Indian Blessing
Arkansas Derby Winner Papa Clem Arrives At Churchill Downs For Kentucky Derby 135
Bo Hirsch’s homebred Papa Clem, winner of the $1 million Arkansas Derby (Grade II) on April 11 at Oaklawn Park, arrived at Churchill Downs late Tuesday afternoon to continue his preparation for the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI).
Papa Clem flew from Arkansas to Lexington, Ky., then traveled just over an hour by van to Churchill Downs. He arrived at the Louisville track at 5:30 p.m. (all times EDT) and took up residence in Barn 10A, which houses horses trained by Cody Autrey.
The Gary Stute-trained Papa Clem was ridden by former Churchill Downs leading rider Rafael Bejarano when the son of Smart Strike won the 1 1/8-mile Arkansas Derby on April 11. The victory was his first stakes triumph and improved his record to 2-2-0 in six races and lifted his earnings to $790,940.
The arrival of Papa Clem raises the number of likely Kentucky Derby contenders on the grounds to seven. The others are Wood Memorial (GI) winner I Want Revenge; Toyota Blue Grass (GI) winner General Quarters; Illinois Derby (GII) winner Musket Man; and Regal Ransom and Desert Party, Godolphin’s 1-2 finishers in the $2 million UAE Derby (GII).
Seven horses trained by three-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Bob Baffert – headed by Kentucky Oaks (GI) candidate Gabby’s Golden Gal and multiple stakes winner Indian Blessing – arrived at Churchill Downs on Tuesday afternoon. The Baffert horses settled into Barn 33, the trainer’s tradition spot under the Twin Spires. Baffert’s Kentucky Derby contender, Zayat Stable’s Santa Anita Derby (GI) winner Pioneerof the Nile, is scheduled to arrive at the Louisville track on Thursday, April 16.
Gabby’s Golden Gal, a 13-length winner of the Sunland Park Oaks, joins likely favorite Rachel Alexandra as the only Kentucky Oaks candidates on the grounds. Indian Blessing, runner-up to Big City Man in the $2 million Golden Shaheen at Dubai’s Nad Al Sheba on March 28, is set to run in the Humana Distaff (GI) on Kentucky Derby Day.
The Baffert group also included 3-year-olds Mythical Power and Turk. Both are nominated to the $100,000-added Derby Trial (GIII) on April 25, the opening day of the track’s Spring Meet. Diamond Tags, a 3-year-old filly nominated to the $100,000 Eight Belles (GIII) on Kentucky Derby Day, is also settling in at the Baffert barn.
Churchill Downs to Open at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 28 for Dubai World Cup Simulcast
Trackside at Churchill Downs will open early at 9 am (all times Eastern) on Saturday, March 28, to import the six lucrative stakes races that compromise the 14th annual Dubai World Cup program from Nad Al Sheba Race Course in the United Arab Emirates.
The $21 million extravaganza is anchored by the world’s richest race, the $6 million Dubai World Cup (Group I), which has lured North American horses such as Donn Handicap (GI) champ Albertus Maximus, Goodwood Handicap (GI) winner Well Armed, Meadowlands Cup (GII) hero Arson Squad and Pennsylvania Derby (GII) champ Anak Nakal. The Americans will face a stellar international cast that includes Japan’s Casino Drive, winner of last year’s Peter Pan (GII), and 2007 UAE Triple Crown winner Asiatic Boy, the runner-up to Curlin in last year’s World Cup.
The Dubai World Cup, scheduled as the seventh race at 1:30 p.m., culminates the action-packed program. The first import will be the $1 million Godolphin Mile (GII), which is carded as the second race at 9:40 a.m., and is followed by the $2 million UAE Derby (GII) at 10:15 a.m.; the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen (GI) at 10:55 a.m.; the $5 million Dubai Duty Free (GI) at 11:55 a.m.; the $5 million Dubai Sheema Classic (GI) at 12:40 p.m.; and Dubai World Cup. Win, Place, Exacta, Trifecta, Superfecta and Pick 3 wagering will be offered.
The 1 1/8-mile UAE Derby is an important steppingstone to Kentucky Derby 135 for Godolphin’s UAE 2,000 Guineas champ Desert Party, who’ll be ridden by Frankie Dettori. The prominent global outfit will also start Regal Ransom and Jose Adan.
Other familiar Northern American stars scheduled to run on the program are Archipenko (Duty Free), Black Seventeen (Golden Shaheen), Diabolical (Golden Shaheen), Doctor Dino (Sheema Classic), Gayego (Godolphin Mile), Hyperbaric (Duty Free), Indian Blessing (Golden Shaheen), Kip Deville (Duty Free), Marsh Side (Sheema Classic), Quijano (Sheema Classic), Red Rocks (Sheema Classic), Tiz Now Tiz Then (Godolphin Mile) and Two Step Salsa (Godolphin Mile).
The roster of winners for the 1 ¼-mile Dubai World Cup includes Cigar (1996), Singspiel (1997), Silver Charm (1998), Dubai Millennium (2000), Captain Steve (2001), Street Cry (2002), Pleasantly Perfect (2004), Roses in May (2005), Invasor (2007) and Curlin (2008).
Trackside at Churchill Downs will offer free general admission from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. After 11:30 a.m., general admission is $3, but only $1 for Twin Spires Club members and seniors. Also, a $4.75 breakfast special – featuring eggs, sausage or bacon, biscuits and gravy, hash browns and coffee or juice – will be on sale in the ITW food court on the second floor of the clubhouse.
Later in the afternoon, Churchill Downs also will simulcast the Florida Derby Day program from Gulfstream Park with the important Grade I race scheduled as Race 10 at 5:44 p.m.
Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN) also operates Trackside at Churchill Downs, which offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 2, 2009. The track’s 2009 Spring Meet will take place from April 25 through July 5. Churchill Downs is scheduled to host the Breeders’ Cup World Championships for a record seventh time on Nov. 5 and 6, 2010. Information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.churchilldowns.com.
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Unbeaten Champion Indian Blessing Heads Roster of 165 3-Year-Old Fillies Nominated to 134th Kentucky Oaks
A crowd of 100,075 – the eighth-largest in Kentucky Oaks history – braved rainy weather to watch the Todd Pletcher-trained daughter of A.P. Indy win the race over a “sloppy” track. Rags to Riches was one of a record 192 fillies nominated to the 2007 Kentucky Oaks.
Other recent stars who won the Kentucky Oaks on their way to 3-year-old championship honors include Ashado (2004), Bird Town (’03), Farda Amiga (’02), Silverbulletday (’99), Open Mind (’89), and Tiffany Lass (’86). Fillies that failed to win the Oaks but went on to earn Eclipse Award championship honors at the conclusion of their 3-year-old seasons include Wait A While (3rd in 2006), Banshee Breeze (2nd in ’98), and Go for Wand (2nd in 1990).
Nominations to the Kentucky Oaks closed on Feb. 16, and required a nomination fee of $100. Supplemental nominations to the race will be accepted at the time of entry on Tuesday, April 29, for a fee of $25,000. The field for the Kentucky Oaks is restricted to 14 fillies. If a greater number of fillies should be entered, preference will be given to the fillies that have accumulated the highest earnings in graded stakes races.
Indian Blessing, a daughter of Indian Charlie trained by Bob Baffert, has a spotless record in five career starts that include victories this year in the Santa Ynez (GII) at Santa Anita and the Silverbulletday (GIII) at the Fair Grounds, and also won the Frizette (GI) at Belmont Park at age two. She is scheduled to run this weekend in the $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks (GII) at the New Orleans track.
The champion has earned $1,567,200 and is bidding to become the second Kentucky Oaks winner saddled by Baffert, a three-time winner of the Kentucky Derby. Baffert won the 1999 Kentucky Oaks with Mike Pegram’s Silverbulletday, who would become just the third filly to earn an Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old filly and return in the spring to take the Kentucky Oaks since the Eclipse Awards were established in 1971. Silverbulletday and 1989 Oaks winner Open Mind are the only fillies to have achieved that double.
Other stars nominated to 134th running of the Kentucky Oaks include Stonerside Stable’s Country Star, winner of the Hollywood Starlet (GI) and Keeneland’s Darley Alcibiades (GI); Brereton C. Jones’ Proud Spell, winner of the Matron (GII) and runner-up to Indian Blessing in both the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and the Silverbulletday; IEAH Stable and Lewis Lakin’s unbeaten Pure Clan, winner of the Golden Rod (GII) and Pocahontas (GIII) at Churchill Downs; Koolman Racing Stable LLC’s A to the Croft, runner-up in the Alcibiades and Spinaway (GI); Ron McCauley’s Golden Doc A, winner of the recent Las Virgenes (GI) at Santa Anita; Cloverleaf Farm II’s Bsharpsonata, a winner of four straight stakes races on turf and dirt that include the Forward Gal (GII) and Davona Dale (GII) at Gulfstream Park; Fox Hill Farm’s Eight Belles, a 13 1/2-length winner of a division of the recent Martha Washington at Oaklawn Park; Michael House’s Final Fling, winner of the Santa Ysabel (GIII); Bobby Flay’s Grace and Power, runner-up in the Hollywood Starlet; Michael Bello’s Las Virgenes runner-up Lovely Isle; Heather Stark’s Sky Mom, winner of the Kentucky Cup Juvenile Fillies and a division of the recent Martha Washington; Heiligbrodt Racing Stable and JMJ Racing Stable’s Rated Fiesty, winner of the Debutante (GIII); Carl F. Pollard’s Kadira, winner of Bassinet at River Downs and winner vie disqualification in the recent Dixie Belle at Oaklawn Park; and Melnyk Racing Stable’s Vaulcluse, winner of the recent Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs.
Kiaran McLaughlin nominated 10 3-year-old fillies to the 2008 Kentucky Oaks to lead all trainers in total nominations. Two-time Kentucky Oaks winner Pletcher, who also saddled Ashado to win the 2004 renewal, nominated nine fillies to this year’s race. Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel, who took the 1998 Kentucky Oaks with Keeper Hill and its 2001 renewal with Flute, nominated eight fillies, while Hall of Famer and four-time Kentucky Oaks winner D. Wayne Lukas has six fillies on the roster of 2008 nominees.
Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN) also operates Trackside at Churchill Downs, which offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 3, 2008. The track’s 2007 Fall Meet continues through Nov. 24. Churchill Downs has hosted the Breeders’ Cup World Championships a record six times. Information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.churchilldowns.com.
