Warrior's Reward

CALIFORNIA FLAG, SWEET AUGUST MOON WORK FOR KORINER – Defending Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint champion California Flag worked five furlongs over a firm Matt Winn Turf Course in 1:00.80 on a warm and windy Tuesday morning at Churchill Downs.

With exercise rider Colleen Hartford aboard, California Flag posted fractions of  :11.20, :23.20, :36.40 and :48.60.

“That was fine,” said trainer Brian Koriner, who never has started a horse at Churchill Downs. “We will train him light this week and maybe blow him out three-eighths next Monday.”

California Flag won last year’s race at Santa Anita, coming down that track’s unique 6 ½-furlong downhill course.

"We don’t have our home-court advantage here this time,” Koriner said. “The five furlongs (of this year’s race because of the track configuration at Churchill Downs) is not a concern, because he likes to be near the front anyway. If he fires his race, he’ll be OK.”

Owned and bred by the Hi Card Ranch, the 6-year-old California bred did not run his race the last time out, finishing last in a field of 11 in the 5 ½-furlong Woodford (GIII) at Keeneland on Oct. 9.

"It was depressing to watch,” Koriner said. “He ran to the top of the lane and then slowed down. But I have had assistants to Bobby Frankel and Neil Drysdale tell me their horses would get on that sandy turf at Keeneland and not try, but they would come over here and return to form.”

One other possible explanation for California Flag’s poor Keeneland showing was the presence of front bandages.

“He had hit himself before the race and we put the bandages on him and maybe he thought he was just going to work,” Koriner said. “I’ll tell you one thing; he won’t have bandages on Breeders’ Cup day.”
Victor Espinoza will have the mount on California Flag in the Breeders’ Cup.

Koriner has one other Breeders’ Cup candidate in Legacy Ranch and Shirley MacPherson’s Sweet August Moon for the seven-furlong $1 million Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (GI).

With Hartford up and working immediately after the morning renovation break over a fast track, Sweet August Moon worked five furlongs in 1:00.80. The move was the fourth fastest of 34 at the distance.
Fractions for the work were :12.20, :24.20 and :35.80 with a six-furlong gallop-out time of 1:15.

“She got a little tired, but this was the first time she has worked on dirt,” Koriner said. “It was fine and I will probably come back with her next Monday for three-eighths.”

Sweet August Moon came off a seven-week layoff on Oct. 9 to run fifth in the Thoroughbred Club of America (GII) at Keeneland. Koriner left both her and California Flag at Keeneland after the race instead of shipping back to California. The two horses worked at Keeneland on Oct. 19 and then vanned to Churchill Downs on Oct. 21.

“It was an advantage to get here early for our horses,” Koriner said, especially for Sweet August Moon.

Before she was saddled (for the TCA), she was throwing her head around and walking to the walking ring, she was trying to run off with me,” Koriner said. “She did not handle all those people well at all. Then she did not want to load. Everything that she could do that day, she did.

“But even with all of that, she only got beat 2 ½ lengths (in the six-furlong race) and the seven-eighths is her best distance. You have to stay optimistic.”

Espinoza, who has ridden the 5-year-old mare in her past three starts, will have the mount here.

JAPANESE FILLY & MARE TURF HOPEFUL RED DESIRE ARRIVES – The Tokyo Horse Racing Co.’s Red Desire (JPN) arrived at Churchill Downs shortly before 10 a.m. (all times Eastern) on Tuesday after an overnight van ride from Belmont Park.

“We left Belmont Park at 7:30 last night and had no problems,” said Nobutaka Tada, racing manager for the ownership.

Tada said the 4-year-old filly would have one work at Churchill Downs prior to the $2 million Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (GI) on Nov. 5, most likely on Saturday. Kent Desormeaux, who rode Red Desire in her U.S. debut in the Flower Bowl Invitational (GI) at Belmont Park on Oct. 2, would have the mount.

A Group I winner in Japan, Red Desire closed out 2009 with a third-place finish against males in the Japan Cup (GI) and then went to Dubai and challenged males again, winning the Group II Maktoum Challenge (Round 3) in which she defeated eventual Dubai World Cup (GI) winner Gloria de Campeao. Red Desire finished 11th in the Dubai World Cup, but was beaten only 5 ¾ lengths.

Trainer Mikio Matsunaga is not expected to arrive in Louisville until just before the Breeders’ Cup, according to Tada.

DUBAI MAJESTY TUNES UP FOR FILLY & MARE SPRINT WITH TURF WORK – The Martin Racing Stable and Dan Morgan’s Dubai Majesty, who earned a spot in the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint with a victory on Polytrack in the Thoroughbred Club of America (GII) at Keeneland, worked a half-mile on the Matt Winn Turf Course in :49.60 under jockey Jamie Theriot on Tuesday morning.

“I am not sure if Bret (trainer Bret Calhoun) has done this in the past before a dirt race,” said Dennis “Peaches” Geier, Calhoun’s assistant at Churchill Downs. “But the turf is a lot easier on her.”

A two-time winner of the Winning Colors (GIII) here, the 5-year-old Dubai Majesty also is a two-time stakes winner on grass.

Also working on the turf on Tuesday was Glen Hill Farm’s Banned, who covered a half-mile in :51 with a first quarter-mile in :26.40. Banned, an allowance winner at Keeneland who is pointing for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (GII), had company in the work by accident as he hooked up with Expansion, who was working seven furlongs. “It was perfect. Mary (exercise rider Mary Donald) gets a brownie. She didn’t let him run off when that other horse came up to her,” trainer Tom Proctor said. … A. Stevens Miles Jr.’s Warrior’s Reward (Sprint), trained by Ian Wilkes, worked five furlongs in 1:01 with jockey Julien Leparoux up. Fractions for the move, seventh fastest of 34 at the distance, were :13, :25, :36.80, :48.60 and out six furlongs in 1:15.20.

BARN TALK – The first wave of trainer Todd Pletcher’s Breeders’ Cup contingent from New York arrived early Tuesday morning at Churchill Downs. Edwards Evans’ Quality Road, one of the favorites for the $5 million Classic, and Malibu Prayer, headed for the $2 million Ladies’ Classic, arrived at 4 a.m. and stabled in Barn 34. Mike McCarthy, Pletcher’s assistant at Churchill Downs, reported both horses made the trip without incident. A plane carrying Pletcher trainees Rose Catherine (Turf Sprint), Life At Ten (Ladies’ Classic), Stay Thirsty (Juvenile), Uncle Mo (Juvenile), and R Heat Lightning (Juvenile Fillies) arrived at Louisville International Airport at 1:40 p.m. Tuesday, and the van that carried those horses on the short ride to Churchill Downs pulled into the barn area shortly after 2:30 p.m.. The flight was 40 minutes late leaving New York and was re-routed to the south in mid-flight to avoid a storm front that blew through the Louisville area around noon.  Juvenile Fillies Turf candidate Allure d’Amour had been scheduled to be on that flight, but stayed behind with Pletcher’s New York stable until it can be determined whether she will make the field for the Breeders’ Cup race.

Morton Fink’s Wise Dan, winner of the Phoenix (GIII) on Oct. 8 at Keeneland and a candidate for the $2 million Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Sprint (GI), worked five furlongs over the Polytrack at Keeneland in :58 early Tuesday morning. Fractions for the move, the best of 20 at the distance, were :24.60, :46.20 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:11.20 while working on his own for trainer Charles Lopresti. Working at Calder for the $2 million Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (GI) was Jacks or Better Farms’ undefeated Awesome Feather, who covered five furlongs in 1:02 under regular rider Jeffrey Sanchez for trainer Stanley Gold. Awesome Feather is scheduled to ship to Louisville on Thursday. …

Trainer Al Stall Jr. said that his Breeders’ Cup Classic hopeful Blame would train at Keeneland on Wednesday morning and then depart the Lexington track around 9:30-10 a.m. for the van trip to Churchill Downs. Also coming with Blame will be Dixiana Breeders’ Futurity (GI) winner J. B.’s Thunder. …

Trainer Mark Casse said that WinStar Farm’s Blue Laser would pass on the $2 million Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (GI) and point instead for the $1 million Delta (Downs) Jackpot (GIII) on Nov. 20. WinStar won the Jackpot last year with Rule, who did his training for the race at Churchill Downs. Casse said that Blue Laser would be here at least through the Breeders’ Cup. …

The Breeders’ Cup has been staged at Churchill Downs six previous times and several World Championships marks have been established here. Here are a few of note:

• Perfect Sting (2000) owns the Breeders’ Cup record for the Filly & Mare Turf run at 1 3/8 miles of 2:13.07. The race has been run at that distance five times in 11 runnings.
• Three record win payoffs have been produced beneath the Twin Spires: Spain in the 2000 Distaff (now the Ladies’ Classic) of $113.80; Caressing in the 2000 Juvenile Fillies ($96); and, Sheikh Albadou in the 1991 Sprint ($54.80).
• Of the 26 previous runnings of the Distaff/Ladies’ Classic, two renewals have been decided by a nose: 1988 with Personal Ensign just catching Winning Colors and 1998 when Escena just held off Banshee Breeze.
• The largest and smallest margins of victory in the Juvenile and Mile came at Churchill Downs. The Juvenile extremes were provided by Street Sense, a 10-length winner in 2006 and Macho Uno, who prevailed by a nose in 2000. In the Mile, Miesque was a four-length winner in 1988 and Da Hoss won by a head in 1998.

CORRECTION – In Monday’s Barn Notes, it was incorrectly reported that Julien Leparoux was on Forever Together in a workout at Keeneland. Leparoux was on Fantasia (GB), who is a candidate for the Cardinal Handicap (GIII) to be run at Churchill Downs on Nov. 7.

WARRIOR’S REWARD WORKS HALF-MILE IN :48.80 – A. Stevens Miles Jr.’s Warrior’s Reward, winner of the Carter Handicap (GI) and runner-up in the Churchill Downs (GII), worked a half-mile before the renovation break in :48.80 over a fast track Wednesday morning at Churchill Downs in preparation for the $2 million Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Sprint (GI) to be run Nov. 6.

Working solo and with exercise rider Tracey Wilkes up, Warrior’s Reward posted fractions of :25.60 and :37 with a five-furlong gallop-out time of 1:01.80 and 1:16.20 for six furlongs.

“I got the last eighth in 11 and 3. This was fine,” trainer Ian Wilkes said of Warrior’s Reward, who will be ridden in the Breeders’ Cup by Julien Leparoux.

Warrior’s Reward, who has posted a 4-1-3-0 mark at Churchill Downs, enters the Breeders’ Cup off a third-place finish over Polytrack at Keeneland in the Oct. 8 Phoenix (GIII). Prior to the Phoenix, Warrior’s Reward returned from a three-month layoff in the Forego (GI) at Saratoga.

“I messed up (running him in the May 31 Metropolitan Handicap) and made a bad decision to run there,” Wilkes said. “We gave him a break and freshened him with this (the Breeders’ Cup) in mind.”

Wilkes had a choice between the Sprint and the Dirt Mile (GI) for the 4-year-old son of Medaglia d’Oro.
“I just think the Sprint is a better race for him,” Wilkes said. “It is just my gut feeling.”

LUKAS HOPING MINE THAT BIRD GETS BREEDERS’ CUP CHANCE – Trainer D. Wayne Lukas has won more Breeders’ Cup races (18) than any other conditioner and his six World Championships victories at Churchill Downs are the most at one venue, a mark he shares with Richard Mandella’s six triumphs at Santa Anita.

The Hall of Fame trainer hopes he gets a chance to add to those numbers with Double Eagle Ranch and Buena Suerte Equine’s Mine That Bird, winner of the 2009 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI).
“I don’t think he will get in,” Lukas said of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (GI), “but he has done very well since he got back here from Saratoga.”

Lukas said Mike Smith would have the mount on Mine That Bird.

Mine That Bird has been with Lukas for five months and had three starts in 2010, a comeback race on the turf in the Firecracker Handicap (GII) here in July and two off-the-board finishes at Saratoga in the Whitney (GI) and Woodward (GI), both at 1 1/8 miles.

Since returning to Churchill Downs, where he is 1-for-1 on the main track, he has had five works, two of them bullets. Lukas said if Mine That Bird does not get in the Dirt Mile the $100,000-added Ack Ack Handicap (GIII) at 1 1/16 miles on the main track on Nov. 5 is a possibility.

“It is up to them,” Lukas said of owners Mark Allen of Double Eagle Ranch and Dr. Leonard Blach of Buena Suerte Equine.

Lukas has two other possible Breeders’ Cup horses but acknowledges they are on the bubble to get in: Westrock Stables’ Tidal Pool for the Sentient Jet Filly & Mare Sprint (GI) and Westrock Stables and Barry Butzow’s Hamazing Destiny for the Sentient Jet Sprint (GI). Smith would have the mount on Tidal Pool and Terry Thompson would ride Hamazing Destiny.

ATONED GETS MARATHON TEST DRIVE FROM ALBARADO – Dogwood Stable’s Atoned worked a mile in 1:44 before the renovation break Wednesday morning under jockey Robby Albarado in preparation for a bid for the 1 ¾-mile Breeders’ Cup Marathon (GIII).

Fractions for the work were :13, :26, :39, 1:18 and 1:30.80 with a gallop-out time for 1:58.40 for 1 1/8 miles and 2:13.60 for the mile and a quarter.

“I wanted to put a jock on him this morning because we were doing something a bit more significant,” trainer Neil Howard said. “I was extremely happy with the work.”

Howard has had Atoned for only his past three races, the most recent being a third-place finish in the Turfway Park Fall Championship (GIII) on Sept. 11.

“He is doing good,” Howard said. “He is one of those horses that can get the distance and horses like that are in the minority, so we figured we’d take a shot.”

Atoned is one of five confirmed Breeders’ Cup mounts for Albarado, according to his agent, Lenny Pike. Other Albarado mounts are First Dude (Classic), Acoma (Ladies’ Classic), Central City (Turf Sprint) and Court Vision (TVG Mile).

BARN TALK – Trainer Dale Romans said a decision on where four-time graded stakes winner Paddy O’Prado would run next would be announced Friday. “All of us are having a conference call tomorrow and we hope to come to a decision as to where we will run next by sometime on Thursday,” Romans said of the colt who is owned by Donegal Racing, which is headed by Jerry Crawford. “We will let everyone know Friday morning where we are running.” Under consideration for Paddy O’Prado are the Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Turf (GI), the Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) to be run Nov. 6 and the Nov. 28 Japan Cup (GI). …

Ron Anderson, agent for nine-time Breeders’ Cup-winning rider Garrett Gomez, has four definite rides lined up for this year’s World Championships, headlined by Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider’s Blame in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI). Other confirmed Gomez mounts include Alcomo (BRZ) in the Marathon (GIII), More Than Real in the Juvenile Fillies Turf (GII) and Jessica Is Back for the Sentient Jet Filly & Mare Sprint (GI). …

Trainers Clark Hanna (A.U. Miner) and Tom Amoss (Falling Knife) reported that their runners came out of Tuesday works at Churchill Downs in good order in preparation for the Breeders’ Cup Marathon. …

Defending Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner California Flag, owned by Hi Card Ranch, is scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs on Thursday. Trained by Brian Koriner, California Flag has been at Keeneland since running 11th in the Woodford (GIII) on Oct. 9. Another Koriner trainee, Legacy Ranch and Shirley MacPherson’s Sweet August Moon, also is coming from Keeneland after a fifth-place finish in the Thoroughbred Club of America (GII) on Oct. 9. Sweet August Moon is being pointed to the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (GI) on Nov. 5. The Koriner duo will be stabled in Barn 17. …

Scheduled for a Friday arrival from California is Alan Klein and Philip Lebherz’s Smiling Tiger for the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Sprint (GI). Trained by Jeff Bonde, the 3-year-old Smiling Tiger won the Bing Crosby (GI) at Del Mar in August and in his most recent start won the Grade I Ancient Title on Oct. 9 at Hollywood Park.

BREEDERS’ CUP WINNER TAPITSFLY BACK IN ROMANS BARN – Trainer Dale Romans’ attention has been focused in recent days on his pair of contenders for Saturday’s Preakness (Grade I) – Donegal Racing’s Paddy O’Prado, the third-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) and Donald Dizney’s First Dude.  But there is another reason for Romans to smile as he now can look down his shedrow and see the gray head of Tapitsfly poking out of her stall door.

Frank L. Jones Jr.’s homebred daughter of Tapit was last seen on the track in an impressive victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Filly Turf at Santa Anita, where she rallied from just off the pace to score a half-length victory under jockey Robby Albarado.

The promise of good things loomed for Tapitsfly after that race, which marked her third win in seven lifetime starts that also included a maiden win on traditional dirt at Saratoga and good efforts on dirt during the spring over her home track at Churchill Downs.  But she was forced to the sidelines by injury early in her 3-year-old season and returned to Romans barn at the Louisville track a few days ago.

"We had a chip taken out of her ankle,” Romans said.  “She’s back and looks better than ever, and we’ll start breezing her when we get back from Maryland.”

While she has run well on dirt, Tapitsfly is unbeaten in two races on the grass.  While offspring of the versatile stallion Tapit seem to run well on just about any surface, she is out of Jones’ mare Flying Marlin, a turf specialist who won on grass courses at Churchill Downs and Keeneland during her 18-race career.  Tapit’s other grass win came in the P.G. Johnson Stakes at Saratoga.

Once Tapitsfly begins to breeze, Romans is hoping for quick progress and a chance for Churchill Downs fans to see her compete.

“We’ll try to make one race by the end of the meet,” he said.

Tapitsfly’s career record stands at 3-2-1 in seven races with earnings of $668,142.

LIKELY CONTENDERS FOR STEPHEN FOSTER ‘CAP WORK – A pair of likely contenders for Churchill Downs $600,000 Stephen Foster Handicap (Grade I) on June 12 were in action during training hours Friday morning at Churchill Downs as reigning champion Macho Again and Alysheba (GIII) winner Arson Squad appeared on the fast racing surface for morning works.

Both horses competed in the Alysheba on Kentucky Oaks Day.  Jay Em Ess Stables’ Arson Squad scored an impressive 2 ½-length victory for trainer Rick Dutrow while the Dallas Stewart-trained Macho Again struggled to finish seventh of in that 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds and up..

Arson Squad, who ran fourth to Macho Again in last year’s Foster, breezed five furlongs in :50 on Friday.  The move by the 7-year-old Brahms gelding ranked as the 16th fastest of 34 at the distance.  The Dutrow trainee won the Skip Away (GIII) at Gulfstream Park prior to the Alysheba and now has a career record of 8-1-4 in 27 races with earnings of $1,108,164.

West Point Thoroughbreds’ Macho Again has not won in five races since his triumph in the 2009 Foster – a string that included a narrow loss to Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra in the Woodward (GI) at Saratoga.

Macho Again breezed a half-mile in :49.20 – a move that ranked eighth out of the 34 at the distance.

Macho Again’s record stands at 6-6-0 in 23 races with earnings of $1,819,050.  He has run seven times at Churchill Downs, with a record of 3-1-0 in those races.  The Alysheba was the first start of the year for Macho Again, and his first race since a ninth-place finish behind Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider’s Blame in the $400,000 Clark Handicap (GII) on Nov. 27 at Churchill Downs.

Blame makes his 4-year-old debut on Saturday in the Schaefer Handicap (GII) on the Preakness undercard at Pimlico.  A good effort there could earn the Al Stall Jr. trainee a start in the Stephen Foster.

Nominations for the Stephen Foster Handicap and other stakes races on the June 12 undercard will close Saturday, May 29.

PREAKNESS STAKES FESTIVITIES AT CHURCHILL DOWNS – Advanced wagering on the Preakness will be offered all day Friday at Churchill Downs, plus the Black-Eyed Susan/Preakness Double – similar to the Oaks/Derby Double – will connect Friday’s Grade II, $175,000 Black Eyed Susan and Saturday’s $1 million Preakness.

The pageantry of the Preakness Stakes will be featured prominently at Churchill Downs on Saturday with the simulcast of the second jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown from Pimlico.

The first 5,000 fans attending Churchill Downs will receive a free Super Saver/Calvin Borel commemorative button in the paddock area while supplies last. Also, Black-Eyed Susan specialty drinks will be on tap at Churchill Downs at select locations, plus Dixieland and Big Band music will be performed in the paddock area and Millionaires Row 4 and 6.

Additionally, the Crab Derby returns as select customers will be in crab costumes competing in races throughout the day, with the final being held on the Matt Winn Turf Course immediately after Race 7.
Post time for the Preakness Stakes simulcast is 6:15 p.m. ET, which immediately follows the 11th and final live race at 5:58 p.m. ET.

SATURDAY’S SEVENTH RACE TO HONOR OLMSTEAD – For the second consecutive year, Churchill Downs will run the Chuck Olmstead Memorial on Preakness Stakes Day to honor the memory of the popular Louisville telvision newsman who passed away in March 2009 after an aneurysm ruptured in his brain.
The second annual Chuck Olmstead Memorial will be run as Race 7 on Saturday at approximately 3:57 p.m. ET.

Olmstead, who was a 34-year veteran at WHAS-11, was a longtime fan of Thoroughbred racing. Both he and his signature hat were broadcast fixtures in the Churchill Downs paddock on Kentucky Derby.
With tremendous encouragement from the community, Chuck’s widow, Candy Olmstead, has established a special fund in her husband’s memory through Norton Healthcare Foundation to support screenings and education provided by Norton Neuroscience Institute. These screenings will help detect aneurysms before they rupture, increase awareness of symptoms of ruptured brain aneurysms and, perhaps, save lives in the process.

More information can be found and pledges can be made online at www.ChuckOlmsteadFund.com.

ASHER WILL BE SPECIAL ‘GET IN THE GAME WITH JILL BYRNE’ GUEST – Churchill Downs vice president of racing communications John Asher will be Saturday’s “Get in the Game with Jill Byrne” special guest. Byrne and Asher will provide insight and analysis of the Preakness Stakes plus select races at Pimlico Race Course and Churchill Downs. The half-hour program will begin at 11:45 a.m. in the paddock area and will be televised on television monitors throughout Churchill Downs.

WEEKLY HANDICAPPING CONTEST WILL OFFER PRIZE MONEY, TRIP TO HORSEPLAYER WORLD SERIES – This spring’s “Who’s the Champ?” Handicapping Contest at Churchill Downs will offer $4,000 in prize money each week and five prize packages to compete in the Horseplayer World Series in Las Vegas.

First prize each week will be $1,500 and a five-day, four-night trip to Las Vegas to compete in the Horseplayer World Series, which is scheduled for Feb. 16-19, 2011 at the Orleans Resort and Casino.
The popular handicapping contest will begin this Sunday and continue every Sunday through June 13.

The “Who’s the Champ?” Handicapping Contest is a game of skill that tests the player’s ability to handicap Thoroughbred racing. Each contestant will start the day with a $24 imaginary bankroll and may only wager exactly $2 to win and $2 to place on six designated races from Churchill Downs.

The contest costs $30 per entry ($25 for Twin Spires Club members) and is limited to 400 entries with a limit of three entries per person. Registration will be open Sundays between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in the Champions Club Lounge on the second floor of the clubhouse.

BARN TALK – Fred Bradley’s homebred Brass Hat, winner of the 2009 Louisville Handicap (GIII), continues to gear-up for a defense of that victory.  Trainer William “Buff” Bradley said Friday that the 9-year-old gelding would work Saturday in preparation for the $100,000-added at 1 ½ miles on turf on May 22.  Regular rider Calvin Borel will be out of town for the Preakness bid by Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver on Friday, so veteran Charlie Woods is expected to be in the saddle for Brass Hat’s work … Leading rider Calvin Borel flew to Pimlico Thursday night for rides aboard Tidal Pool, the third-place finisher in the Kentucky Oaks (GI) in the Black-Eyed Susan (GII) on Friday and Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver in Saturday’s Preakness.  Borel will return to Churchill Downs on Sunday to continue his pursuit of his first Spring Meet riding title at Churchill Downs.  Borel holds a 19-11 edge over Julien Leparoux in the race for leading rider.  Shaun Bridgmohan and Garrett Gomez are tied for third at 10 victories. … Nominations close Saturday, May 15 for a pair of upcoming stakes races at Churchill Downs: the $100,000 Aristides (GIII) for 3-year-olds & up at six furlongs on Saturday, May 29, and the $100,000-added Winning Colors (GIII) at six furlongs for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and up to be run on Memorial Day, May 31.  Nominations can be made online at www.churchilldowns.com or by phone (502.636.4470) or fax (502.636.4598) before midnight (EDT) on Saturday.

WORK TAB (Main: FAST) – Carter Handicap (GI) winner and Churchill Downs (GII) runner-up Warrior’s Reward breezed four furlongs in :49.80 under exercise rider Tracey Wilkes.  The Ian Wilkes trainee is being pointed toward the Metropolitan Handicap (GI) at Belmont Park and his work ranked as the 13th fastest of 38 at the distance.… Unforgotten breezed four furlongs in :50.60 for trainer Dallas Stewart. … Age of Humor, runner-up in the Bourbonette (GIII) at Turfway Park and 12th in the Kentucky Oaks, breezed five furlongs in 1:01 Friday over a fast surface at the six-furlong oval at Trackside Training Center.

THERIOT TO WORK MINE THAT BIRD ON MONDAY MORNING – Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) winner Mine That Bird is scheduled to work a half-mile after the renovation break on Monday morning with jockey Jamie Theriot in the saddle.    Trainer Chip Woolley secured the services of Hall of Famer Mike Smith to ride Mine That Bird in the Aug. 1 West Virginia Derby (Grade II) at Mountaineer and the Aug. 29 Shadwell Travers (Grade I) at Saratoga. Woolley did not get a commitment for the Nov. 7 Breeders’ Cup Classic (Grade I) at Santa Anita.

    “I am tickled that this is over with,” Woolley said of landing Smith to replace Calvin Borel, who was aboard for the gelding’s upset victory in the Kentucky Derby and third-place run in the Belmont Stakes (GI), but could not give a commitment to the West Virginia Derby. “We’ve got a rider that we are comfortable with and that is more important than the three-race commitment. We can get through the first two at least.”

    Smith rode Mine That Bird to a runner-up finish behind Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness (Grade I) when Borel honored a commitment to ride the filly.

    “Calvin’s in a tough spot with three horses in the same category,” Woolley said referring to Rachel Alexandra and Warrior’s Reward, who Borel is committed to ride in the Aug. 1 Jim Dandy (Grade II) at Saratoga. “It is a tough spot, but he is fortunate in that not many get that opportunity.

“Hopefully we’ll have Calvin for a backup, you never know. With Rachel Alexandra, the Travers is one of the races they are talking about with her, so we wouldn’t get him for that one. There is just too much drama mixed in.”

    On Sunday morning, Mine That Bird backtracked to the paddock runway and galloped 1 ½ miles under exercise rider Rudy Gallegos.

MR. SIDNEY HAS PROFITABLE STAY AT CHURCHILL DOWNS – Mr. Sidney made only a brief visit to Churchill Downs, but he was here long enough to pick up his second graded stakes score with a triumph in Saturday’s Firecracker Handicap (GII).

    “He arrived here Monday and he probably will be heading back to New York before too long,” said Kenny McCarthy, assistant to trainer Bill Mott. “He looked good this morning.”

    The Firecracker victory added $101,896 to Mr. Sidney’s bankroll and gave him two graded stakes wins in 2009, the other coming in the Maker’s Mark Mile (GI) in April at Keeneland.

    Mr. Sidney had finished 11th in his start before the Firecracker on the dirt in the Metropolitan Mile (GI) at Belmont Park.

    “The key to him is to keep him nice and quiet,” McCarthy said. “He did not like that detention barn at Belmont the last time. That was the Storm Cat in him.”

    Mr. Sidney’s victory was the 11th of the meet for the Mott barn, the most in a spring meet here since 2004 when 12 wins were recorded. From 54 starters, there also have been 10 seconds and 10 thirds for a 57 percent in-the-money rate. Mott is the all-time leader at Churchill Downs in wins (622) and stakes victories (75).

    “It has been a nice meet,” McCarthy said. “We will keep 30 horses here this summer, send some up to Saratoga and get some back from New York.”

RAVI’S SONG FIRST WINNER FOR MILLIONAIRE LU RAVI – If one wants to elicit a huge smile from trainer Carl Bowman, just mention Lu Ravi.

    On Sunday morning, Bowman was grinning from ear to ear after the performance of Ravi’s Song on Saturday when she became Lu Ravi’s first winner.

    In the 1 1/16-mile race, Ravi’s Song was bottled up on the inside until the eighth pole. She trailed by four lengths at the time, but finally found racing room at the sixteenth pole and drew off to win by a length.

    “I liked the way she won yesterday going a route. It was very impressive the way she did it,” Bowman said. “She probably should have won the first time she ran here, but then she wouldn’t have had that chance yesterday. But I am really proud for Lu Ravi.”

    Ravi’s Song, a daughter of Unbridled’s Song, is Lu Ravi’s third foal. Superb in Roses never made it to the races and Ravi’s Lovin was winless in two starts. Lu Ravi now has a yearling filly by Ghostzapper.

    Under Bowman’s care, Lu Ravi compiled a record of 26-11-8-3 for earnings of $1,819,781. She won eight stakes, five of them graded, and in 2000 beat future Hall of Famer Silverbulletday twice.

    “I trained her mother, At the Half, too,” Bowman said of the four-time stakes winner and earner of $338,393. “She was one of the top three or four fillies as a 2-year-old in the country (in 1993). It is always enjoyable to win with a number of horses from the same family.”

    Ravi’s Song did not make her racing debut until this March at Fair Grounds.

    “She has got some issues,” said Bowman, who intends to keep Ravi’s Song on the dirt. “I’d like to look for an allowance going long and then make a decision.”

BARN TALK – Trainer Ian Wilkes reported that Warrior’s Reward came out of his third-place finish in Saturday’s Dwyer (Grade II) at Belmont Park “with a few little cuts but otherwise looked fine.” Warrior’s Reward stumbled badly at the start and trailed the field most of the way before rallying for third. “Obviously the race did not develop the way we hoped,” Wilkes said. “To rally from that far back to get third, I was really proud of him. We are going to go on to the Jim Dandy as long as he comes back OK. We are going to bring him back here on Tuesday.”

    Helen Alexander and Helen Groves’ Selva is scheduled to return to trainer David Carroll’s barn on Monday afternoon after her fourth-place finish in the Prioress (Grade I) at Belmont Park on Saturday. “I was really proud of her,” Carroll said of Selva’s first start since April 8. “She ran her butt off. If she comes out of it all right we will point to the Victory Ride (Grade III) at Saratoga (on Aug. 29).”

Trainer Jim Baker, who has enjoyed a banner spring meet with nine winners from 25 starters (36 percent), will be sending two of his stable standouts east in the coming weeks. Tom Walters’ Pretty Prolific, who won her 2009 debut with an allowance win on May 30, is being pointed to the $70,000 Dearly Precious Stakes at six furlongs on July 18 at Monmouth Park. Patton’s Creek Farm’s War Eagle Lady, one of three three-time winners this meet, is scheduled to be at Delaware Park on July 19 for the $75,000 Light Hearted Stakes at 7 ½ furlongs on the turf.

Calvin Borel entered the final day of the 2009 Spring Meet with a chance to catch meet-long leader Julien Leparoux in the race for leading jockey.  Borel trailed Leparoux 62-58 heading into the meet finale and Leparoux is riding out of town.

WORK TAB – Decelerator, winner of the Debutante Stakes (Grade III) on June 27, worked a half-mile in :51 over a track rated as “sloppy” before the renovation break.

Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) winner Mine That Bird worked a half-mile in :51 over a fast track Monday morning at Churchill Downs in his first serious training move since a third-place finish to Summer Bird in the Belmont Stakes (GI) on June 6.

ockey Calvin Borel was aboard for the first in a series of five breezes leading to a scheduled run in the $750,000 West Virginia Derby (Grade II) on Aug. 1 at Mountaineer.

    Working well off the rail in the four path, Mine That Bird clicked off fractions of :12.80, :25.20, :38.20 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:04.40. The half-mile time was the 30th fastest of 42 at the distance.

    Coming off the track, Borel gave a big thumbs up to trainer Chip Woolley.

    “He came off the track bouncing just like he was before the Derby,” Borel said. “He’s ready. He doesn’t need much. He’s playful and happy and back to right where he was before the Derby.”
    Woolley thought the work would be a little faster.

    “I thought he’d go in :49 or :50 because he’s a little fresh, the freshest he’s ever been,” Woolley said. “I thought he’d be in the bridle a little more, but he looked good and came back cool as a cucumber. He was a little more into the bridle at Belmont and got a little shook up. Believe me, I like it a lot better this way.”

    Owned by Double Eagle Ranch and Buena Suerte Equine, Mine That Bird will walk Tuesday and return to the track Wednesday with another half-mile work scheduled for next Monday, July 6.

    “His work next week will be sharper and then we will back off a bit in the next one,” Woolley said of the schedule that calls for a five-furlong work on July 13.

    Woolley is contemplating a change in his travel schedule to Mountaineer in Chester, W.Va. Originally, the trainer wanted to have two works over the track there, and it could still happen.

    “I may ship up later and have just one breeze there,” Woolley said. “The Bird doesn’t need to take his racetrack with him. He has run on that fast track at Sunland and the deep, sandy track at Belmont. He will still have a work on the 20th, the only question is where.”

    After the West Virginia Derby, Woolley has targeted the $1 million Shadwell Travers Stakes (Grade I) at Saratoga on Aug. 29 where Mine That Bird possibly could meet up with Kentucky Oaks (GI) and Preakness (Grade I) winner Rachel Alexandra, the outstanding 3-year-old filly who won last Saturday’s Grade I Mother Goose by a record 19 ¼ lengths in stakes-record time at Belmont Park. Mine That Bird fell a length short of catching Rachel Alexandra in the May 16 Preakness.

    “If it happens, it would be a good thing for racing and that would be a great spot to do it,” Woolley said. “Let’s just see where things fall.”

    An hour before he worked Mine That Bird, Borel sent Northern Dancer (GIII) runner-up Warrior’s Reward through a five-furlong work in 1:00.20, the fastest of 23 at the distance.

Warrior’s Reward covered the distance in fractional times of 12:80, :24.80, :36.60 and :48.40 and galloped out six furlongs in a brisk 1:12.80.  The colt’s gallop-out clocking was a full second faster than any of three works at the distance.

Trained by Ian Wilkes for A. Stevens Miles Jr., Warrior’s Reward is scheduled to leave Tuesday for Belmont Park and a start in Saturday’s $200,000 Dwyer (Grade II) in which a good effort could put the son of Medaglia d’Oro on track for a possible Travers run.

LUKAS HALFWAY HOME TO DEBUTANTE-BASHFORD MANOR DOUBLE – Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has now won the Debutante Stakes (GIII) a record seven times and also holds the Bashford Manor (GIII) record with five wins, but he has never swept Churchill Downs’ marquee Spring Meet juvenile events in the same year.

Lukas took the first step toward that double on Saturday when Westrock Stables’ Decelerator posted a gritty neck victory over Wild Forest Cat in the Debutante.

“They are both good this morning,” Lukas said on Sunday, referring to Decelerator and Tidal Pool, who ran fourth in the Debutante in the Westrock silks. “They will both be going to Saratoga.”

Lukas has won five 2-year-old races with four horses this spring. In addition to the two Debutante fillies, Lukas has won races with Westrock runners Soundman and Westrock Gold.  Both colts are being aimed toward Friday’s 108th Bashford Manor.

“They are both doing great and will run,” Lukas said. “Soundman worked Saturday (1:01.80 for five furlongs) and Westrock Gold worked today (half-mile in :48.80).”

Lukas also said that “nothing is on the horizon” for Robert Baker and William Mack’s Flying Private. Sixth in the Belmont Stakes (Grade I) in his most recent start, Flying Private and Kentucky Derby (GI) winner Mine That Bird were the only two horses to run in all three legs of the Triple Crown this spring.

CAPT. CANDYMAN CAN GEARS UP FOR SARATOGA – Away from the hustle and bustle of the Churchill Downs backstretch, Capt. Candyman Can has begun preparations for the second half of 2009 that will open with the $150,000 Amsterdam (Grade II) at 6 ½ furlongs at Saratoga on Aug. 3.

    Owned by Joseph Rauch and David Zell, Capt. Candyman Can worked a half-mile in :51.40 over the synthetic Pro-Ride surface on Wednesday at the Skylight Training Center in nearby Goshen.  It was the Candy Ride gelding’s first work since winning the May 16 Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs.

    “I just wanted to freshen him up and out there I can turn him out in a paddock for a couple of hours a day,” trainer Ian Wilkes said. “I will probably let him stay out there unless I see a reason to change. He is doing very well out there, but then he does good here too.”

    In addition to the Matt Winn, Capt. Candyman Can won the Iroquois (Grade III) here last fall. This year he has won the Hutcheson (Grade II) at Gulfstream Park and the Bay Shore (Grade III) at Aqueduct. Wilkes plans to ship Capt. Candyman Can to Saratoga on July 19 or 20.

    Also headed to Saratoga that day will be Fleur de Lis (Grade II) winner Miss Isella, who is being pointed to the $300,000 Go For Wand Handicap (Grade I) on Aug. 2.

    Closer on the radar for Wilkes is Saturday’s $200,000 Dwyer (Grade II) at Belmont Park for Warrior’s Reward, runner-up in the Northern Dancer (Grade III) here on June 13. Warrior’s Reward had his first work since the Northern Dancer last Tuesday, a half-mile in :49.

    “He’s doing fine and will work tomorrow morning and fly to Belmont on Tuesday,” Wilkes said of Warrior’s Reward, who also could show up in major Saratoga races in August. “Right now we are just taking it one step at a time.”

DERBY WINNER MINE THAT BIRD SET FOR MONDAY WORK -- Kentucky Derby (GI) winner Mine That Bird is scheduled to work a half-mile Monday morning after the renovation break with jockey Calvin Borel up.

The work will be the first for Mine That Bird since he finished third in the Belmont Stakes (Grade I) on June 6. Trainer Chip Woolley plans to ship Mine That Bird to Mountaineer the third weekend of July in time to get in two breezes over the track in preparation for the Aug. 1 West Virginia Derby (Grade II).

Mine That Bird went twice around the main track Sunday with exercise rider Rudy Gallegos up.
    
DEFENDING CHAMPION THORN SONG ASSIGNED TOP WEIGHT FOR FIRECRACKER – Zayat Stables’ Thorn Song, winner of the Grade I Shoemaker Mile at Hollywood Park in his most recent start, was assigned top weight of 123 pounds by Racing Secretary Ben Huffman for Saturday’s 19th running of the $150,000-added Firecracker Handicap (GII) at a mile on the Matt Winn Turf Course.

    Trained by Dale Romans, Thorn Song won last year’s Firecracker under 118 pounds in defeating four rivals that included the favored Einstein.

    Sharing the second high weight of 120 pounds are Michael Cooper and Pamela Ziebarth’s Tizdejavu and Circle E Racing’s Mr. Sidney. Tizdejavu won the American Turf (Grade III) and the Jefferson Cup (Grade II) at Churchill Downs last spring and Mr. Sidney won this spring’s Maker’s Mark Mile (Grade I) at Keeneland. Both runners are considered as possible starters by the Churchill Downs racing office.

    Others considered as probable for the Firecracker are Seaspeak (118), Wise River (118), Wicked Style (115), Artic Cry (114) and Veiled Prophet (113).

    Entries for the Firecracker will be taken Wednesday.

ACOMA ASSIGNED HIGH WEIGHT OF 122 POUNDS FOR CLOSING-DAY LOCUST GROVE HANDICAP – Helen Alexander and Helen Groves’ Acoma, winner of the Early Times Mint Julep Handicap (Grade III) in her most recent start, was assigned high weight of 122 pounds for the 28th running of the $100,000-added Locust Grove Handicap (Grade III) to be run on the closing day of the Spring Meet, July 5.

    Trainer David Carroll said Acoma is not expected to run in the Locust Grove.

As of Sunday, Churchill Downs racing officials had five horses considered as probable for the one-mile test on the Matt Winn Turf Course.

Among the probables, the top weights at 116 pounds go Kim and John Glenney’s Gloria Goodbody and James Spence’s Tensas Yucatan. Other probables with their weight assignments are Closeout (115), Flaming Slew (114) and Stealin’ Kisses (112).

    Entries for the Locust Grove will be taken Thursday.

BARN TALK – Trainer William “Buff” Bradley said Sunday morning that Brass Hat, owned by his father Fred, would run in Saturday’s $750,000 United Nations Handicap (Grade I) at 1 3/8 miles at Monmouth Park. “He is leaving Tuesday and Stewart Elliott will ride him,” Buff Bradley said. An earner of more than $1.8 million, Brass Hat won the Louisville Handicap (Grade III) in his most recent start on May 23.

     A new face in the barn area is apprentice rider Stephanie Slinger. Agent Steve Elzey has lined up three mounts for Slinger when she makes her Churchill Downs debut on the “Downs After Dark” night racing program on Thursday, July 2.  Slinger will target  Ellis Park and Indiana Downs this summer. “I watched the Kentucky Derby in 1995 with D. Wayne Lukas, Gary Stevens and Thunder Gulch and I decided I wanted to be a jockey,” said Slinger, who was an 8-year-old at the time and living in Detroit. Slinger has galloped horses for trainers such as Lukas, Bobby Frankel, Patrick Biancone and Mike Maker and Sunday morning got on a horse for Tom Bohannan.

     Julien Leparoux rode one winner on Saturday’s card to increase his lead over Calvin Borel in the race for leading rider with five days remaining in the meet to four (57-53). Leparoux is named on eight mounts Sunday and Borel seven. After Sunday, Leparoux will ride only the Thursday and Friday cards. On Saturday, he will be at Arlington Park to ride Informed Decision in the Chicago Handicap (Grade III) and on Sunday he will be at Hollywood Park to ride Magical Affair in the American Oaks (Grade I) and Rebellion in the Triple Bend Handicap (Grade I). Borel will be at Belmont Park on Saturday to ride Warrior’s Reward in the Dwyer Stakes (Grade II).

    Miguel Mena’s four-win day on Saturday boosted his meet total to 38 to move into a tie for third in the standings with Robby Albarado. Three of the victories were for trainer Dale Romans, who now has 12 wins for the meet and 469 total at Churchill Downs … two fewer than D. Wayne Lukas for second all time. Bill Mott is the career win leader at Churchill Downs with 621 victories.    

MILESTONE WATCH -- William Connelly, who has 999 career victories, failed to reach the 1,000 mark Saturday night when Bred to Win finished second in the seventh race at Indiana Downs. Connelly’s next shot at the milestone will come Wednesday night when he sends out Brilliant Bid in the fifth race at Indiana Downs.

WORK TAB (Track: FAST) – Helen Alexander’s Selva, prepping for a run in Saturday’s Grade I Prioress at Belmont Park, worked a half-mile in :49 over a fast track Sunday morning. Team Valor International’s King of the Roxy, away from the races since April 2008, worked a half-mile in :48.20. Mark Stanley’s Swift Temper, runner-up in the Fleur de Lis (Grade II) on June 13, worked a half-mile in :49.40. Don Benge’s Wise River, prepping for Saturday’s Firecracker Handicap, worked a half-mile in :50.60.

Morton Fink’s Successful Dan outdueled Warrior’s Reward in a stretch-long battle by a head to win the 12th running of the $108,900 Northern Dancer (Grade III) for 3-year-olds on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

            Ridden by Julien Leparoux, Successful Dan reeled off fractions of :24.54, :48.63 and 1:13.01 with Warrior’s Reward and Calvin Borel lurking just behind in the field of six. Turning for home, Warrior’s Reward drew on even terms with Successful Dan but never could push on by as Successful Dan remained undefeated in three starts.

            Trained by Charles Lopresti, Successful Dan ran the 1 1/16 miles on a fast main track in 1:43.30. A Kentucky-bred son of Successful Appeal out of the Wolf Power mare Lisa Danielle, Successful Dan earned $66,843 with the victory and increased his earnings to $128,603.

            Successful Dan returned $6.40, $3.20 and $2.40. Warrior’s Reward paid $2.20 and $2.10 with Omniscient, ridden by Robby Albarado, finishing 3 ¼ lengths back in third and returning $2.40 to show. Dumar, Gresham and Broad Stone completed the field in order.

POST-RACE QUOTES – THE NORTHERN DANCER

JULIEN LEPAROUX, jockey of SUCCESSFUL DAN (winner)

            Q: When Warrior’s Reward came to you…

            “I thought that I had a lot of horse left when he (Calvin Borel) came to head me. I wasn’t really expecting to see him that early in the race so I knew I had to move early so he wouldn’t get the jump on us. If he would have moved before me, he would have probably won the race. This is a very good horse, he hasn’t made any mistakes yet.”

“I really thought Calvin was going to come by, but my horse just kept going and kept digging, so he fought and kept a head in front of him, so that was good.”

CHARLES LOPRESTI, trainer of SUCCESSFUL DAN (winner)

“It’s really exciting.  He’s a really nice horse, but we just didn’t know whether he’d get the two turns, but he sure fought hard today.”

Q: What did he show you that made you think he was good horse?

“When we breezed him early on, he’s such a big, long-striding horse, but the first time I breezed him a half-mile he went like :47 and he did it real easy, and I thought ‘Holy smokes, he’s a pretty nice horse’.”  We were optimistic when we ran him first time at Keeneland, then he was slow breaking and then he really showed a good race there.  Then I didn’t know if he’d like the dirt here, because he’d never been on the dirt.  But the way he ran here showed us he was a pretty good horse, and the next thing was to try to get him to go a little further.  We tried to get an allowance race for him here to try him around two turns and see what happened, but we couldn’t get it to go.  So we put him in here and it worked out pretty good.”

Q: How does this change your picture of going down the road with him?

“I think we’ve got a good horse and we’ll see how he comes out of it and go from there.  He really, really showed some heart here.  I thought there for a minute that he was beat, because that’s a very, very good horse that we ran against.  That’s a really good horse.”

CALVIN BOREL, jockey of WARRIOR’S REWARD (runner-up as the favorite)

“He ran good, he ran good. There was no pace and two horses were scratched. He just needed a little something to run at. He got a little tired right at the end, but he had never been that far under pressure. The race didn’t just set up to his style. He likes to take back and make a run. But that’ll happen sometimes. That’s why I had to lay a little closer, but he ran good and just missed.”

IAN WILKES, trainer of WARRIOR’S REWARD (runner-up as the favorite)

            “Both horses ran hard. The other horse (Successful Dan) just outran us down the lane. Let’s not undercut that, the winner ran hard. My horse ran good, but the other horse ran fantastic. I haven’t lost any faith in him. I thought he ran a tremendous race.”

            Q: What will you consider next?

            “Probably the Dwyer (the Grade II, $200,000 Dwyer Stakes for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles will be run on Saturday, July 4 at Belmont Park). He needs more experience. Just like the horse who beat us. He ran twice and we had run four times. We need to keep going and our horse will get better.”

-30-

MINE THAT BIRD BACK-TRACKS OVER CHURCHILL DOWNS MUD – Kentucky Derby (Grade I) winner Mine That Bird returned to the racetrack for the first time since finishing third in last Saturday’s Belmont Stakes (Grade I) by leisurely back-tracking once around early Thursday morning under exercise rider Charlie Figueroa.

"He is fresh as a daisy this morning,” trainer Chip Woolley said as Mine That Bird pranced off the Churchill Downs track that had been rendered sloppy by overnight and morning rain.

The break from the track was the longest for Mine That Bird “since we brought him back last December off the layoff from the Breeders’ Cup,” Woolley said. “He will walk the next two days and go back to the track Sunday.

Owners Mark Allen of Double Eagle Ranch and Dr. Leonard Blach are scheduled to arrive in Louisville from New Mexico on Friday and, along with Woolley and jockey Calvin Borel, receive their Kentucky Derby trophies on Saturday.

“I am going to get with Mark and Doc when they get here and right now I am aiming for Monday for a decision on what we are going to do,” Woolley said. “We have six options that we are looking at.”

TIME MAY BE RIGHT FOR WARRIOR’S REDWARD IN NORTHERN DANCER – For A. Stevens Miles Jr.’s Warrior’s Reward, the road to the Kentucky Derby hit a dead end in Tampa, Fla., with an eighth-place finish behind Musket Man in the Tampa Bay Derby (Grade III) on March 14.

    “He didn’t get the best of rides that day and it might have been a blessing for him,” trainer Ian Wilkes said. “He made some noise in that race and had a little throat surgery after that has been good since. Maybe it was not our time yet.”

    Fast forward nearly three months and it appears the time may be at hand for the son of Medaglia d’Oro who figures to be an overwhelming favorite in Saturday’s 12th running of the $100,000-added Northern Dancer (Grade III) at 1 1/16 miles on the main track. Warrior’s Reward will break from post position three under Calvin Borel.

    Warrior’s Reward returned to the races on May 1 and won a seven-furlong allowance test by 2 ¼ lengths over Munnings. All Munnings did in his next start was romp in last Saturday’s Woody Stephens Stakes (Grade II) at Belmont Park.

     “I was pleased to see that,” said Wilkes, whose summer goals for Warrior’s Reward include the Jim Dandy (Grade II) and the Travers (Grade I) at Saratoga.

    Warrior’s Reward tuned up for the Northern Dancer with a bullet, five-furlong work in the mud of 1:01.60 on June 4. He worked in company with Miss Isella, who figures to be the favorite in Saturday’s 35th running of the $200,000-added Fleur De Lis Handicap (Grade II) at 1 1/8 miles on the main track.

   Miss Isella has won four of her six starts at Churchill Downs and will be ridden Saturday by Borel, who has been aboard in all five of the 4-year-old filly’s victories.

    “She just loves this track,” said Wilkes of Miss Isella, who has won the Grade II Louisville Distaff and Falls City Handicap (Grade II) in her two most recent Churchill Downs races. “The only track she doesn’t seem to like is Gulfstream Park and I have never figured that out.”
    
ARSON SQUAD RELISHING RETURN TO THE DIRT – If horses could talk, one would imagine that Jay Em Ess Stable’s Arson Squad’s succinct appraisal of synthetic surfaces would go something like this: “NAY!”

    “The dirt turned him right around,” said Michelle Nevin, assistant to trainer Rick Dutrow, of Arson Squad, who joined the barn late last summer following a run of seven consecutive off-the-board finishes over Southern California’s three synthetic race tracks.

    In his first start for Dutrow, Arson Squad won the Meadowlands Cup Handicap, the third Grade II victory of his career. All three of those victories have come at 1 1/8 miles, the distance he will be asked to run Saturday in the 28th running of the $600,000-added Stephen Foster Handicap (Grade I).

    Arson Squad last ran in $6 million Dubai World Cup (Grade I) on March 28 in which he finished 11th, placing 3 ¼ lengths in front of fellow Foster rival Asiatic Boy. Once back from Dubai, Arson Squad has run of a string of five bullet works at Aqueduct.

    “I was on some of those; we spread it around,” said Nevin, who served as the regular exercise rider for 2008 Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown. “His last work there on June 3 in company with Kip Deville was lights out. Hopefully he will like it here.”

    That five-furlong move with the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Mile (Grade I) winner was accomplished in 1:00.

    Arson Squad arrived at Churchill Downs on Monday on the same flight that brought Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird back to Louisville from his third-place effort in the Belmont Stakes. With Nevin up, Arson Squad worked a half-mile after the break in :49.60, the 17th fastest of 31 at the distance.

    Arson Squad, who will break from post position four under Garrett Gomez, will carry 118 pounds, six fewer than probable Stephen Foster favorite Einstein. It makes a 3-pound shift in Arson Squad’s favor from the most recent matchup of the two in the Jan. 31 Donn Handicap (Grade I) at Gulfstream Park in which Einstein finished 3 ¼ lengths ahead of Arson Squad.

WHIRLIE BERTIE BACK IN ACTION FOR MARGOLIS – When Whirlie Bertie zoomed through her conditions here last spring and summer, her opportunities appeared limitless. But after leaving Churchill Downs she ran third in the Monmouth Oaks (Grade III) and then faded badly in the Oct. 3 Indiana Oaks (Grade II) at Hoosier Park.

    Owned by Richard, Bertram and Elaine Klein, Whirlie Bertie has not been seen at the races since, but that will end Friday in the fourth race when she returns in a seven-furlong, allowance optional claiming event.

    “She got hot that day and after that race we sent her to Rood and Riddle (in Lexington) to check her out,” trainer Steve Margolis said. “She had a little bit of a fracture in her right hind leg. No surgery was required and it healed well on its own and she stayed here all winter.”

    All of Whirlie Bertie’s win have come around two turns and Margolis is not quite sure what to expect in Friday’s sprint.

    “It will be interesting. I was looking to run a mile and a sixteenth, but there was nothing for her,” Margolis said. “She has been training good and we’ve done a lot of schooling with her. The outside spot (post five of six) should be good and (jockey) Shaun (Bridgmohan) knows her and has won on her.”
    
MILESTONE WATCH – Jockey Calvin Borel, who has ridden 922 winners in his career at Churchill Downs, is named on five mounts Thursday. He needs three victories to equal Don Brumfield’s total of 925 for second all time at Churchill Downs behind Pat Day (2,482).

    Trainer David Vance, who has sent out 299 winners at Churchill Downs, is represented by Northeast Harbor in Thursday’s sixth race as he bids to become the 11th conditioner with 300 victories at Churchill Downs.

    Also closing in on the 300-win mark at Churchill Downs is trainer Greg Foley. Currently tied for third in the trainer standings with 10 victories this spring, Foley has a career total of 295 here. He has two horses entered Thursday: Gerivello in the first and Speak of Kings in the ninth.

BARN TALK – Fleur De Lis Handicap contender Miss Isella will now run under the ownership of Elaine Jones.

    Stephen Foster Hadicap favorite Einstein is scheduled to school in the paddock with horses in Thursday’s second race for trainer Helen Pitts-Blasi.

Nominations close Saturday for the 109th running of the Debutante (Grade III) for 2-year-old fillies going six furlongs on the main track on June 27. Garden District won the 2008 Debutante by a half-length over Rachel Alexandra.

    Training hours will begin at 5 a.m. on Monday and Tuesday to give horsemen the opportunity to train under the lights that will be used for the three night cards this meet. The first of those nights is Friday, June 19, followed by June 26 and Thursday, July 2.

CORRECTION – An item in the May 31 Barn Notes incorrectly stated that Lady On Holiday was bred to Jump Start. She was bred to 2008 Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown and is in foal.

WORK TAB – Jake Wil Gallop, winner of the USA Stakes at Lone Star Park on May 25 in his most recent start, worked three furlongs over a sloppy track in :38.60 in advance of Saturday’s Jefferson Cup (Grade II).

Jockey Calvin Borel is not assured of having a mount in the June 6 Belmont Stakes (Grade I), but the leadup to the third jewel of the Triple Crown will have his fingerprints all over it.
    Borel’s agent, Jerry Hissam, has a lot more on his plate these days than just lining up mounts for the popular rider.
    “He is going to New York on Tuesday June 2 to tape the ‘Late Show with David Letterman’ that will air June 5,” Hissam said. “CNN is shooting something this week for Belmont Day. NYRA has something on June 2 at Madison Square Garden and after the Belmont, ’60 Minutes’ is coming to shoot a 10- to 12-minute segment that is supposed to air in September.”
    All this action was made possible by Borel’s victories aboard Mine That Bird in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) and Rachel Alexandra in the Kentucky Oaks (Grade I) and Preakness Stakes (Grade I).
 Borel has first call on Rachel Alexandra, but her connections have not commited to run in the Belmont. Trainer Chip Woolley of Mine That Bird is hoping to get Borel back if the filly doesn’t run and is expected to name a rider Monday.
Borel could become the first jockey to sweep the Triple Crown riding different horses, but to Hissam, his rider already has achieved a Triple Crown.
“He won the Oaks, Derby and Preakness,” Hissam said. “If he wins the Belmont, what would that be?”
Let’s call it a “Calvin Slam.”
Only one other rider has won the same three races in the same year as Borel and that was Don Brumfield in 1966. Brumfield rode Native Street to victory in the Oaks and then won the Derby and Preakness aboard Kauai King before finishing fourth aboard the Derby winner in the Belmont Stakes.

FANS HAVE CHANCE TO HEAR CALVIN WITH JILL BYRNE SATURDAY’S “GET IN THE GAME” SEMINAR – Popular Kentucky Derby and Preakness-winning jockey Calvin Borel will be Racing Analyst Jill Byrne’s special guest during Saturday’s free “Get in the Game” Handicapping Seminar at Churchill Downs.
The new weekly series takes place every Saturday in the paddock area at noon (EDT) and features informative and in-depth analysis of races and handicapping topics. Among Borel’s scheduled mounts on Saturday is a ride aboard veteran Brass Hat in the $100,000-added Louisville Handicap (GIII).

DERBY WINNER MINE THAT BIRD COULD WORK MONDAY – Double Eagle Ranch and Buena Suerte Equine’s Kentucky Derby Mine That Bird galloped two miles before the renovation break under exercise rider Charlie Figueroa.
    Trainer Chip Woolley said Mine That Bird may work Monday, “something light, like three-eighths. If he works, I’ll probably wait until after the break.”
    Also scheduled to work Monday is Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra, who galloped early Friday morning with Dominic Terry up.
    Woolley plans to give Mine That Bird his serious Belmont tune-up the following Monday, June 1, and send the gelding to New York by plane on Wednesday, June 3.
    Originally sold as a yearling for $9,500, Mine That Bird was purchased by his current connections for $400,000 last fall. His Derby victory and runner-up showing in the Preakness have attracted more interest.
    “We have had a couple of inquiries,” Woolley said.
    In recent Kentucky Derby lore, the highest price paid for a gelding was $750,000 by J.E. Jumonville Sr. for Real Dare in 1982. A sensation in his home state of Louisiana, Real Dare finished last in the Derby won by Gato Del Sol.

SUNDAY FEATURE HAS STAKES QUALITY FEEL – The Memorial Day Weekend offers two Grade III stakes in the Louisville Handicap on Saturday and Monday’s Winning Colors. Sunday’s feature, an allowance optional claiming race at 1 1/16th miles on the main track, offers up a salty field that includes five stakes winners.
    With the $600,000 Stephen Foster Handicap (Grade I) looming in three weeks, Sunday’s test could serve as a springboard to that event.
    “It’s a prep for something,” said Gary Thomas, trainer of Golden Yank. “I don’t know about the Foster; maybe the Cornhusker (on June 27 at Prairie Meadows).”
    Golden Yank has been idle since finishing ninth in the March 14 Mervyn Muniz Jr. Memorial (GII) on turf at Fair Grounds.
    “He got beat up and knocked around at New Orleans and we gave him some time off,” Thomas said. “Same thing happened when he ran here last year in the Jefferson Cup and in the million dollar race (the Delta Jackpot) at Delta (Downs) when he got hit from both sides.”
    Golden Yank’s most recent start on dirt came in a runner-up finish in Oaklawn Park’s Essex Handicap.  He lost to Prom Shoes, who also shows up in Sunday’s race.
    “We are just looking for a spot to run,” trainer William “Jinks” Fires said of Prom Shoes. “We’ll see how he comes out of it (before making a decision on the Foster).”
    Prom Shoes ran eighth in the Grade III Alysheba here on May 1 and Fires is looking for a better effort Sunday.
    “He didn’t run too good the last time,” Fires said. “There was no pace in the race and he needs pace to run at. I haven’t looked at the race yet, but I hope to see some pace in there Sunday.

BARN TALK – Robby Albarado moved one victory closer to the 4,000-win plateau on Thursday with a score on Handlethetruth in the fifth race. Albarado had 3,996 wins heading into Friday’s 11-race program.  He was scheduled for five mounts on Friday in his bid to become the 56th North American rider to reach 4,000 wins.
    Ken McPeek, with 999 career victories, will have two chances this afternoon to get No. 1,000. He saddles Chapel Affair in the fifth and Our Dahlia in the 10th.
    Bill Connelly, who has 998 career victories, saddles Mr. Brutus in the opener and Hungry Tigress in the 10th. Connelly also has a starter tonight at Indiana Downs, Patchen Prince in the sixth.

WORK TAB – Trainer Ian Wilkes had a couple of hopefuls for the Stephen Foster Super Saturday card turn in identical five furlong works of 1:02.40 over “fast” footing. Miss Isella, winner of two consecutive Grade II events under the Twin Spires – last November’s Falls City Handicap and the May 1 Louisville – prepped for the $200,000 Fleur De Lis (Grade II) and Warrior’s Reward, a Kentucky Oaks Day allowance winner, tuned up for the $100,000-added Northern Dancer (Grade III),

The current stars of the 3-year-old crop – headed by Kentucky Derby (Grade I) winner Mine That Bird, Kentucky Oaks (GI) filly Rachel Alexandra and Derby runner-up Pioneerof the Nile – are among 13 three-year-olds doing battle in the 134th running of the Preakness (GI) at Pimlico.
 While several of those horses figure to be major players in the crop of Kentucky Derby-aged horses through the rest of the year, others that could be significant factors in the division are in the wings at Churchill Downs and awaiting their chance.
One is A. Stevens Miles Jr.’s Warrior’s Reward, an impressive winner over a strong allowance field on Kentucky Oaks Day.  Another is James C. Spence’s homebred Flying Pegasus, a strong runner-up to beaten Kentucky Derby favorite Friesan Fire in the Risen Star at Fair Grounds but idle since a poor effort behind that same rival in the $600,000 Louisiana Derby (GII) on March 14.  
The Ian Wilkes-trained Warrior’s Reward breezed four furlongs in :49.40 over a
“sloppy” track on Saturday at Churchill Downs.  The son of Medaglia d’Oro is being pointed toward a run in the $100,000-added Northern Dancer (GIII) for 3-year-olds on the Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) undercard on June 13.  
Flying Pegasus, a son of 2000 Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus trained by Ralph Nicks, is finally ready to return to serious training after falling ill just after a disappointing eighth-place run in the slop in the Louisiana Derby.
Warrior’s Reward has been just below the radar of the 3-year-old picture after he
scored a 30-1 upset in his career debut on Jan. 31 at Gulfstream Park over a race that marked the racing debut of Nicanor, the full-brother to ill-fated 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro.  He followed that with a runner-up finish to Dunkirk, the eventual runner-up in the Florida Derby (GI) who finished 11th in the Kentucky Derby.
    Wilkes gave Warrior’s Reward a chance to place himself on the Kentucky Derby trail with a run in the Tampa Bay Derby, but he finished eighth that day behind the victorious Musket Man, who would finish third in the Kentucky Derby; runner-up Join in the Dance, seventh in the Derby; and General Quarters, who would win the Toyota Blue Grass (GI) before running 10th in the “Run for the Roses.”
    Warrior’s Reward had a round of throat surgery to correct a breathing problem after the race at Tampa Bay, and then returned with his sparkling 2 ½-length allowance win over the well-regarded Munnings and Reynaldothewizard on Oaks Day.
    “To win the Derby you’ve got to be right on the first Saturday in May, and I wasn’t quite there,” Wilkes said.  “My horse didn’t get a race last year and that really hurt.  But things happen for a reason, and maybe that race at Tampa happened for a reason.”
    Warrior’s Reward has earned $58,980 while compiling his 2-1-0 record in those four races.  If all goes well, the 1 1/16-mile Northern Dancer will serve as a springboard to bigger races in the second half of the year.
    “There are plenty of races,” said Wilkes.  “I know there’s only one Derby, but it was probably the best thing that ever happened to him.  I gave him a little break, we did a little throat surgery on him and he’s a better horse now.”
    Meanwhile, Flying Pegasus is scheduled to return to serious training with a light breeze on Sunday that will be his first work since the Louisiana Derby.  Nicks said his colt fell ill after the Louisiana Derby and it took a while for Flying Pegasus to get back to the track.  
    Nicks can’t be sure, but Flying Pegasus is doing so well now he believes the infection that hit him a couple of days after the Louisiana Derby could have affected him in the race.
    “The last few days going into the Louisiana Derby, he got a little quiet,” said Nicks.  “It wasn’t enough to make you think anything was wrong, and we thought he might have just been settling.  But it’s obvious now that whatever hit him was coming.  He never had a fever or nothing until two days later.”
    Nicks said the infection proved to be stubborn, which extended his colt’s stay on the sidelines.
    “It took him forever,” he said.  “It just kept coming back.”
    Nicks had high hopes for Flying Pegasus from the moment the bay colt entered his barn and he won at first asking in a Churchill Downs maiden race on July 2.  He followed that with an allowance win at Delaware and then a second to recent Peter Pan (GII) winner Charitable Man in the Belmont Futurity (GII).  Friesan Fire finished third in that race.  
    It would prove to be the last start of the year for Flying Pegasus, who fractured a hind cannon bone in training after that race and underwent surgery to place a screw in the injured bone.  
    He returned from a five-month break with a strong runner-up effort behind Friesan Fire in the 1 1/16-mile Risen Star (GIII) at Fair Grounds that fueled hopes in his camp that the colt would make the Kentucky Derby, but those hopes were dashed by the Louisiana Derby run and the illness that followed.
    “We were scrambling the whole time trying to get to where we were,” Nicks said.  “I’m not too sure the Risen Star didn’t knock him out a little bit and lead to everything that happened.  But you’ve got the 3-year-old hype and do what you’ve got to do to get to the ‘big dance’.  Fortunately he got through it, but we’re dealing with some repercussions from it.”
    Although Nicks has had to be patient with Flying Pegasus, he is ready to get his colt back in competition and Sunday’s breeze will be the first step.  
    “He’ll have that little light breeze tomorrow and we’ll see where we go from there,” he said.  “He’s been galloping, so it won’t take him a long time to get ready.”

VETERAN BRASS HAT SHARP IN FINAL DRILL FOR LOUISVILLE – Fred Bradley’s homebred Brass Hat has never been known for dazzling speed in his morning workouts, but a sharp work on Saturday by the 8-year-old veteran could indicate the old boy is sitting on a big effort in next week’s $100,000-added Louisville Handicap (GIII).
    Brass Hat tuned up for that 1 ½-mile turf test with a five-furlong breeze over a sloppy t rack in 1:01.  The work was a ‘bullet’ move under jockey Charles Woods Jr. as it ended up as the fastest of 20 at the distance.
    “He worked really well,” trainer William “Buff” Bradley said. “Charlie said he worked ‘awesome,’ and then said, ‘How’d he get beat?’  But that’s just Charlie.  He said he just sat on him the whole way, and that he just picked it up, put his head down and then galloped out good.”
    Brass Hat won the Grade I Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park in 2006 and finished second in the $5 million Dubai World Cup (GI) on dirt before being disqualified for a medication infraction.  Despite the loss of that $1 million runner-up purse in Dubai, Brass Hat has won eight of 29 races and earned $1,825,814.
    He has yet to win in seven tries on the turf, but is coming off a good third-place finish to Spice Route in the Elkhorn (GIII) at Keeneland.  And he had very little luck in last year’s running of the Louisville in which he dropped far off a slow pace under jockey Calvin Borel, but rallied wide to finish fifth and was beaten only 2 ½ lengths by the victorious Lattice.  Borel will return to the saddle aboard Brass Hat next week.
    “Calvin took the blame last year – he had him too far back off that slow pace,” Bradley said.  “I’ve got to tell Calvin not to ride him like Mine That Bird – ride him like Rachel.”
    Brass Hat will bid to snap a 10-race losing streak in the Louisville.  He last visited the winner’s circle in the $500,000 Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs in September 2007.

PREAKNESS HORSES DUE BACK ON SUNDAY – A plane carrying Preakness (GI) contenders Rachel Alexandra, Pioneerof the Nile and Terrain is due to land at Louisville International Airport on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. (EDT).
    Scheduled to make the trip from Baltimore-to-Churchill Downs by van are Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, General Quarters and the D. Wayne Lukas-trained duo of Flying Private and Luv Guv.

BARN TALK – Domino Stud’s Miss Isella, upset winner over previously unbeaten One Caroline in the Louisville Distaff (GII) on Kentucky Oaks Day, breezed four furlongs on Saturday in :50.20 over a “sloppy” track.  The Ian Wilkes-trained daughter of 1997 Kentucky Derby winner Silver Charm is scheduled to run next in the $200,000-added Fleur De Lis (GII) on the June 13 Stephen Foster Handicap undercard.  One Caroline, who is in training at Keeneland for trainer Rusty Arnold, is being pointed toward a rematch with Miss Isella in the 1 1/8-mile race. … Gold Square’s Lady Chace, a candidate for next week’s $100,000-added Winning Colors (GIII), breezed five furlongs in 1:02.20 over a “sloppy” track on Saturday for trainer Steve Margolis. The Tiznow filly finished third in the recent Giant’s Causeway on the Keeneland turf.  Others expected to run in the Winning Colors include Tiz To Dream, Keep the Peace, Marina Ballerina, Nadeshiko and Tar Heel Mom. … Also showing up on the Saturday work tab was 2008 Travers (GI) runner-up Mambo in Seattle.  The Neil Howard-trained son of Kingmambo, fifth behind Bullsbay in the Alysheba (GIII) on Derby Day, breezed five furlongs over “sloppy” going on Saturday in 1:03.80. … Miguel Mena took advantage of the absence of Julien Leparoux, Jamie Theriot and Calvin Borel – the top three riders in the Spring Meet heading into Friday’s racing program – to score four wins during the 10-race program.  Mena’s big day enabled him to slide past Theriot into second place in the Spring Meet jockeys’ race.  Leparoux has a meet-leading 22 wins, while Mena (17) and Theriot (16) are second and third.  Leparoux, Theriot and Borel were at Pimlico on Friday to ride in Preakness weekend races, and the Churchill trio was to be joined Saturday in Baltimore by Robby Albarado. … 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