Flying Pegasus

FLYING PEGASUS BEGINS THE ROAD BACK FRIDAY NIGHT – The road with Flying Pegasus has been anything but smooth for trainer Ralph Nicks, but he’ll saddle the promising 3-year-old for a return to action following a three-month break when he competes in a seven-furlong allowance test on Friday night at Churchill Downs.

    “With 3-year-olds, you hope they bounce back quick,” Nicks said of Flying Pegasus, who came down with a lung infection after running sixth in the Louisiana Derby (Grade II) on March 14.

    Owned and bred by James Spence, Flying Pegasus won his first career start on July 2 by 2 ¼ lengths at Churchill Downs and followed that up with an allowance win as the 3-5 choice five weeks later at Delaware Park. His 2-year-old campaign ended after a runner-up finish to Charitable Man in the Futurity (Grade II) at Belmont Park in September when he exited the race with a bone chip in a hind ankle.

    Nicks brought Flying Pegasus back to the races in February with a runner-up finish to Friesan Fire in the Risen Star (Grade III), but Kentucky Derby (GI) hopes for the son of 2000 Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus ended in at the Louisiana Derby.

    “I don’t want to say ‘confidence builder’, but we hope to use this race to go on to the next race that is not a graded stake,” Nicks said. “There are a lot of races for 3-year-olds in August and September.”
    
GETTING READY FOR SOME NIGHT MOVES – So, what do you do if you are saddling a horse in the nightcap, scheduled for 11:11 p.m. (all times EDT), in the historic debut of Churchill Downs’ “Downs After Dark” night racing?

“I guess I’ll sleep on the couch (at the barn) that night,” trainer William “Buff” Bradley said with a laugh.
Con Lover is in Friday’s finale and will be Bradley’s only starter on the 11-race card that begins at 6 p.m.  A regular on the Kentucky circuit, Bradley is a veteran of night racing at Turfway Park.

“I would usually stay up there if we were in a late race,” Bradley said. “I never thought I would see lights here, and if it works, fine. We need to do whatever we can to boost racing.”

One of the effects of the night card for Bradley will be adjusting work schedules, including barn star Brass Hat, winner of the recent Louisville Handicap (Grade III) and earner of more than $1.8 million.

“I am going to work him Friday instead of Saturday, and that (the night card) is one of the reasons,” Bradley said. “I have a few that will work longer and harder and then will walk for two days, so we won’t have so many going to the track Saturday.”

TRACK RECORD HOLDER HOT DIXIE CHICK TOPS DEBUTANTE NOMINATIONS – Grace Stables’ Hot Dixie Chick, who established a Churchill Downs track record for five furlongs (:56.48) in her second career start on June 13, tops a list of 23 nominations for the 109th running of the $100,000-added Debutante (Grade III).

    The six furlong race for 2-year-old fillies is scheduled to be run on June 27.

    Hot Dixie Chick is one of five fillies nominated to the Debutante trained by Steve Asmussen, a four-time winner of the race. Included among the quintet are two Churchill Downs maiden winners: Lewis Lakin and Roger Stanton’s Wild Forest Cat, and Heiligbrodt Racing Stable’s Fiesty Ex.

    D. Wayne Lukas, who owns the Debutante record as the trainer of six winners, has nominated four fillies including Westrock Stables’ Decelerator, who beat Hot Dixie Chick when they met on May 14. Decelerator worked a bullet five furlongs in 1:00.40 on a muddy track Tuesday morning.

    Silverbulletday, who will be inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame this summer, is the most recent Debutante winner to return the following spring and win the Kentucky Oaks. Silverbulletday achieved her double in 1998-99.

    Last year’s Debutante runner-up, Rachel Alexandra, won this year’s Kentucky Oaks and followed that with a win over the boys in the Preakness (GI).    

BARN TALK – Rapport, a $475,000 yearling purchase, will be the first runner from the Legends Racing Stable to make the races when she goes postward in Friday’s fifth race. Legends Racing Stable is a partnership between multiple Kentucky Derby-winning trainers D. Wayne Lukas, Nick Zito and Bob Baffert.  The three Hall of Fame trainers selected horses at public auction last year for owners who joined the Legends partnership and split those purchases between the three.  Rapport, a 2-year-old daughter of Songandaprayer, is one of 13 Legends horses stabled at Churchill Downs with Lukas. “They are a nice set of horses,” Lukas said. Legends, which purchased 38 horses at auction in 2008 for $15,285,000 plus one private acquisition, also has 13 horses each with Nick Zito and Bob Baffert.

Leading rider Julien Leparoux and Corey Lanerie will be at Colonial Downs on Saturday for the $500,000 Colonial Turf Cup (Grade II). Leparoux will be riding Lime Rickey and Lanerie is named on Final Count. Both riders have mounts in the $150,000 All Along (Grade III): Leparoux on Icon Project and Lanerie on Precious Princess.

Saturday, June 20 is the deadline for nominations for the final three stakes of the Spring Meet. Closing that day will be the $100,000-added Bashford Manor (Grade III) for 2-year-olds going six furlongs on the main track to be run July 3, the $150,000-added Firecracker Handicap (Grade II) at a mile on the Matt Winn Turf Course for 3-year-olds and up on July 4, and the $100,000-added Locust Grove Handicap (Grade III) for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up also going a mile on the turf on closing day July 5.

MILESTONE WATCH – Greg Foley, who has saddled 297 winners at Churchill Downs, has a chance Thursday to become the 12th trainer to achieve 300 victories beneath the Twin Spires. Foley is scheduled to send out Faithope in the second, Western Frontier in the fourth and Badger Barry in the seventh. Foley has no horses entered Friday, but two on Saturday: Oh Charlie Boy in the fifth and Cajun Prize in the 10th.

    Bill Connelly, who has saddled 998 winners in his career, has Buckeye Buddy entered in Thursday’s seventh race and Sweetasnails in Friday night’s 11th race.

WORK TAB – Aegon Turf Sprint (Grade III) winner Chamberlain Bridge worked a half-mile in :50 over a fast track, the 15th fastest of 31 at the distance. Tizdejavu, winner of the 2008 Jefferson Cup (Grade II), worked six furlongs in 1:16.20.

OWNERS DROP IN TO CHECK OUT MINE THAT BIRD – Mine That Bird’s entourage grew a bit Sunday morning as Mark Allen and Dr. Leonard Blach, the New Mexico-based co-owners of the Kentucky Derby (Grade I) winner, made a quick stop in Louisville en route to New York for Saturday’s Belmont Stakes (GI).
“We’re leaving later today for New York so we can get settled in and ready for everything,” said Allen, who never has been to Belmont Park where Mine That Bird will try to take down the 1 ½-mile final jewel of the Triple Crown.
Sunday marked the first time Allen had seen Mine That Bird since the gelding’s runner-up finish to Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness Stakes (Grade I) on May 16.
“It looks like he has put on a little weight,” said Allen, whose first Belmont Stakes recollection was Secretariat’s 31-length romp in 1973 when he was 15 and grooming horses at Santa Fe. “For as hard as he has run and the shipping, I am real happy with the way he looks.”
With regular exercise rider Charlie Figueroa up, Allen led Mine That Bird to the track around 7:30 a.m. Figueroa backtracked Mine That Bird to the paddock runway and then galloped 1 ½ miles.
“He was a little more into the bit today,” trainer Chip Woolley said. “That should set him up for his breeze tomorrow. He’ll work a half-mile and gallop an eighth past the wire with Calvin (Borel) on him right after the break..”
Woolley leaves for New York early Tuesday morning and Mine That Bird flies out the next day.
Also scheduled to work Monday is Rachel Alexandra, who went twice around the main track early Sunday morning with exercise rider Dominic Terry up.
 
BOLD START HAS RESTFUL MORNING DAY AFTER ARISTIDES WIN – Lawrence Carroll’s Bold Start had an easy morning at Barn 6 after his 2 ¾-length victory over Semaphore Man in Saturday’s Grade III Aristides.
    “I don’t know what it is, but he loves this track,” said Billy Wright, assistant to trainer Ken McPeek. “I told Paul McGee (who saddled Success Success in the Aristides) that they’d have to run 1:09 to beat him and he won in 1:09 flat.”
    The 5-year-old son Jump Start has posted a main track record of 4-2-2 in nine races with earnings of $202,902. Bold Start’s only off-the-board finish came in his racing debut when he ran fifth on June 4, 2006. For good measure, Bold Start won both of his starts over the Matt Winn Turf Course.
    Bold Start isn’t the only family member to run well at Churchill Downs. His half-sister, Lady On Holiday, never lost beneath the Twin Spires in three starts with two wins coming on the main track and one on the turf.
Lady On Holiday fractured a sesamoid this winter at Gulfstream Park and was retired and bred to Jump Start, which will make the resulting foal a three-quarters sibling to Bold Start.

APPRENTICE REYES ROLLING IN FIRST SEASON AT CHURCHILL DOWNS – Christian Santiago Reyes did not waste any time in finding the winner’s circle when he began his riding career in April at Gulfstream Park. The 19-year-old native of Puerto Rico won on his second mount on April 12.
    Instead of staying in Florida, Reyes came north to Kentucky where he rode in two races at Keeneland.  When the Lexington track wrapped up its meet, he traveled to Churchill Downs where Reyes has won 10 races from 73 mounts.
    “Wesley Ward asked me to come up here and I will go anywhere with him,” said Reyes, whose first win came for Ward at Gulfstream Park.
    Before coming to the United States in January, Reyes attended the jockey school in Puerto Rico for two years.
 Reyes, who has ridden mainly for Ward and Joe Woodard, admits to being surprised by his early success here and has paid particular attention to the riding styles of Calvin Borel, Jesus Castanon and Miguel Mena.
    Has he adapted the Borel knack for riding the rail?
    “Not yet,” Reyes said with a laugh. “Not yet.”
    After the Churchill Downs meet closes on July 5, Reyes does not have a specific track to move his tack to but he has an idea.
    “Wherever Wesley Ward goes, I will go,” Reyes said.

PURE CLAN ASSIGNED TOP WEIGHT FOR EARLY TIMES MINT JULEP – IEAH Stable, Lewis Lakin and Pegasus Holding Group Stables’ Pure Clan has been assigned top weight of 122 pounds by racing secretary Ben Huffman for Saturday’s 33rd running of the $100,000-added Early Times Mint Julep Handicap (GIII) at 1 1/16 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course.
    Trained by Bob Holthus, Pure Clan has won four of six career starts on grass and
her only start over the local turf course was a victory in last year’s Regret (GIII).
    Second high weight is Helen Alexander and Helen Groves’ Acoma, who was assigned 120 pounds. Trained by David Carroll, Acoma also is 1-for-1 on the Churchill Downs lawn by virtue of her victory in the Grade II Mrs. Revere last fall.
    Darley Stable’s Tizaqueena, winner of the May 2 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile (Grade II), was assigned 119 pounds.
    The three top weights are considered as “probable” for the Mint Julep by Huffman, along with Closeout (116), Communique (116) and Absolutely Cindy (113).
Entries will be drawn Wednesday.

MILESTONE WATCH – Trainer David Vance came up just short in his bid to become the 11th Churchill Downs trainer with 300 victories when Kiss Mine was overhauled late in Saturday’s ninth race by Keertana and Robby Albarado.  The race provided Albarado with his 4,000th career victory. Vance has no horses entered Sunday.
Trainer Bill Connelly remained two victories shy of the 1,000-win career plateau Saturday night at Indiana Downs as his two runners finished third and fourth. Connelly has no horses entered at Churchill Downs on Sunday, but has one entrant Monday night at Indiana Downs: Megalos in the first race.

BARN TALK – Calvin Borel rode two winners on Saturday’s card to boost his career total at Churchill Downs to 919. Borel, who is named to ride in all 10 races Sunday, needs six victories to tie Don Brumfield for second place all time at Churchill Downs. Pat Day, with 2,482 wins, is the all-time Churchill Downs leader.
    Borel’s agent, Jerry Hissam, said that Borel has secured the mount on Rutledge Farm’s Researcher for the Stephen Foster Handicap (Grade I) on June 13. A winner of 10 of 17 career starts, Researcher won the $500,000 Charles Town Classic on April 18 in his most recent start for trainer Jeff Runco.
Shaun Bridgmohan will have the mount on Pure Clan in Saturday’s Early Times Mint Julep. Regular rider Julien Leparoux will be riding Flying Private for trainer D. Wayne Lukas that afternoon in the Belmont Stakes (Grade I).
Jon Court also added two victories to his Spring Meet total on Saturday, scoring with T.C. Champ ($52.80) in the fourth and Finish in Style ($19.20) in the sixth. The average win payoff for Court’s 13 victories is $24.40, the highest for any rider with three or more victories.
    Tara Murty, an assistant to  trainer Nick Zito, was back at work at Barn 36 on Sunday morning after being injured in a traffic accident last Monday morning. Murty had sustained numerous injuries in the collision at Fourth and Central near the track.

WORK TAB (Track: FAST) – Midnight Cry Stable’s Einstein, two-time winner of the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (GI), continued his preparation for the $600,000 Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) on the main track on June 13 by working five furlongs in 1:00.40 with trainer Helen Pitts-Blasi up.
    The move, accomplished early during training hours Sunday, was the fastest of 30 at the distance.
    “He went great.” Pitts-Blasi said, adding that she would likely handle Einstein’s scheduled half-mile breeze next Sunday.
    Einstein was runner-up to two-time “Horse of the Year” Curlin in last year’s Foster, then won the Clark Handicap (GII) on the main track in the Fall Meet.
    Also working Sunday morning was James Spence’s Flying Pegasus, runner-up to Belmont Stakes contender Charitable Man in last year’s Grade II Futurity at Belmont. Trained by Ralph Nicks, Flying Pegasus worked a half-mile in :49.40, the 20th fastest of 54 at the distance.  
    James Spence’s homebred son of 2000 Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus has not raced since a sixth-place finish behind Friesan Fire in the Louisiana Derby (GII).  He was second to that rival in his 2009 debut in the Risen Star (GIII) at Fair Grounds.

Fred Bradley’s homebred Brass Hat did not stick around Churchill Downs very long Saturday after his victory in the Louisville Handicap.
    “After he cooled out, we took him back to the farm (in Frankfort),” trainer William “Buff” Bradley said. “I took him out to his paddock at 6:30 this morning. He is doing great and we will keep him here the next five to seven days.”
    It was a day of firsts for Brass Hat and for Bradley, who trains the 8-year-old gelding for his father. It was the first grass victory in eight starts for Brass Hat and first win in 609 days, dating back to the Sept. 22, 2007 Massachusetts Handicap. For Buff Bradley, it was also his first stakes victory at Churchill Downs.
    “I believe it was my first stakes win there,” said Bradley, who saddled his first winner in 1993 at Churchill Downs. “It was pretty exciting with the home crowd cheering him on. It was a big boost to the whole barn and for my dad having the patience with him. There are not many 8 year-olds out there running.”
    After the victory, Bradley mentioned the $750,000 United Nations Handicap (Grade I) at 1 3/8th miles on July 4 at Monmouth Park as the next possible target for Brass Hat.
    “That would work out pretty good time-wise,” Bradley said. “The (Stephen) Foster in three weeks is too quick, plus you know that Einstein would be in there. We are not trying to run him (Brass Hat) in the ground.”

WOOLLEY EAGER TO TAKE NEXT STEP WITH MINE THAT BIRD – The countdown to the Belmont Stakes (Grade I) is on for trainer Chip Woolley and his Kentucky Derby (GI) winner Mine That Bird.
“I am definitely looking forward to it,” Woolley said of the June 6 Belmont Stakes. “He is starting to bloom already again. He is going to stretch his legs in the morning, working an easy three-eighths.”
Calvin Borel, who rode Mine That Bird to victory in the Kentucky Derby, could be aboard for the work.  Mine That Bird is scheduled to work after the mid-morning break for track maintenance.
 After his Kentucky Derby victory, Mine That Bird ran second to Kentucky Oaks (GI) winner Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness in an effort that validated his Derby score to many.
Woolley already was convinced the Derby victory was no mirage.
“It was not a fluke in my mind,” said Woolley, sporting a huge new belt buckle acknowledging the Derby victory. “He got past 18 super horses in a quarter of a mile. That validated him to me. That was not impossible, but right next to it.
“The only other trainer I heard say it was not a fluke was Bob Baffert. He said flukes don’t win the Derby.”
Woolley is comfortable with Mine That Bird’s conditioning heading into the Belmont and not feeling any pressure.
“(Owners) Mark (Allen) and Doc (Leonard Blach) told me that at this point it is just a race at a time,” Woolley said. “Everything is gravy from here on out and just enjoy it.”

PREAKNESS, OAKS WINNER RACHEL ALEXANDRA SET FOR MONDAY WORK – Stonestreet Stable and Harold McCormick’s Rachel Alexandra, winner of the Preakness (GI) and Kentucky Oaks (GI) in her last two starts, is scheduled to work for the first time since her May 16 Preakness victory on Monday at Churchill Downs.
    The 3-year-old daughter of Medaglia d’Oro is scheduled to head to the track with the second set of horses for trainer Steve Asmussen around 6:15 a.m.
     Rachel Alexandra galloped early Sunday morning under exercise rider Dominic Terry.  
    The filly’s status for the June 6 Belmont Stakes has not been decided.  She has won six consecutive races.  All of those wins came in stakes events in a string that started with last fall’s Golden Rod (GII) at Churchill Downs.

EINSTEIN RETURNS TO WORK TAB WITH DRILL FOR FOSTER – Midnight Cry Stable’s Einstein (BRZ) worked a half-mile in :49.40 with jockey Julien Leparoux up before the renovation break over a fast track on Sunday morning. It was Einstein’s first work since winning the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (Grade I) on May 2.
    “He was ready to do something,” trainer Helen Pitts-Blasi said. “This was perfect this morning. He’ll work again next Sunday.”
    The work, the first of three in preparation for the June 13 Stephen Foster Handicap (Grade I),  was the highlight of the weekend for Pitts-Blasi, who celebrated a birthday Saturday and nearly got a victory in the final race when Fundy ran second in a maiden special weight race.
    So, Helen, which was the most exciting aspect of the weekend: celebrating her birthday or watching Einstein work?
    “Watching him work,” Pitts-Blasi said without hesitation.
    In the Foster, Einstein will be trying to achieve a unique feat of sweeping three consecutive Grade I events on different surfaces. He won the Santa Anita Handicap on March 7 over a synthetic surface and took the Derby Day race on turf. The Stephen Foster is run on the main track.
    That first-ever sweep of consecutive races on the different surfaces would also make Einstein only the second horse to collect Grade I victories on traditional dirt, turf and a synthetic surface.  Lava Man is the only horse to achieve that feat.
    Einstein finished second to two-time “Horse of the Year” Curlin in last year’s Foster and returned in November to win the $500,000 Clark Handicap (GII) on dirt.
    
APPRENTICE LENCLUD MAKES U.S. DEBUT – Freddy Lenclud officially joined the Churchill Downs riding colony on Saturday when he made his United States debut aboard Causation in the seventh race. Causation, at 76-1 odds, finished sixth in the eight-horse field.
    “It was fun,” said Lenclud, a 22-year-old native of France. “He ran OK. The trainer (Phil Thomas) said to sit back and finish down the lane.”
    Lenclud, who won a couple of apprentice races last year in England, is working as an exercise rider for trainer Ian Wilkes.
    “I came over here on holiday last year to visit a friend of mine, Florent Geroux, at Arlington Park,” Lenclud said. “I spent three months there and worked horses for Bill Mott. I really liked it and got to know some trainers. I came back in December and started working for Ian at Gulfstream.”
    Lenclud would like to stick around Kentucky and ride later this year at Ellis Park and Turfway Park.

MILESTONE WATCH – Veteran Churchill Downs conditioners Lynn Whiting and David Vance moved to within one victory of joining the 300-win club beneath the Twins Spires on Saturday. Whiting won the opener with Keepinonestepahead for his 299th win and Vance equaled that two races later with Citizen John.
Vance sends out Silver Light in today’s second race in his bid for No. 300. On Monday, Vance will send out Pinpoint in the fourth and Silver Bayer in the seventh. Whiting has no starters today. Nine trainers have 300 victories or more at Churchill Downs.
Whiting’s most notable victory under the Twin Spires came with W.C. Partee’s Lil E. Tee in the 1992 Kentucky Derby.  Vance’s most notable win was an upset by Carl Pollard’s Caressing in the 2000 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (GI).
Robby Albarado’s victory in Saturday’s fifth race aboard Tizsilk gave him 3,997 for his career. Albarado has six mounts today in his bid to become the 56th North American rider to reach 4,000 wins.
Ken McPeek, who has 999 career victories, goes for No. 1,000 in today’s seventh race with Cobbler’s Reef.

BARN TALK – Calvin Borel’s five-win day Saturday moved him past Larry Melancon and into third place all-time at Churchill Downs with 909 victories. Melancon has 907 wins. Next in Borel’s sights is Don Brumfield, who rose 925 winners at Churchill Downs. Pat Day is the all-time Churchill Downs leader with 2,482 victories.
Dolphus Morrison’s Abbott Hall, winner of the Happy Ticket last September at Louisiana Downs, was injured during her third-place finish in a turf allowance race at Churchill Downs last Friday. “She is at a clinic in Lexington and the vet over there said it is chunk, not a chip in her right front knee,” trainer Hal Wiggins said. “They might have to put a screw in it just to keep her comfortable.”
    Nominations close Saturday for the five stakes that make up the June 13 Reunion Day card, highlighted by the $600,000-added Stephen Foster (Grade I) at 1 1/8 miles on the main track. Other stakes that day are the $200,000-added Fleur De Lis (Grade II) for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up going 1 1/8 miles on the main track, the $150,000-added Jefferson Cup (Grade II) for 3-year-olds going 1 1/8 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course, the $100,000-added Northern Dancer (Grade III) for 3-year-olds going 1 1/16th miles on the main track and the $150,000-added Regret (Grade III) for 3-year-old fillies going 1 1/8 miles on the turf.
 
WORK TAB – Kentucky Oaks (Grade I) runner-up Stone Legacy worked a half-mile in :49.20 over a fast track Sunday morning for trainer D. Wayne Lukas. The move was the 13th fastest of 62 at the distance. Owned by the Marylou Whitney Stable, Stone Legacy had finished sixth in the Black-Eyed Susan (Grade II) at Pimlico on May 15. … James Spence’s Flying Pegasus continued on the comeback trail with a half-mile work in :49.40 for trainer Ralph Nicks. The work was the second for Flying Pegasus since he was sidelined by a lung infection after finishing sixth in the Louisiana Derby (Grade II).

GENERAL ELECTRIC PARTNERS WITH CHURCHILL FOR MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND GIVEAWAY – Churchill Downs has partnered with General Electric to giveaway GE stainless steel products in an on-track sweepstakes offer that continues through Monday’s finale of the three-day Memorial Day holiday weekend.
  A prize drawing is being conducted daily afterr the seventh race and that daily winner will take home his or her choice of a new refrigerator, range, dishwasher or microwave oven, courtesy of GE. Registration for the drawings is being conducted in a tent in the paddock area.  The first 5,000 entrants each day will receive a free GE koozie.
Sunday, May 24 is “GE Day at the Races” at Churchill Downs. Employees of General Electric who show their employee ID badge at Gate 10 will receive complimentary admission for themselves and their guests, as well as reserved seating in either Sections 115-116 or Millionaires’ Row 6.

JUNIOR JOCKEY CLUB ACTIVITIES FOR MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY – Churchill Downs’ Junior Jockey Club for children 3-10 continue through Monday’s final racing session of the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Special activities between 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. include decorating “Triple Crowns” on Sunday, and outdoor games on Monday.
The Junior Jockey Club is located near the Guest Services Booth inside Gate. 10. Coloring books, crayons, individual games and reading material are available as well, and Churchill Downs’ mascot Churchill Charlie will be on hand each day for photographs between 2-2:30 p.m.

NO LIVE RACING THIS  TUESDAY-THURSDAY, FREE ADMISSION TO THURSDAY SIMULCASTS – Following Monday’s special Memorial Day racing program, Churchill Downs will be dark on Tuesday, May 26; Wednesday, May 27; and Thursday, May 28. There will be no on-site simulcast wagering May 26-27. Churchill Downs will be open for simulcast wagering May 28 and will offer free general admission for patrons to place wagers on outlets around the country in the ITW area on the second floor of the clubhouse.

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.

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