne Lukas (477) and Bernie Flint (425). Tom Amoss, who is seventh all time here with 332 victories, has a chance to catch Jack Van Berg (335) for the sixth spot before the meet closes Sunday. …

There has not been a two-time winner this meet, which enters its 17th day today. Nine previous winners have tried for the second victory, but none has succeeded with three runner-ups and four third-place finishers. On today’s card, Strong Clue in the second and Party Lang in the fourth will bid for their second victory of the month beneath the Twin Spires. …

Because of the early 11:30 a.m. post time on Thanksgiving, training will be conducted from 6-8 a.m. on Thursday. …

Retiring Churchill Downs stall superintendent Mike Hargrave recorded his first hole-in-one on Monday at Seneca Golf Course. Hargrave aced the 183-yard 13th using a 7-wood.

BLOCK HOPES TO SHIP IN FOR ANOTHER CHURCHILL STAKES SCORE – Trainer Chris Block spends most of the year in the Chicago area with an occasional foray to Churchill Downs.

Two such moves have paid off handsomely in 2010, first in the spring when Free Fighter won the Louisville Handicap (Grade III) and then last Sunday when Askbut I Won’ttell invaded to take the Cardinal Handicap (GIII).

On Saturday, Block will try to complete the hat trick when he sends out Lothenbach Stables’ homebred Mister Marti Gras in the seventh running of the $100,000 Commonwealth Turf (GIII) at 1 1/16 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course. Shaun Bridgmohan will have the mount.

“He arrived last night,” said Block’s assistant Drew Koontz of Mister Marti Gras, who joined three other Block runners here. “He has been running great for us all summer.”

Mister Marti Gras enters the Commonwealth Turf off a runner-up finish to likely Saturday favorite Yankee Fourtune in the Hawthorne Derby (GIII) in his most recent start. Mister Marti Gras won the $200,000 Oliver at Indiana Downs in June and finished second in the American Derby (GII).

“Mr. Block told me last night that he has been training great since they moved from Arlington to Hawthorne,” Koontz said. “He said he is on his game. He said he should run big if he can handle the turf.”

DRYFLY RUNS INTO SPEEDY SNAPSHOT IN RETURN TO THE RACES – Trainer Lynn Whiting thought he had found the perfect comeback spot for Charles Cella’s Dryfly on Wednesday.

"I didn’t want to wait until later in the meet, because if something happened, he would not get to run here,” Whiting said. “Hindsight is 20-20 and I thought I was going the conservative route because I didn’t want to run him in that sprint (last week) off a nine-month layoff.”

Dryfly, an allowance winner here last fall on the opening-day “Stars of Tomorrow I” program for 2-year-olds, won his 3-year-old debut going a mile in the Smarty Jones at Oaklawn Park before suffering a chip in a knee that required surgery after the Southwest (GIII).

On Wednesday, Dryfly pressed a rapid pace and wound up fourth behind Snapshot.

“He shot himself in the foot a little bit yesterday,” Whiting said. “He got involved a little too quick, but (trainer Bill) Mott made a mistake. He should have run him (Snapshot) in the Breeders’ Cup. To run 1:09 yesterday on that track was pretty good. That was a graded stake yesterday.”

Snapshot’s final time of 1:09.04 was one-hundredth of a second faster than it took Big Drama to win the $2 million Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Sprint (GI) on Saturday.

Dryfly will head to Oaklawn Park for the winter with the Jan. 29 King Cotton Stakes a possible 2011 starting off point according to Whiting.

BARN TALK – Trainer Steve Margolis said his two Breeders’ Cup runners, Cash Refund (eighth in the Sprint) and Due Date (sixth in the Turf Sprint), came out of their races fine. “We got a little unlucky with the gray horse (Due Date),” Margolis said of the five-furlong Turf Sprint. “He had to steady a bit and only got beat two noses and head for third. I think he is better at 5 ½ or six furlongs and we are looking at the five and a half on the grass at Fair Grounds (the Bonapaw) on Dec. 18.” Both Cash Refund and Due Date are homebreds owned by Richard, Elaine and Bert Klein …

Ken and Sarah Ramsey, the all-time leading owners in victories at Churchill Downs and currently tied with five other owners for the top spot this fall, stand two victories away from 300. Overbrook Farm is second to the Ramseys with 208 victories.

Reaching a milestone over the weekend was trainer Merrill Scherer, who saddled his 100th Churchill Downs winner when Green Bikini won Sunday’s ninth race.

Three riders are nearing milestones that could be achieved before the end of the week. Robby Albarado, fifth all time at Churchill Downs, has 898 victories here; Shane Sellers, who stands eighth all time, has 724 victories here and three-time Kentucky Derby winner Kent Desormeaux, who has ridden here on a limited basis in his career, has 96 victories beneath the Twin Spires.

CASH REFUND SHARP IN DRILL FOR BREEDERS’ CUP SPRINT – Richard,  Bertram and Elaine Klein’s Cash Refund had his final prep for next Saturday’s Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Sprint (GI) by working five furlongs in company in 1:00.20 over a fast track on a cool, crisp Friday morning at Churchill Downs.

With jockey Brian Hernandez up and working in company with stablemate Homerun Berti, Cash Refund reeled off fractions of :11.40, :22.60 and :46.60. The work began at the half-mile pole with Cash Refund on the inside and about a length in front. The duo raced that way to the wire with Cash Refund continuing on to the seven-eighths pole and completing the second fastest of 24 works at the distance.

“He worked well and I was glad he had that other horse with him,” trainer Steve Margolis said. “He’s kind of funny in that when he works by himself, he will go in 1:03. I only wanted Homerun Berti to work a half and Brian said Cash Refund lost a little focus at the wire and then picked it up again.”

Cash Refund, who will be ridden by John Velazquez in the Breeders’ Cup, has not run since June 25 when he ran third in the Iowa Sprint at Prairie Meadows.

“After the race in Iowa, he popped a splint and he had some other nagging things, so we gave him some time,” Margolis said. “Since he came back, he has been training as good as he was this winter at Fair Grounds (where he won all three of his starts).”

Prior to Friday’s work, Cash Refund had spent most of the month at Keeneland, where he had three works on the Polytrack.

“(Assistant) Loren (Diego) gets on him and he was over there with the string,” Margolis said. “It gave us a chance to see how he handles Polytrack, and he handled it well.”

Margolis will have one other Breeders’ Cup starter for the Kleins: Due Date in the Turf Sprint (GII).

“He just galloped over the turf today. We took advantage of the opportunity to get on it,” Margolis said. “He will work a half-mile on the grass Saturday with Garrett Gomez up.”

MURJAN MAKES HIS WAY BACK TO KENTUCKY VIA PERU – “You never know where a good horse will come from,” trainer Darrin Miller was saying Friday morning as he looked over Murjan, his candidate for the $2 million Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (GI) next Saturday.

Murjan is a 2-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Officer who was undefeated in three starts in Peru, winning by a combined 27 ¾ lengths.

“An agent in Lexington passed him on to the Hamiltons (Tommy and Bonnie Hamilton of Silverton Hill Farm),” Miller said. “We flew to Peru and watched him and liked him. He was very impressive.”

Murjan worked in Lima on Oct. 21 and then shipped to Miami where he spent seven days in quarantine. On Thursday night, Murjan was flown to Indianapolis and then vanned to Churchill Downs, arriving at the track at 3:30 Friday morning.

Miller, who gets on many of his horses, said he was able to get on Murjan while he was in Peru so he is somewhat familiar with the colt.

“He has been in quarantine seven days, so we are going to play his schedule by ear,” Miller said of Murjan, who will be ridden in the Breeders’ Cup by Rafael Bejarano. “I just got a peek at him when he got in this morning and then now, but so far everything looks good.”

This is the third consecutive year Miller has had a foreign runner arrive in his barn from the Hamiltons. In 2008 Driving Snow (GB) came over from Ireland after winning one of four races with that victory coming over future champion Sea The Stars. In his debut for Miller, Driving Snow ran second in the Bourbon (GIII) at Keeneland. In 2009, King Ledley also came over from Ireland and in his first start for Miller ran 10th in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (GII) at Santa Anita.

FRIDAY WORK TAB LIGHT; SATURDAY MORNING SHOULD BE ACTIVE –In addition to Cash Refund, only three other Breeders’ Cup pre-entrants worked Friday morning at Churchill Downs.

Working before the renovation break with jockey Robby Albarado up was Vision Racing’s Soundwave (Juvenile Fillies), who covered five furlongs in 1:03. Splits for the move, which was the 13th fastest of 24 at the distance, were :13.60, :26.20, :38, :51 and out six furlongs in 1:17.

After the break, Westrock Stables’ Tidal Pool, who is third on the preference list for the Sentient Jet Filly & Mare Sprint (GI), blitzed a half-mile in :46.40 for the fastest move of 42 at the distance. Tidal Pool covered the first quarter in :22.20.

Working on the grass for the Juvenile Turf was Gary and Mary West’s Major Gain, who covered six furlongs on the firm Matt Winn Turf Course in 1:17.20, around the “dogs.” Major Gain got his last quarter-mile in :23.80 and galloped out seven furlongs in 1:30.80.

Saturday morning at Churchill Downs figures to be quite lively with nearly two dozen known works planned.

Among those scheduled to work include four fillies from the Todd Pletcher barn:  More Than Real (Juvenile Fillies Turf), Life At Ten (Ladies’ Classic), Malibu Prayer (Ladies’ Classic) and R Heat Lightning (Juvenile Fillies); Tell a Kelly (Juvenile Fillies) and Switch (Filly & Mare Sprint) for John Sadler; Red Desire (JPN) with Kent Desormeaux up for the Filly & Mare Turf; Champagne d’Oro with Miguel Mena up for the Filly & Mare Sprint; and, slated to work early under the lights is the Dale Romans-trained Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) duo of First Dude and Paddy O’Prado.

At Keeneland on Friday morning, Alex Campbell Jr.’s It’s Tea Time (Ladies’ Classic) worked five furlongs in 1:01.20 under jockey Julien Leparoux. Splits on the work were :13, :25, :37.20, :49.20 and out six furlongs in 1:13 over the Polytrack. Also at Keeneland, Marty, Pam and Emily Wygod’s Harmonious, winner of the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (GI), worked an easy five furlongs on the synthetic Polytrack surface in 1:05.80 for the Filly & Mare Turf.

Among those scheduled to work Saturday at Keeneland are Bridgetown (Turf Sprint), Harlan’s Ruby (Juvenile Fillies) and Rogue Romance (Juvenile) for Ken McPeek; Hot Cha Cha (Filly & Mare Turf) and Silver Timber (Turf Sprint).

DEFENDING CHAMP RAHYSTRADA ASSIGNED 119 POUNDS FOR RIVER CITY HANDICAP – Robert Courtney’s Rahystrada, who pulled off a 56-1 shocker in last year’s River City Handicap (GIII), has been assigned 119 pounds by racing secretary Ben Huffman for Thursday’s 33rd running of the $100,000-added mile and one-eighth test on the Matt Winn Turf Course.

The assignment is 2 pounds fewer than Huffman placed on Battle of Hastings (GB), who is entered in Saturday’s Fayette (GII) at Keeneland, and Dakota Phone, who is pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) and Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (GI).

Trained by Byron Hughes, Rahystrada won the Arlington Handicap (GIII) this summer and in his most recent start finished fourth in the Grade I Arlington Million.

Also weighted at 119 pounds is Millennium Farms and Mike McCarty’s Expansion. Now trained by Steve Asmussen, Expansion has raced against Grade I company in his past four starts that include third-place finishes behind champion Gio Ponti in the Man O’ War and Winchester in the Manhattan.

Entries for the River City Handicap will be taken Sunday.

READY’S ROCKET ENTERS EXCLUSIVE TERRITORY WITH CHURCHILL DOWNS VICTORY – Lost in all the hoopla of Blame’s thrilling Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) victory and the tour de force of Rachel Alexandra in the Fleur de Lis (GII) on Saturday was the triumph in the day’s first race by Ready’s Rocket.

The victory in the $10,000 starter allowance test was the eighth at Churchill Downs for the 7-year-old Ready’s Rocket, making him the seventh horse to achieve that many victories beneath the Twin Spires since 1976, which is the first year detailed information was gathered by Equibase.

No horse has won nine races here and trainer Tim Glyshaw is hoping Ready’s Rocket, now owned by Tampa Metro Stable, will get the chance.

There are a couple of starter races before the end of the meet,” Glyshaw said. “He is still eligible for a non-winners of two other/than, but that is going five furlongs on the turf. He is bred for the turf, but he is 0-for-3 on it. I will check with Calvin and see if he thinks he can do it, but I don’t really want to change anything.”

Calvin” is jockey Calvin Borel, who has ridden Ready’s Rocket to seven of his eight Churchill Downs victories.

"He obviously loves the surface here (with a record of 19-8-2-2), but the biggest difference between here and other tracks is he responds to Calvin for whatever reason,” said Glyshaw, who has saddled Ready’s Rocket to 11 of his 15 career victories.

Ready’s Rocket has won his past five starts at Churchill Downs, and is the only three-time winner of the 30-day-old meet. He returned the Glyshaw barn after a brief sojourn to Penn National.
“After he ran at Keeneland last fall, the owners wanted to run at Penn National because of the bigger pots,” Glyshaw said. “The opportunity arose to claim him back when he was in for $4,000 and we did and that race made him starter eligible again.”

Back in Kentucky after three off-the-board efforts in Pennsylvania, Ready’s Rocket was jogged on a farm until the Glyshaw stable returned from New Orleans. Glyshaw was not sure what he had when the current meet started.

“I was a little worried when he worked in 1:04 and 3 at the end of April,” Glyshaw said. “But Calvin said he was the same horse. He said those boys at Penn National just didn’t know how to ride him.”

At age seven, Ready’s Rocket “has his quirks,” Glyshaw said. “He is not overly friendly or a ‘lovey-dovey’ type. But he usually comes back and doesn’t pout after he gets beat.”

The most distinguished member of the eight-win club is Bet On Sunshine, who ran here from 1995-2002 and at age nine in 2001 won the Aristides (GIII) to become the oldest graded-stakes winner in track history

Other eight-time winners at Churchill Downs and the years they raced here are Canela (2005-08), Ahenium (1991-94), Crown Lease (1991-95), Lord Rusty (1993-2000) and Maxxed (1995-98). Canela is still in training and ran second on Sunday in a $4,000 claiming race at River Downs for trainer Joe Woodard.

DEBUTANTE ATTRACTS 18 NOMINATIONS – William Dorminy’s Internet Café and Butterfly Stable’s Iones Folly, who finished a nose apart in a May 31 allowance race here, head a list of 18 nominations to the 110th running of the $100,000-added Debutante Stakes (GIII) for 2-year-old fillies going six furlongs to be run June 26.

Internet Café is trained by John Hancock, who could have a second Debutante entrant in Bach Hamilton, a three-length maiden winner here on May 30. Bach Hamilton is owned by Dorminy.

One other intriguing nominee is Eldon Farm Equine’s Just Louise, a 3 ½-length debut maiden winner here on May 28. Just Louise is a half-sister to Sara Louise, winner of the Pocahontas (GIII) here in the fall of 2008 and runner-up to Rachel Alexandra in the 2008 Golden Rod (GII).

Other fillies under consideration for the race according to Churchill Downs officials are Gatewood Bell and Wesley Ward’s Nina Fever, a maiden winner at Keeneland who ran fifth against the boys in the Kentucky Juvenile (GIII) on April 30, and Perry Harrison’s Tater Taunter, a maiden winner here at first asking on June

Decelerator won last year’s Debutante to give trainer D. Wayne Lukas a record seventh victory in the race.  

Silverbulletday in 1998 is the most recent Debutante winner to return the following spring to win the Kentucky Oaks (GI). Rachel Alexandra ran was the Debutante runner-up in 2008.

Entries for the Debutante will be taken Wednesday.

BARN TALK – Nominations close Saturday for the final three stakes of the Spring Meet scheduled to be run July 3 and 4. Scheduled for July 3 are the 109th running of the $100,000-added Bashford Manor (GIII) for 2-year-olds going six furlongs and the 29th running of the $100,000-added Locust Grove Handicap (GIII) for fillies and mares going a mile on the turf.  Backtalk won the Bashford Manor last year and Closeout took the Locust Grove. The 20th running of the $175,000-added Firecracker Handicap (GII) at a mile on the Matt Winn Turf Course is the closing day feature on July 4. Mr. Sidney won the 2009 Firecracker.

WORK TAB – Cash Refund, third in the Aristides (GIII) in his most recent start, worked five furlongs on the main track in :59, the fastest of 11 works at the distance. … Also working five furlongs was Kentucky Juvenile (GIII) winner Lou Brissie in 1:01, fourth fastest at the distance, in preparation for the Bashford Manor. …Works of note over a firm Matt Winn Turf Course (dogs up) were 2009 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Tapitsfly (half-mile in :53.20), multiple stakes winner Chamberlain Bridge (half-mile in :50.40) and Driving Snow, prepping for the Firecracker, worked five furlongs in 1:05.60.

OUR TEKELA ROSE FOLLOWS IN FAMILIAR FOOTSTEPS – A year ago, trainer Hal Wiggins introduced Kentucky Oaks (GI) and Preakness (GI) winner Rachel Alexandra to the racing public with a runner-up effort in the $100,000-added Debutante Stakes (Grade III).

    On Saturday, Wiggins and his son Lon will send out GTS Racing’s Our Tekela Rose in the 109th running of the $100,000-added Debutante at six furlongs on the main track. Corey Lanerie has the mount on Our Tekela Rose, who will break from post position four in the field of nine.

    Out of the first crop of millionaire sprinter Kela, Our Tekela Rose won at first asking on the Polytrack at Arlington Park on May 24 and soon after was shipped to Wiggins’ barn at Churchill Downs.

    “She has been here about three or four weeks and breezed twice,” Hal Wiggins said. “It is hard to tell if she will be better on the dirt. The first time she worked was not that swift (five furlongs in 1:03.20 on June 10) but she went nice on Sunday (:49.60 for a half-mile). She was a lot better the second time.”

    Our Tekela Rose was an $11,000 purchase last September at Keeneland and from there she went to Texas to learn her early lessons.

    “She was at the same farm in Texas as Rachel Alexandra, the Diamond D Ranch in Lone Oak,” Wiggins said. “Ed and Scooter Dodwell do a great job down there and they said she could run.”

    Should Our Tekela Rose prevail on Saturday, look for a crowded winner’s circle.

    “There are 27 or 28 people in the syndicate that own her and they are renting a bus to come down here from Chicago,” Wiggins said. “Some of them are driving down early for the Friday night racing. They were all at Keeneland when she was bought and then when she won first time out, there were maybe 60 people in the winner’s circle.”

GALLEGOS ADDS MINE THAT BIRD TO HIS MORNING RESUME – Exercise rider Rudy Gallegos joined some rare company this week when he began a pinch-hit role as the morning partner of Kentucky Derby (GI) winner Mine That Bird.

    Regular exercise rider Charlie Figueroa left Wednesday afternoon to return home to New Mexico for the first time since Mine That Bird left Sunland Park for Churchill Downs on April 20. Figueroa returns Monday afternoon and in the interim comes Gallegos, who served as the regular exercise rider for Rachel Alexandra when she was trained by Hal Wiggins.

    This makes Gallegos the first exercise rider to be aboard different Kentucky Derby and Preakness winners since Joanne McNamara was the morning partner in 1995 for Kentucky Derby winner Thunder Gulch and Preakness winner Timber Country for trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

    Gallegos took Mine That Bird twice around Thursday morning on a fast track and covered 1 ½ miles on a sloppy track Friday morning.

    “He’s awesome, totally focused,” Gallegos said. “He switches leads easily and when he sees another horse ahead of him wants to go get him. Just looking at him, he looks small, but when you are on top of him, he really fills out and is wide. He is all muscle and very confident.”

    Gallegos was Rachel Alexandra’s morning rider for nearly a year, being with the filly when she won the Kentucky Oaks. Rachel Alexandra won the Preakness in her next start for new ownership and is scheduled to run Saturday in the Grade I Mother Goose at Belmont Park.

“When I first got on her last summer, I was telling everybody that she’ll win the Oaks, but then everybody talks like that,” he said. “But she went out and proved it.”

So, if the two Classic winners were sitting in an automobile dealer’s showroom, what models would they be?

    “Rachel would be a Lamborghini,” Gallegos said. “It would be like when you’d go to shift gears, everything would be so smooth, so precise. Mine That Bird would be a Ferrari, just pure class.”

    Trainer Chip Woolley has scheduled a half-mile work for Mine That Bird on Monday morning after the renovation break   Jockey Calvin Borel will be up in Mine That Bird in his first work since a third-place finish in the Belmont Stakes (Grade I) on June 6. Mine That Bird’s next scheduled start is the $750,000 West Virginia Derby (Grade II) on Aug. 1 at Mountaineer.

CASH REFUND SIDELINED UNTIL FALL – Richard, Bertram and Elaine Klein’s Cash Refund, second in the Matt Winn Stakes on May 16, will be sidelined until the fall according to trainer Steve Margolis.

    “We took him up to Rood & Riddle in Lexington and there is a minor issue,” said Margolis, who was pointing Cash Refund to the $200,000 Jersey Shore (Grade III) at Monmouth Park on July 5.

    “He will be off in July and August and we will start him back the middle of September. He is on the farm now and we will try to make the fall meet here with him.”

    Cash Refund has won two of three career starts.

A LITTLE EARLY RAIN CAN’T PUT DAMPER ON “DOWNS AFTER DARK” – The rain came down in buckets overnight and, for a normal race day, things could have been dicey for Churchill Downs Track Superintendent Butch Lehr and his crew.

“We got between two and three inches of rain in some areas of town,” said Lehr of the storms that left parts of the barn area under water when training began at 6 a.m. (all times EDT).

“We had sealed the track last night to keep the moisture in. It was a blast furnace out there yesterday and we watered between every race. This morning there was a little washout, but we fixed it at 5 o’clock and opened for training on schedule.”

By mid-morning, the sun was out with a steady breeze blowing to help dry things out for the second “Downs After Dark” program that was scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

“We didn’t have a full crew this morning because of the late start,” Lehr said. “We are going to open the drains on the turf course and roll it. We have a lot of time to work on it.”

“GET IN THE GAME” HANDICAPPING SEMINAR TO FEATURE JON COURT – Popular rider Jon Court will be racing analyst Jill Byrne’s special guest during Saturday’s “Get in the Game” Handicapping Seminar.

    The half-hour session, free with general admission, will begin at noon in the paddock area and will feature informative and in-depth analysis of select races and other handicapping topics.

    Court, 48, has ridden 22 winners this meet, seventh best in the standings. Court returned to Churchill Downs this spring after riding the past five years in Southern California. Court has ridden 331 winners at Churchill Downs, which ranks 17th all-time under the Twin Spires. He will be riding Tidal Pool for trainer D. Wayne Lukas in Saturday’s $100,000-added Debutante Stakes (Grade III).

MILESTONE WATCH – Greg Foley became the 12th trainer in track history to saddle 300 winners at Churchill Downs when Izzy Ali won Thursday’s fifth race under Shaun Bridgmohan. Foley, 51, won his first race at Churchill Downs when he was 23 during the 1981 Spring Meet. Izzy Ali’s victory was the 15th of the meet for Foley, good for third in the trainer standings.

William Connelly, who has 999 career victories, failed in his bid to reach 1,000 when Hungry Tigress ran fourth in Thursday’s eighth race. Connelly’s next chance to reach 1,000 will come Saturday night when he sends out Bred to Win in the seventh race at Indiana Downs.

BARN TALK – Coach Billy G., named for former University of Kentucky basketball coach Billy Gillispie, makes his racing debut in Friday night’s 11th race, a six-furlong, maiden special weight test. A son of Storm Cat, Coach Billy G. is owned by Donald Adam’s Courtlandt Farm. “Mr. Adam’s farm is in Bryan, Texas, and he is a friend of Gillispie’s from when Gillispie coached at Texas A&M,” trainer Jim Baker said.
 Calvin Borel rode two winners on Thursday’s card and narrowed his deficit to three (56-53) in his bid to overtake Julien Leparoux for the riding title. Borel is named on 10 mounts Friday night and can gain ground as Leparoux will be riding at Prairie Meadows in Iowa. The earnings from Borel’s Thursday mounts pushed his meet total to a record $3,501,524, surpassing Rafael Bejarano’s $3,460,332 total in 2006.

    With seven days remaining in the meet, Steve Asmussen holds a 23-16 lead over Mike Maker in the chase for leading trainer. Asmussen has won five Churchill Downs training titles, two spring (2004 and 2007) and three fall (2001, 2004 and 2007). Maker has won one training title, that coming last fall with a record 31 wins.

WORK TAB – Fred Bradley’s Brass Hat worked six furlongs over a sloppy track in 1:14.40 on Friday morning with jockey Calvin Borel up. “He worked good this morning,” trainer William “Buff” Bradley said. “My dad and I are going to talk again today and we’ll make a decision by Sunday on which race we’ll go to.” Winner of the May 23 Louisville Handicap (Grade III) last time out, Brass Hat  is being pointed to the $750,000 United Nations Handicap (Grade I) at 1 3/8 miles at Monmouth Park on July 4 or the $200,000 Arlington Handicap (Grade III) at 1 ¼ miles at Arlington Park on July 11.

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.

Capt Candyman Can collected the fourth stakes win of his career when he out-kicked 4-5 favorite Cash Refund by three-quarters of a length in Saturday’s eighth running of the $106,900 Matt Winn Stakes for 3-year-olds at Churchill Downs.

Capt. Candyman Can, ridden by Javier Castellano and trained by Ian Wilkes, ran seven furlongs in 1:22.89 and paid $4, $2.10 and $2.10 as the even-money second choice in the field of five 3-year-olds. Cash Refund returned $2.20 and $2.10 as the betting choice after back-to-back eye-catching performances against maidens and allowance company. Conchacer finished third, another 5 ½ lengths behind the runner-up, and paid $2.20. Zigaree and Dance Caller completed the order of finish.

Capt. Candyman Can settled behind early pacesetters Dance Caller and Cash Refund, who rattled off the first quarter-mile in :22.76 and the half in :44.95. Castellano worked him forward off of the inside rail, swung three-wide on the final turn to engage the leaders and inched away from Cash Refund in the stretch.

Capt. Candyman Can, a gelded son of Candy Ride out of the Storm Creek mare Stormy Way, earned $66,278 for owners Joseph Rauch and David Zell. The Kentucky-bred has now earned $410,423 and boosted his record to five wins from eight starts.

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.

He 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). Capt. Candyman Can returned to a shorter distance for the April 4 Bay Shore (GIII), a seven-furlong test at Aqueduct, and the result was a 3 ¾-length victory.

The Matt Winn 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.

Live racing at Churchill Downs continues Sunday with a 10-race program that begins at 12:45 p.m. ET. No one hit the $1 Z-5 / Super Hi-5 in Saturday’s final race at Churchill Downs, which involved selecting the top five finishers in order. Therefore, there’s a $16,014 carryover for the bet that will zigzag through Churchill Downs-owned racetracks. The exotic wager will start with Race 6 at Calder Race Course (3:12 p.m. ET) and will include Arlington Park 7 (5:08 p.m. ET) and Churchill Downs Race 10 (5:28 p.m. ET).

POST-RACE QUOTES – THE MATT WINN

IAN WILKES, trainer of CAPT. CANDYMAN CAN (winner)

“The Kleins’ horse ran an unbelievable race. I’m very proud of my horse because he did a couple of things. He was a little more relaxed today, and then finished and had to run. They didn’t give it us. I was very pleased with him.”

Q: Any thoughts on where he’ll go next?

“I want to go to the Kings Bishop (Grade I at Saratoga) with him. I’m gonna evaluate and see where he is and have a look-see where he’s at. He’ll tell me what I need to do here. That’s the important thing. I don’t want to get ahead of him and make him do it, because this horse puts his body on the line every time I run him. He’s so honest for me. He’s taken care of me, now I have to take care of him a little bit.”

Q: He and Javier Castellano seem happy together…

“Javier’s done a good job. We’re very fortunate to get Javier, because Julien (Leparoux)( had commitments last time and was riding in the Preakness today. Javier’s got on well with him, and I’ll probably keep Javier on him now. I don’t want to keep changing with him.”

JAVIER CASTELLANO (jockey on CAPT. CANDYMAN CAN (winner)

“I really like his race because the way he did it today really, really impressed me. He sat beautifully right off the speed. It was my goal to put him right off the pace and that’s just what he did. He kicked very good at the end. I really like the way he did it today.”

“He’s improved a lot. He’s a come-from-behind sprint horse and those are the kind of horses you want to have. He’s a really nice horse and Ian has done a fantastic job with him. Today he was so kind and so relaxed in the post parade and that’s the way I wanted him to be. I’m so happy.”

Q: Did you think you had the runner-up measured as you came home?

“I had a lot of confidence at the quarter pole. I knew the pace was hot. I just didn’t want to wait too long. I asked him for his run at the end and he responded.”

STEVE MARGOLIS, trainer of CASH REFUND (runner-up)

“He ran really good. Brian wished we could have been on the outside, maybe he would have settled a little more. But he broke good, he broke running, and Brian didn’t want to discourage him. Like I said to Ian (Wilkes, trainer of Capt. Candyman Can), his horse is already a proven horse, and we were up-and-coming and I’m very happy with our horse’s race. He fought hard and we got beat by a seasoned stakes winner, so that’s not a disgrace by any means.”

Q: What’s next?

“I think we’re going to think about Monmouth in six weeks, the Jersey Shore going three-quarters.”

BRIAN HERNANDEZ JR. – Jockey on CASH REFUND (runner-up)

“He ran a big race for his third start. He improved and he only got beat a half-length to a two-time Grade 2 winner. You can’t really be disappointed in him.”

Q: You were going fast up front, but he seemed to settle…

“He settled pretty off of that horse on his inside, and turning for home I got him to switch leads and when I called on him he dug in and he went on a ways. He just got beat by the better horse. I’d like to meet him again, that’s for sure.”

- 30 -

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).