Dublin

GRADE I WINNER DUBLIN MAKES RETURN IN ALLOWANCE ON SATURDAY – Robert Baker and William Mack’s Dublin will make his long awaited return to competition for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas in a 6 ½-furlong allowance race on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

It will be the first start for the 4-year-old son of Afleet Alex since finishing fifth in the 2010 edition of the Grade I Preakness to eventual 3-year-old champion Lookin At Lucky.

Dublin, winner of the Grade I Hopeful at Saratoga in 2009, was taken out of training following the second jewel of the Triple Crown to have a chip removed from his ankle, but Lukas said the colt is fully recovered from the injury.

“Dr. (Larry) Bramlage removed the chip from his ankle and also noticed another spot on his cannon bone,” Lukas said. “He (Dr. Bramlage) told us to give the horse as much time off as possible, so we gave him the rest of the year off.”

A $525,000 Keeneland September Yearling purchase, Dublin returned to the racetrack in January and began training at Oaklawn Park prior to coming to Churchill Downs at the beginning of the spring meet. The Kentucky-bred has been quite impressive in the mornings over the historic track and has recorded four “bullet” works since May 14, including a four-furlong breeze on May 28 in :46.80, which was the fastest of 69 workers at the distance that morning.

“He’s doing really well and has worked great over the track,” Lukas said.  “He’s also been leaving the gate really well. He used to have some trouble out of the gate, but that’s all gone now.”

Dublin, who was seventh in the 2010 Grade I Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands to WinStar Farm’s Super Saver, will be making his fourth start at Churchill Downs and is still searching for his first victory beneath the Twin Spires. Lukas hopes for success on Saturday and that Dublin will return to race at the Louisville track at least once more this fall.

“I don’t think he’s a 6 ½-furlong rocket by any means, but I do think this will give him something to build on and he’ll go on to something bigger,” Lukas said. “The ultimate goal is the (Breeders’ Cup) Dirt Mile in the fall. That’s where we would like to end up.

“This race isn’t a ‘make or break’ deal; it’s just something to get him started,” Lukas said.

Another starter from the 2010 Kentucky Derby is also in the field. Vinery Stables LLC and Mrs. Susan Roy’s Awesome Act, winner of the Grade III Gotham at Aqueduct in March of 2010, will look to right the ship after a disappointing fifth-place finish as the even-money favorite in a 1 1/16-mile allowance at Churchill Downs on June 12. A 4-year-old ridgling by Awesome Again, Awesome Act finished 19^th in the 136^th running of the Kentucky Derby and went to the sidelines with an injury after the race.

Also in the field is Mimicry Partnership’s Grand Traverse, a stakes winning earner of $361,499. An 8-year-old gelded son of Pioneering, Grand Traverse was most recently second beaten a nose in a $50,000 claiming event at five furlongs on a sloppy main track at Churchill Downs on May 15 for trainer Tim Glyshaw.

The allowance optional claiming event is scheduled to be run as Race 11 of 13 with a post time of 5:55 p.m. EDT. Neither Dublin nor Awesome Act are entered for a tag; however, Grand Traverse will have a claiming price of $62,500.

NICKS SENDING TWO TO FIRECRACKER, SEEKING FIRST CD STAKES WIN – Last Saturday veteran trainer Garry Simms recorded his first Churchill Downs stakes victory with Barry King’s Flashy Lassie in Churchill Downs’ Debutante (GIII). Now Ralph Nicks, another trainer based at the Louisville track, will attempt to follow Simms’ lead and collect his first stakes win beneath the Twin Spires in Monday’s 21^st running of the $175,000-added Firecracker Handicap (GII) Presented by GE.

The 44-year-old native of Avery, Texas will saddle El Caballo for James Spence and Joshua Reynolds for Dr. John Chandler. Both horses were assigned to carry 114 pounds in the one-mile turf race for 3-year-olds and up by Racing Secretary Ben Huffman.

El Caballo, a 7-year-old son of El Corredor, will enter the Firecracker off a 10^th place finish in the $500,000 Stephen Foster Handicap Presented by Abu Dhabi (GI) on June 11. It will be the first start on the turf for El Caballo since running sixth in the Grade II Mervin H. Muniz Jr. Memorial Handicap at Fair Grounds on March 27, 2010; however, Nicks does not expect the change of surface to be an issue.

"He can run on both surfaces and he’s always run well on the grass,” Nicks said.

The biggest victory of El Caballo’s career came on turf in the Grade III Colonel E. R. Bradley Handicap at Fair Grounds last January. His career record stands at 7-5-0 from 18 starts; including three wins from seven starts on the turf and two victories over the Matt Winn Turf Course.

Joshua Reynolds, a 4-year-old son of Royal Academy, will enter the Firecracker with a three-race win streak and most recently took a 1 1/16-mile allowance at Keeneland on April 13 at odds of 22-1.

“He keeps improving and he’s shown a lot of promise his whole life,” Nicks said. “It’s a big step, but it seems like the right time to make it. It’ll be a good measuring stick of where he needs to go from here.”

Joshua Reynolds has raced exclusively on turf and has a career record of 3-1-0 from seven starts with earnings of $81,185. His record includes one start over the Matt Winn Turf Course, which was his career debut and he finished fourth.

The field for the Firecracker Handicap in post position order from the rail out (with jockey, weight), includes: General Quarters (Jamie Theriot, 119), Omniscient (Manoel Cruz, 113), Mister Marti Gras (Shaun Bridgmohan, 115), El Caballo (Corey Lanerie, 114), Mystic (Jesus Castanon, 114), Joshua Reynolds (Brian Hernandez Jr., 114), Baryshnikov (Julien Leparoux, 117), Plutonium (James Lopez, 112), Strike Impact (Robby Albarado, 117), Wise Dan (Jon Court, 115) and Lubash (Kent Desormeaux, 115).

STRIKE IMPACT ‘NEVER LOOKED BETTER,’ READY FOR FIRECRACKER BID – Tom McCarthy’s General Quarters, who for most of his career has been part of a one-horse will not be the only horse representing the hopes of a small operation in Monday’s  Firecracker Handicap Presented by GE (GII).  Trainer and co-owner Pat Dupuy’s Strike Impact will also carry that distinction in Monday’s Grade II, $175,000 event, which is the featured 10^th Race on closing day of the 38-day Spring Meet.

General Quarters is one of two horses in the McCarthy stable; however, Strike Impact, a 7-year-old gelded son of Smart Strike, is the lone horse in the barn of the 53-year-old Dupuy, who began training in 1978. Co-owned with Dupuy by Chester Miller, Strike Impact will enter the Firecracker off back-to-back victories in allowance races over the Matt Winn Turf Course this spring.

“He’s had five weeks off, he’s training well and he’s never looked better than he does right now,” said Dupuy, who is the husband of Jennie Rees, turf writer for the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Strike Impact will seek his first stakes victory in the Firecracker, as will Dupuy, who had his first stakes starter in last year’s Claiming Crown Jewel, where Strike Impact finished third. Earlier this year, Strike Impact made his graded stakes debut in the Grade III Shakertown at Keeneland and finished fifth to Melnyk Racing Stables Inc.’s Stratford Hill.

“After Robby (Albarado) rode him at Keeneland, he told me that he belonged with those horses,” Dupuy said. “I know it’s a big step up, but he has a lot of try in him and it’s going to take a good horse to beat him.”

Strike Impact has won 16 races during a career that began in October of 2006 and four of those wins have come over the Matt Winn Turf Course.

“He really loves this course,” Dupuy said. “He’s won four times out of six races and was second once to a really nice horse (Inca King).” Inca King is a graded-stakes winner with $829,646 in career earnings. His biggest win came in the Grade II Jefferson Cup at Churchill Downs in 2007.

Strike Impact has a career record of 16-5-8 from 54 starts and earnings of $465,860. He will break from post position nine in the field of 11 for the Firecracker.

BARN TALK – A Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge Qualifying Tournament will take place at Churchill Downs on Sunday, July 3. Registration will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Champions Club Lounge. The entry fee is $100 per entry and the tournament is limited to 400 entries with a limit of three per person. The winner will receive entry to compete in the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge ($10,000 value) at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4-5, 2011. Consolation prize money will be paid to the top eighth finishers.

Mike Tarp’s Tarpy’s Goal will not run in Saturday’s Bashford Manor in favor of the Grade II Futurity at Belmont Park on Sunday. “When you look at the two sets of past performances, it was really a no brainer to ship up there,” trainer Dale Romans said. …

The field for the 110^th running of the Bashford Manor from the rail out with jockey and weight includes Laurie’s Rocket (Brian Hernandez Jr., 116), Lil Cherokee (Miguel Mena, 120), Power World (Corey Lanerie, 118), Exfactor (Calvin Borel, 118), Chalybeate Springs (Jesus Castanon, 116), Bonaparte (Jon Court, 118), Sum of the Parts (Leandron Goncalves, 118), Hot Speed (Robby Albarado, 120), Tarpy’s Goal (Kent Desormeaux, 118), Green Mouse (Manoel Cruz, 118) and Friscan (Shaun Bridgmohan, 118). …

The 3^rd Annual Horsemen’s Golf Scramble at Glenmary’s Country Club on Monday, Aug. 29. Registration begins at 11 a.m. and the cost is $100 per player with four players to a team. Lunch will also begin at 11 a.m. and the shotgun start is at 12:30 p.m. Those interested may pick up a form from The Backside Learning Center and return it by Friday, Aug. 12. …

WHO’S HOT – The hottest jockey over the last five racing days (June 19-30) is Julien Leparoux (14-for-37). Eddie Kenneally (5-for-12) and Mike Maker (4-for-8) are the hottest trainers over the same period. Windmill Manor Farm (2-for-3), Kenneth L. and Sarah K. Ramsey (2-for-5) and Midwest Thoroughbreds Inc. (2-for-10) are the hottest owners.

WEATHER – Friday: mostly sunny, 89. Saturday: mostly sunny and hot, 95. Sunday: partly sunny with a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 92. Monday: partly sunny with a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 89. Tuesday: mostly sunny, 90. Wednesday: mostly sunny with a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 92. Thursday: partly sunny with a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 89.

STEP ONE OF MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, CASSE AIMS FOR BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC WITH FOSTER WINNER POOL PLAY – Mark Casse’s decision to run William Farish Jr.’s Pool Play in Saturday’s 30^th running of the $500,000-added Stephen Foster Handicap Presented by Abu Dhabi (Grade I) was not a wild stab or a whim, as racing fans across the country discovered when the 6-year-old son of Silver Deputy stormed through the stretch to edge Mission Impazible by a neck at 36-1 odds.

A three-time winner of the Sovereign Award that annually honors Canada’s top trainer, Casse sent Pool Play to the Foster with a specific mission: to determine if the distance-loving horse, after 27 races on synthetic and turf courses, would fare on a dirt course.  If he ran as well over the Churchill Downs dirt as Casse hoped, step two would be a bid for the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) at the Louisville track on Nov. 5.

Pool Play handled Saturday’s initial test with aplomb when he posted the third-largest upset in the three-decade history of the Stephen Foster.  On Sunday, Casse was working up a plan to get him to the next step.

“It’s nice when things work, when you have a plan and it works,” Casse said on the morning after his most important win at Churchill Downs.  “I understood him being that big a price.  Here’s a horse running against some of the best older horses and they all had proven form on the dirt.  Well, here we had a horse who had never ran on it, so could understand.”

Along with watching Pool Play blossom from an unknown factor to Breeders’ Cup Classic contender in the Foster, the Stephen Fsoter upset was special to Casse for personal reasons.  The Indianapolis native spent his early years as a trainer beneath the historic Twin Spires, and has a 1988 Spring Meet training title so show for it.

"It was a real proud moment for a lot of reasons,” Casse said. “One is when you do something that’s a little unorthodox, that’s always nice.  And Churchill is where I started.  Churchill is special and always has been.  To win a race like that at Churchill Downs means a lot.”

Casse believed that the Breeders’ Cup Classic’s 1 ¼-mile distance fits Pool Play perfectly, but the horse’s dirt prowess was a question mark.  If Pool Play would handle any dirt course, Casse felt it would be the one-mile main track at Churchill Downs. Casse believes the course is extraordinarily kind to horses that run well on turf and synthetic courses.  While Pool Play’s home base at Toronto’s Woodbine is a synthetic Polytrack surface, Casse sees difference in Woodbine’s manufactured footing and Mother Nature’s dirt at Churchill.

“I was out there (on the Churchill dirt) this morning watching horses train and you can see they get into the ground only about two inches, at most,” Casse said.  “If you walk across Churchill Downs and you walk across Woodbine’s racetrack, that’s how much they penetrate the surface.  It’s almost identical.”

It’s Casse’s opinion that the clay that is an important part of the make-up of Churchill Downs’ sandy loam surface is the key ingredient that makes the Louisville surface is comfortable to horses that do their best running on synthetic or turf courses, or possess pedigrees that point toward those surfaces.

Whatever the case, Casse’s plan worked well for Pool Play in the Stephen Foster.  Now he’s looking to formulate a plant over the coming weeks that will get his veteran back to Churchill Downs and ready to offer his best effort against an expected international field the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

“We’ve been planning to go to Saratoga with a string, so what I think I’ll do is take him to Saratoga and see how he trains over the dirt,” Casse said.  “Just because you like the dirt at Churchill Downs doesn’t mean you’re going to like it at Saratoga.  We’ll train him there and if he trains all right we’ll think about the Whitney (GI on Aug. 6 at Saratoga).  Our number one goal will be the Breeders’ Cup.  How we get there is kind of secondary, really.  So everything we do from now on will be that kind of plan.  I wouldn’t even be shocked if he ran on the grass again.”

The $327,127 winner’s share of the Stephen Foster purse boosted Pool Play’s career earnings to $909,556 with a record of 6-6-5 from 28 starts.  His only other graded stakes win came in the 2009 Durham Cup (GIII) on Polytrack at Woodbine. In his previous start, Pool Play finished second on turf in the Grade II Elkhorn at Keeneland, where he was beaten by 1 ¼ lengths by Musketier-GER.

So Pool Play’s victory is clearly the high point of the career of his racing career to date, but all that could change on Nov. 5 when, if all has gone well, Casse’s horse gets a chance to shine again on the Churchill Downs dirt in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

“What I’m trying to do is get there with a happy horse in the fall,” Casse said.  “He showed what we needed him to show yesterday, and that is that he belongs.  I’ve said all the along the mile and a quarter will be right up his alley.  So he may go to Toronto and run on the grass, he may run in the Whitney – I’m not sure yet.  Obviously you always like to win, but our number one goal is to be the best he can be on Breeders’ Cup Day.”

STEPHEN FOSTER DAY UNDERCARD WINNERS EXIT RACES IN GOOD ORDER – Stephen Foster Day Presented by Abu Dhabi was highlighted by the Grade I Stephen Foster, but also featured four other exciting graded stakes races, including the first Arabian horserace in the history of Churchill Downs. The winners of the three undercard stakes for Thoroughbreds all came out of their respective races in good order and their connections are looking forward to the rest of their 2011 campaigns.

Glen Hill Farm’s Banned captured the Grade III Jefferson Cup Presented by Abu Dhabi to complete the American Turf – Jefferson Cup double and improve his record to 4-0-1 from seven starts with earnings of $299,076. “He came out of the race good and we’re ready to rock and roll,” trainer Tom Proctor said. “We’re going to the Virginia Derby (Grade II at Colonial Downs on July 16).”

The two other graded stakes races for Thoroughbreds were won by horses from the Ken McPeek barn; giving the 48-year-old trainer wins in five consecutive graded stakes races he has entered at Churchill Downs. Peter Callahan’s Scotus notched McPeek’s first graded stakes winner of the afternoon in the Grade III Matt Winn Presented by Emirates Equestrian Federation. A 3-year-old son of Successful Appeal made a successful stakes debut in the Matt Winn and improved his record to 2-1-2 from five starts with earnings of $121,054.

“He (Scotus) is doing fine,” assistant trainer Philip Bauer said. “He ate all his feed and walked well this morning. We aren’t sure where we will go with him from here. There are a lot of different options and, at this time, no decision has been made.”

The other graded stakes winner for McPeek came with Catesby Clay’s Bizzy Caroline in the Grade III Regret Presented by Etihad Airways. The victory, which gave Bizzy Caroline, a 3-year-old daughter of Afleet Alex, her third win in a row and first stakes triumph, improved her record to 3-0-1 from six starts with earnings of $148,497.

“No decision has been made for Bizzy Caroline either,” Bauer said. “She came out of the race well. She shipped back to Keeneland with Sassy’s Dream and she’ll be trained there for her next start.”

Livin the Dream Racing 2009, LLC’s Sassy’s Dream, a 3-year-old daughter of Flower Alley, won the fourth race Saturday for McPeek under Alan Garcia.

MCPEEK’S CHURCHILL STAKES STREAK CONTINUES, BUT DONE FOR SPRING – While Stephen Foster Day Presented by Abu Dhabi was notable for the upset by 36-1 shot Pool Play in the day’s main event; the win by T M Fred Texas in the first race for Arabians in the 137-year history of Churchill Downs and another dazzling run by Glen Hill Farm’s rising 3-year-old turf star Banned, the big day cannot be discussed seriously without the mention of the continuation of trainer Ken McPeek’s remarkable stakes streak.

The Lexington native secured two stakes wins to extend his streak of graded stakes wins at the historic track to five.  Numbers four and five in the streak were wins by Peter J. Callahan’s Scotus in the Matt Winn (GIII) for 3-year-olds and Catesby W. Clay’s Bizzy Caroline in the Regret (GIII) for 3-year-old fillies on turf.

Previous winners in the streak were Noble’s Promise in the Aristides (GIII) for older horses at six furlongs, Salty Strike in the Dogwood (GIII) for 3-year-old fillies at a mile, and My Baby Baby in last week’s Early Times Mint Julep (GIII) for older fillies and mares on turf.

“I’m proud of it, but we’re not going to dwell on it,” McPeek by telephone from Lexington when asked about the streak on Sunday.  “We’re going to keep going.”

McPeek clearly appreciates the unusual string of good fortune in stakes competition and is quick to credit his team for its work in getting those horses into the winner’s circle in those races.   But McPeek also believes it was past time for his stable to enjoy a good run.

"The truth is that we were very due,” McPeek said.  “Over the last year or year and a half, we had a rash of seconds and thirds in so many nice races – Breeders’ Cup races and Derby preps.  It just seemed like every time we were second, third, second, third.  We were hitting, numbers wise, in our normal percentages in-the-money, but we weren’t winning.  We were just due, and they came in a flourish.”

After his latest win by Bizzy Caroline, McPeek’s Churchill Downs stakes run appears to have ended until the Oct. 30-Nov. 27 Fall Meet.  He has no candidates for the three races that close out the Spring Meet stakes schedule: the $100,000 Bashford Manor (GIII) for 2-year-olds, the $100,000 Debutante (GIII) for 2-year-old fillies and the $175,000 Firecracker (GII) for older horses at a mile on turf.

As special as a string of five consecutive stakes wins with horses hailing from five different divisions of competition is, McPeek takes and extra measure of satisfaction in the fact that all of those winners are pure products of his operation.

“What I’m most proud of is that we developed them all from scratch,” McPeek said. “They all started in our system as yearlings – every one of them.  That’s what I do.”

BARN TALK – Jockey Robby Albarado, who has 922 career wins at Churchill Downs, is just three victories away from tying Hall of Famer Don Brumfield for third all-time in wins beneath the Twin Spires. Albarado has six mounts Sunday (Races 4-7, 9-10). …

With two wins on Saturday’s Stephen Foster Day Presented by Abu Dhabi card and 11 wins in the last week, jockey Julien Leparoux, who has won seven riding titles beneath the Twin Spires, is quickly closing the gap between him and leading rider Corey Lanerie. Leparoux will enter Sunday’s 10-race program with 34 victories, three behind Lanerie. …

Nominations for the final two graded stakes races of the 39-day Spring Meet at Churchill Downs closed Saturday. The nominations for the Grade III, $100,000-added Bashford Manor to be run July 2 and the Grade II, $175,000-added Firecracker Handicap to be run July 4 will be announced Sunday. …

Sunday’s 10-race program will feature a Pick 6 carryover of $19,254 and a Super High 5 carryover of $13,407. The Pick 6 will begin with Race 5 at 2:51 p.m. EDT and the Super High 5 will take place on Race 10 at 5:25 p.m. …

WHO’S HOT – The hottest jockeys over the last five racing days (June 11-18) are Julien Leparoux (11-for-22) and Manny Cruz (9-for-34). Ken McPeek (4-for-9) and Tom Amoss (3-for-8) are the hottest trainers over the same period. No owner has won more than one race during the past week.

WORKTAB – Robert Baker and William Mack’s Dublin worked five furlongs in 1:00.20 on a fast main track at Churchill Downs on Sunday morning for trainer D. Wayne Lukas in preparation for his return to competition in the $76,600-added Kelly’s Landing overnight stakes on Friday’s “Downs After Dark” program.   Dublin, a 4-year-old son of Afleet Alex who won Saratoga’s Hopeful (GI) at two, has not raced since a fifth-place finish in the 2010 Preakness (GI).

Dublin drew the rail in a strong field of eight for the seven furlong race that also attracted Forego (GI) winner and defending Kelly’s Landing winner Here Comes Ben; Captain Cherokee, the runner-up in the Portero Grande (GII), San Carlos (GII) and Palos Verde GII) at Santa Anita; and Cool Bullet, runner-up to Churchill Downs (GII) winner Aikenite in Keeneland’s Commonwealth (GII).

WEATHER – Sunday: partly sunny with a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 86. Monday: partly sunny and hot with a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 95. Tuesday: mostly sunny and hot with a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 95. Wednesday: mostly cloudy with a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 88. Thursday: partly sunny with a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 84. Friday: partly sunny, 83. Saturday: mostly sunny, 85.    

PREAKNESS RUNNER-UP FIRST DUDE BACK AT CHURCHILL, SET FOR NEXT STOP IN BELMONT STAKES – Donald Dizney’s First Dude did not win the second jewel of the Triple Crown, but trainer Dale Romans could not have been much happier had he managed to hold off Lookin At Lucky in Saturday’s $1 million Preakness (Grade I) at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course.

The Churchill Downs-based First Dude sprung from post 11 in a field of 12 3-year-olds in the 1 3/16-mile Preakness to grab the lead and the rail from Super Saver, winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI), heading into the first turn.  He set strong early fractions under Ramon Dominguez then battled the victorious Lookin At Lucky through the stretch to fall three-quarters of a length short of picking up his second victory in seven starts, but the imposing son of Stephen Got Even immediately established himself as a major contender for the Triple Crown’s final jewel: the 1 ½-mile Belmont Stakes (GI) on June 5 at Belmont Park.

The connections of Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver and Preakness champ Lookin At Lucky confirmed Sunday that neither horse would run in the Belmont Stakes, so Romans believes First Dude could well be the horse to beat in the big race three weeks down the road.

“I think so, and so does Ramon,” Romans said Sunday.  “The mile and a half should help him.”
    First Dude returned to Churchill Downs on Sunday morning following a flight from Baltimore.  Also on the plane was stablemate Paddy O’Prado, Donegal Racing’s third-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby on May 1 who finished sixth in Saturday’s Preakness.

Romans said the Belmont is the clear goal for First Dude, while the immediate future is less clear for Paddy O’Prado, a versatile winner on turf and synthetic surfaces who did not fire at Pimlico.

“He came out of it good,” said Romans of Paddy O’Prado.  “I’ll talk with Jerry (Donegal Racing managing partner Jerry Crawford) later in the day and see what we want to do with him.”

The Preakness bid by First Dude, while it fell just short, served as validation for high hopes Romans and his staff has held for the colt since his arrival in the barn.

"We are proud of him,” Romans said.  “We kept thinking all along that he was this kind of horse, but he just had circumstances that kept him from running a big, big race.  Finally nothing went wrong and he put it all together and he got beat by a champion.”

OTHER BELMONT HOPES AT CHURCHILL DOWNS – With word that neither Super Saver nor Lookin At Lucky would compete in the third jewel of the Triple Crown, a large field of contenders is beginning to take shape for the June 5 race at Belmont Park.

First Dude is one of at least four Churchill Downs-based horses that could run in the Belmont.  The others include the D. Wayne Lukas-trained Dublin, Robert Baker and William Mack’s son of Afleet Alex who finished fifth in the Preakness following a horrible start; Thomas and Jack Conway’s Stately Victor, winner of the Toyota Blue Grass (GI) and eighth in the Kentucky Derby; and Richard, Elaine and Bert Klein’s Stay Put, a winner of an allowance race at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day.

Trainer Steve Margolis said the Louisville-based Klein family is, at this point, pointing Stay Put toward the third jewel of the Triple Crown.

“We’ve been talking about it over the last week or 10 days,” Margolis said of Stay Put’s Belmont bid.  “As long has he stays healthy and well, he’s got two more breezes and we’re gonna go.”

Stay Put, a homebred son of Broken Vow, has won three of seven career starts, but finished fifth in both the Louisiana Derby (GII) and the Risen Star (GII) at Fair Grounds in his only efforts in stakes competition.

“There’ll be some tough horses in there in (Derby runner-up) Ice Box, (Dwyer winner) Fly Down and (Dwyer runner-up) Drosselmeyer,” Margolis said of the Belmont.  “But we’re running good, and as long as we stay healthy and good and are training good, we’ve got to take a shot.”

BLAME BOUND FOR STEPHEN FOSTER FOLLOWING RETURN VICTORY IN PIMLICO’S SCHAEFFER – Adele Dilschneider and Claiborne Farm’s Blame looked like a horse with a big future when he whipped older rivals to win Churchill Downs’ Clark Handicap (GII) as a 3-year-old in late November.

The anticipated return to racing by the now 4-year-old homebred son of Arch did nothing to diminish those expectations when Blame rolled to an easy 1 ½-length victory in Saturday’s William Donald Schaefer Handicap (GIII) on the Preakness undercard at Pimlico on Saturday.  With that successful return to competition behind the colt, trainer Al Stall Jr. will now point Blame to his next goal: a run in the $600,000-added Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) on June 12 at Churchill Downs.

“He’s a good horse and it’s really good to get that one under his belt,” Stall said.  “It was definitely time for him to go run, and you just don’t know what’s going to happen.  Sometimes they don’t come back like you think and sometimes they’re not as ready as you think they are, so there was a little more anxiety than in a regular race.”

That case of race-day nerves aside, Stall said Blame had blossomed during his training over the synthetic Polytrack course at Keeneland in recent weeks and he felt the colt was ready for a good effort.

“In the last three or four weeks he just really let you know that it was time,” Stall said.  “He’s a great looking horse, but he really just started looking phenomenal.  He just was really good to go.”

Now Stall will focus completely on the 1 1/8-mile Foster, a race in which Blame is expected to face the likes of defending winner Macho Again and Alysheba (GIII) Arson Squad.

"We’ve got four weeks, to the day almost, to the Foster,” said Stall.  “I can map out sort of a simple schedule to get him there.  It gives you something to get out of bed for, that’s for sure.”

The Schaeffer victory improved Blame’s career record to 6-1-2 in nine races – including a 2-1-0 slate in three starts at Churchill Downs, which will also be the host track for the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 6.  Blame has earned $676,747.

THISKYHASNOLIMIT IMPRESSES IN RETURN TO RACING IN MATT WINN – He had been on the sidelines for a good while, but a sharp victory Bob and Cathy Zollars and Mark Wagner’s Thiskyhasnolimit in Saturday’s ninth running of Churchill Downs’ $108,000 Matt Winn Stakes had it look as if the colt had never been away.

The 3-year-old son of Sky Mesa, away from racing since late November, rallied from fourth and wore down favored Cool Bullet to win the seven furlong race for 3-year-olds by three-quarters of a length.  He covered the distance over a fast track in 1:22.29.

The victory by Thisskyhasnolimit was the third in the Matt Winn for trainer Steve Asmussen, but, despite the long layoff, it came as no surprise to assistant Scott Blasi, who oversees Asmussen’s Churchill Downs stable.

"He had been training like a bear,” Blasi said Sunday morning.  “The way he was training I would have surprised if he hadn’t won.”

Thiskyhasnolimit had not run since a sixth-place finish as the favorite in the $150,000-added Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) on Nov. 28 – a race won by WinStar Farm’s future Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver.

"We just gave him some time,” said Blasi.  “I don’t remember any specific problem.  He was just a big, immature colt   He’s doing good this morning.  Steve will get together with the owners and we’ll see where we go next with him.”

The victory improved the winner’s career record to 3-1-1 in seven races and increased his career earnings to $204,439.

While disappointed by the loss, trainer Steve Margolis was upbeat about the effort by Robert and Lawana Low and Winmore LLC’s Cool Bullet,

“The horse ran a big race and got a great trip,” Margolis said.  “He fought on game, but the other horse just had a little more.”

It was the second consecutive runner-up finish in the Winn for Margolis, who saddled Richard, Elaine and Bert Klein’s Cash Refund for a second place Winn finish behind Capt. Candyman Can in its 2009 renewal.d

Margolis said Cool Bullet could run next in the $175,000 Jersey Shore Breeders’ Cup (GIII) on July 4 at Monmouth Park.

BARN TALK – Gold Mark Farms LLC’s Backtalk returned to serious training on Sunday following his run in the Kentucky Derby.  The Tom Amoss trainee, who finished last in the Derby field of 20 3-year-olds, breezed four furlongs over a fast track in :51.80. … Owner/trainer Tom McCarthy said Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (GI) winner General Quarters is scheduled to work on Monday, but McCarthy is keeping an eye on the weather and the plan could change because of track conditions.  General Quarters has now won Grade I races on turf and synthetic surfaces.  He took the 2009 Toyota Blue Grass (GI) over the Polytrack surface at Keeneland before running 10th over the main track at Churchill Downs in the 135th Kentucky Derby (GI).

DERBY WINNER SUPER SAVER WORKS THREE FURLONGS IN :36.60 – WinStar Farm’s Super Saver worked three furlongs in :36.60 under jockey Calvin Borel after renovation break over a track rated as “fast.”
Working on his own, Super Saver notched fractions of :12.40, :36.60, out a half in :49.20 and five-eighths in 1:02. The move was fifth fastest of 29 at the distance.

“I was very pleased with the work,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “We are very encouraged by what we’ve seen since the Derby from him. Everything is good. I got him in :36 and change and out in :49.”

“It was real good – just what we wanted,” said Borel.  “He switched leads on key – we’ve been working on that a little bit.  I was perfect.  You couldn’t ask for better, I don’t think.”

Super Saver is scheduled to ship to Baltimore on Wednesday and Pletcher said that Super Saver would gallop at Pimlico on Thursday and Friday and have a paddock schooling session on Thursday.

Pletcher is seeking his first Preakness victory, which would give him a Triple Crown of sorts bookended by Super Saver’s Kentucky Derby triumph and Rags to Riches’ victory in the 2007 Belmont.

“He is pretty unique,” Pletcher said of Super Saver when asked to compare him with other horses he has trained. “He is very athletic, a good mover and very efficient.”

Borel said Super Saver made great progress since his runner-up finish to Line of David in the Arkansas Derby on April 10.  While he had displayed sharp speed early in his career, the colt rated off the pace that day and relaxed so well on Kentucky Derby Day that he settled more than eight lengths off of a fast pace in the mile and a quarter classic.  His rider believes that Super Saver’s new versatility will serve him well in Saturday’s 1 3/16ths-mile Preakness.

“That’s a great feeling,” he said.  “He’s not like a horse like Street Sense [2007 Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness runner-up] who’s got to come out the back door.  He doesn’t have to be on the lead – if they give to me, good – if they don’t, no.  That’s a big plus – he plays with me.  I can do what I want with him.

“Todd did a good job with him – him and his assistant [Mike McCarthy] and exercise rider [Kevin Willey].  When I rode him last year as a 2-year-old he was a pretty aggressive colt.  He wanted to run pretty early, and now he’s on-command.  That’s what you want in these kind of races because you never know what they’re going to throw at you – there might be a ‘rabbit’ or two, so you want get him to relax and not to be there fighting with them and go from there.”

Also working for Pletcher after the break was Twin Creeks Racing Stable’s Mission Impazible, the ninth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby. With exercise rider Kevin Willey up, Mission Impazible covered three furlongs in :36.40. The move was third fastest of 29 at the distance. Fractions for the breeze were :12 and out a half-mile in :49.60.

“I thought he worked well,” Pletcher said. “We are still on the fence with him about the Preakness. I am going to get with the owners this afternoon.”

Dogwood Stable’s Aikenite walked the shedrow Monday a day after working five furlongs in 1:01.40.

“He came out of the work fine,” Pletcher said of Aikenite, who will be ridden in the Preakness by Javier Castellano.

BAFFERT SAYS LOOKIN AT LUCKY IS LIKELY FOR PREAKNESS – It’s looking more likely that reigning juvenile champion Lookin At Lucky will get a chance at redemption in the 135th Preakness  (Grade I) following his sixth-place run behind Super Saver in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) on May 1.

Karl Watson, Mike Pegram and Paul Weitman’s 3-year-old son of Smart Strike galloped 1 ½ miles over a “fast” surface Monday under exercise rider Peter Hutton and trainer Bob Baffert said he was expecting to run the beaten Kentucky Derby favorite in the Preakness.  The colt is scheduled to board a flight to Baltimore on Wednesday for Saturday’s race at Pimlico Race Course.

“I’m planning on it unless I see something between now and getting on the plane,” said Baffert.  “There’s no urgency.  I told everybody yesterday to go on and get their [hotel] rooms and stuff.”

Baffert said Lookin At Lucky would not have a workout between his troubled Kentucky Derby run and the Preakness.

“We’ll just gallop him into the race,” said Baffert.  “He’s a different kind of horse.  He doesn’t need a work.”

If Lookin At Lucky does go in the Preakness, Baffert said Martin Garcia is expected to ride in what would be his debut in the second jewel of the Triple Crown.  Garrett Gomez had ridden the colt in all of his previous nine starts, but has already accepted a mount on Dublin for the Preakness.

“It’s not for sure yet – I’ve got a lot of other calls from different riders, but Martin’s on hold,” said Baffert.  “Martin knows the horse.  He’s worked him.

“I think he’s got a lot of raw talent, but he’s young.  He rides good for me – we’re clicking pretty good.  Everywhere I send him he wins a race – he even won one for me here at Churchill.  I think he’s just too young to understand the meaning of these races – but sometimes that can be good.  Just like Affirmed and Steve Cauthen, he might have been too young to understand what the hell was going on.”

Kentucky native Cauthen was 18 when he won the 1978 Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown aboard Affirmed, the last 3-year-old to sweep the covered three-race series.

Garcia, a native of Veracruz, Mexico, is 26.

Baffert made the move to replace Gomez after Lookin At Lucky endured difficult journeys in both the Santa Anita Derby and Kentucky Derby, but said the move should be no reflection on Gomez’s ability.

"I love Garrett – it’s just luck,” he said.  “We were just having bad luck on that horse.  I told him it might be a one-shot deal.  I just wanted to try something different.”

GOMEZ GUIDES LUKAS’ DUBLIN THROUGH HALF-MILE WORK IN :48.40 – Robert Baker and William Mack’s Dublin, seventh in the Kentucky Derby for trainer D. Wayne Lukas, worked a half-mile in company with Bird Empire in :48.40, the 15th fastest move of 69 at the distance.

With new rider Garrett Gomez aboard, Dublin posted fractions of :13, :25, and :37 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:01 in the work that occurred immediately after the track opened at 6 o’clock.

“I liked what I felt under me,” said Gomez, who is replacing Terry Thompson on Dublin. “He was very responsive. Wayne wanted a good easy half and didn’t want much of a gallop-out. He wanted solid :12s.”

Gomez was asked if much could be learned about a horse like Dublin in a quick test run?

“Yes. He was nothing like what you may have heard about in Hot Springs (at Oaklawn Park) when he bolted a few times,” Gomez said. “He was no problem today. He’s just a big ol’ boy. I feel good about my chances.”

After the work, Lukas said to Gomez: “I hope you feel good about him.”

Gomez responded: “I do.”

“It was a very good work and he galloped out in 1:01.” Lukas said. “Garrett liked it. He’s enthused and that’s all that matters.”

Westrock Stables’ Northern Giant was the next out for Lukas, working three furlongs in :36.40, third fastest of 29, under Arielle Witkowski. Fractions were :12.60, :36.40 and out a half-mile in :49.80.

“He went well,” Lukas said of Northern Giant, on whom a rider has not been confirmed. “I want to see who shows up there for the other stakes” (before naming a rider).

JACKSON BEND DRILLS BULLET HALF FOR PREAKNESS – Robert LaPenta and Fred Brei’s Jackson Bend signaled his readiness for a run in Saturday’s Preakness by working a bullet half-mile in :46.60.

The move, accomplished shortly after 7 a.m., was the fastest of 69 at the distance. Working in company with Latigo Shore and with Stacy Prior in the saddle, Jackson Bend produced fractions of :11.80, :23, :34.80 and out five furlongs in :59.80.

“It was really quick, but the good thing about it is that he did it on his own,” trainer Nick Zito said. “Stacy was not asking him at all.

“If he has a good week, this is the shot you take. He will get a break after this.”

HURRICANE IKE WORKS SEVEN FURLONGS IN 1:25.80 – Ike and Dawn Thrash’s Hurricane Ike and jockey Robby Albarado had a seven-furlong, get-acquainted session after the renovation break.

The John Sadler-trained winner of Churchill Downs’ The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial (GIII) on April 24, Hurricane Ike worked seven furlongs in 1:25.80 with the final five-eighths clocked in 1:01.40.

“I thought it went well. He hit the ground nice and I think I am in good shape,” Albarado said, adding with a laugh, “I put him in tight next to the fence so nobody can sneak inside of him.”

After the work, Albarado relayed his thoughts on the test run over the phone to Sadler’s assistant Larry Benavidez.

This work was more for me than for him to let me get a feel for him,” Albarado said after the call. “We broke off at the seven-eighths and I just eased him into the work.”

Tne other Preakness hopeful worked after the break, Steel Your Face Stables’ Yawanna Twist.

With assistant trainer Michelle Nevin up and working solo, Yawanna Twist covered five furlongs in 1:01.80. Fractions were :12.60 and :36.60 for the move that was 13th fastest of 27 at the distance.

“It was a basic work for him. It went well,” Nevin said of Yawanna Twist, runner-up in the Illinois Derby (GIII) in his most recent start.

Trainer Dale Romans had both of his Preakness prospects on the track Monday. Donald Dizney’s First Dude jogged two miles in his first day back at the track since a five-eighths work in 1:00.60 on Saturday. Donegal Racing’s Paddy O’Prado, third-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, galloped a mile and a half.

RACHEL ALEXANDRA CRUISES IN FIRST WORK SINCE UPSET LOSS IN LA TROIENNE – Stonestreet Stable and Harold McCormick’s 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra returned to serious training following her upset loss in the $400,000-added La Troienne (GII) at Churchill Downs with an easy half-mile breeze on Monday at Churchill Downs.

The Steve Asmussen-trained 4-year-old daughter of Medaglia d’Oro worked the four furlongs over a “fast” track under jockey Shaun Bridgmohan in :50.  She covered the distance in fractional times of :13, :25.60 and :38.60 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:05.60.

“It was an easy first work back,” said Asmussen.  “It’s nice cool morning and everything is ideal today.  It’s another step in the process.”

Asmussen said there’s no target for Rachel Alexandra’s next race following back-to-back losses to Zardana by three-quarters of a length in the New Orleans Ladies on March 13 and Unrivaled Belle by the margin of a head in the La Troienne at Churchill Downs on the April 30 Kentucky Oaks Day program.

“All options are open,” Asmussen said.

Rachel Alexandra’s record stands at 11-4-0 in 16 races with earnings of $3,074,050.

WORK TAB (Track: FAST) – Emmy Darling breezed a half-mile in :48 under Calvin Borel for trainer John Sadler … Florida Oaks (GIII) winner Diva Delite breezed a half-mile in :50 for trainer Ian Wilkes …  Ravi’s Song breezed four furlongs in :50 … multiple turf and dirt stakes winner Acoma breezed five furlongs in 1:00.40 for trainer David Carroll …Cash Refund, winner of the Duncan Kenner and F.W. Gaudin Memorial at Fair Grounds, breezed five furlongs in 1:00.60 for trainer Steve Margolis … Stay Put, an allowance winner on Derby Day and a possible Belmont Stakes candidate, breezed four furlongs in :49, also for Margolis … Kensei, winner of the 2009 renewals of the  Dwyer (GII) and Jim Dandy (GII), breezed a half-mile in :48.80 for trainer Steve Asmussen.

BAFFERT DERBY DUO, DUBLIN RETURN TO THE TRACK – Kentucky Derby favorite Lookin At Lucky and stablemate Conveyance were back on the track Thursday morning for the first time since last Saturday’s “Run for the Roses” with both colts galloping 1 ½ miles after the renovation break under Peter Hutton.

`“He looks good,” trainer Bob Baffert said of Lookin At Lucky, who finished sixth as the tepid favorite in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands.  “He’s got a swagger to him. They both looked good.”

Throughout the week, Baffert had called Preakness participation for both colts a “50-50” proposition. That changed a tiny bit Thursday morning.

“He’s 51,” Baffert said of Lookin At Lucky, owned by Karl Watson, Mike Pegram and Paul Weitman. “This one (Conveyance, owned by Zabeel Racing International) is 50.”

Also returning to the track for the first time since Saturday’s Derby was Robert Baker and William Mack’s Dublin.  The son of Afleet Alex jogged a mile shortly after 6 o’clock under exercise rider Arielle Witkowski.

“He’s doing excellent; sharp as a tack,” trainer D. Wayne Lukas said. “You’d never know he ran.”

Dublin, who ran seventh in the Kentucky Derby, is scheduled to van to Pimlico on Tuesday where he will attempt to give Lukas a sixth Preakness victory.

Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, owned by WinStar Farm, jogged a mile for the second consecutive day under exercise rider Kevin Willey.

Other Thursday morning activity for Churchill Downs-based Preakness hopefuls included Dogwood Stable’s Aikenite galloping 1 ¼ miles, Robert LaPenta and Jacks or Better Farm’s Jackson Bend galloping a mile and a quarter, Ike and Dawn Thrash’s The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial (GIII) winner Hurricane Ike jogging a mile and the Dale Romans-trained duo of Donegal Racing’s Paddy O’Prado and Donald Dizney’s First Dude galloping a mile and a half each.

PURE CLAN HEADED TO ROOD & RIDDLE – What was supposed to be a routine work day turned out to be anything but that when Lewis Lakin’s star turf mare Pure Clan demonstrated that she wanted no part of a scheduled five-furlong work under regular exercise rider Steve Schmelzel.

“She didn’t want to work,” trainer Bob Holthus said. “There is possibly something wrong with her left front foot and we are going to try to get her in today at Rood & Riddle (clinic in Lexington).”

Pure Clan has not raced since finishing second in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (GI) last November at Santa Anita.

“She bruised the bottom of her feet when she was turned out, just like last year,” Holthus said. “Physically, she has filled out a lot.”

Holthus was plotting a 2010 campaign similar to that of 2009 when Pure Clan began the year in the Early Times Mint Julep (GIII) at 1 1/16 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course and concluded with a Breeders’ Cup run.

“If she runs five times and as good as she did last year, I’ll be happy,” said Holthus, who counts Pure Clan among the best horses he has trained in the company with Proper Reality and Lawyer Ron.

In three seasons of racing, Pure Clan has compiled a record of 8-4-3 in 16 races with earnings of $1,987,498. Included in that record are Grade I victories in the American Oaks Invitational and Flower Bowl and three graded stakes triumphs at Churchill Downs.

RAVI’S SONG RETURNS WITH STYLISH VICTORY-- If one wants to draw a smile from trainer Carl Bowman, just mention Ravi’s Song.

The smiles have been plentiful since last Friday when Ravi’s Song returned to the races after a 7 ½-month layoff because of an injury. Ridden by Francisco Torres, Ravi’s Song swept past seven rivals in the stretch to win a seven-furlong allowance test by 2 ¼ lengths in 1:22.85.

“She was pretty impressive, wasn’t she,” Bowman said. “She just has an incredible turn of foot and when she kicks it in, wow!”

The 4-year-old filly by Unbridled’s Song is a daughter of Lu Ravi, who was trained by Bowman. A five-time graded stakes winner and three-time runner-up in Grade I races, Lu Ravi compiled a record of 26-11-8-3 in five years of racing for earnings of $1,819,781.

Lu Ravi’s best running came in routes and Bowman expects the same from Ravi’s Song.

“She is much better going two turns,” Bowman said. “I would prefer to find a non-winners of three other than going a mile and a sixteenth and after that look at stakes. I don’t like grass and I don’t like synthetics, so she will stay on dirt.”

SELVA HEADS FIELD OF EIGHT FILLIES AND MARES FOR SATURDAY’S UNBRIDLED SIDNEY – Helen Alexander and Helen Groves’ Selva, winner of the 2009 Mardi Gras on turf at Fair Grounds and runner-up in her 2010 debut in the Bienville on grass, tops a field of eight fillies and mares entered for Saturday’s $62,000-added Unbridled Sidney at five furlongs on the Matt Winn Turf Course.

Trained by David Carroll, Selva will be ridden by Robby Albarado, who was aboard for the Mardi Gras triumph.

The field for the Unbridled Sidney, from the hedge out, is Ivory Empress (Julien Leparoux, 118 pounds), Knockout Bertie (Shaun Bridgmohan, 118), Tirbracken Lily (Leandro Goncalves, 112), Pina Colada (Brian Hernandez Jr., 118), Selva (Robby Albarado, 118), Trusty Temper (Corey Nakatani, 118), Valentine Fever (Francisco Torres, 118) and Candy Cane (Garrett Gomez, 118).

WORK TAB (Track: FAST) – Miner’s Reserve, seventh in The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial for trainer Nick Zito, breezed four furlongs in :49.40 … (Turf: FIRM – dogs up) –  Veteran turf star Silverfoot breezed four furlongs on turf in :50.20.  Trainer Dallas Stewart’s three-time winner of the Louisville Handicap (GIII) is now 10 years old … Regret (GIII) winner and Mrs. Revere (GII) runner-up Keertana breezed three furlongs on turf in :36 for trainer Tom Proctor.

FLORIDA / BUDDY’S SAINT MAKES 2010 BOW IN FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH – An important weekend of preps for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) offers opportunities to view intriguing contenders in several locations, but few of those 3-year-olds will attract more scrutiny than Buddy’s Saint.

The impressive winner of last fall’s Remsen (GII) at Aqueduct makes his 2010 debut against nine rivals in Saturday’s  $250,000 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (GII) over 1 1/8 miles at Florida’s Gulfstream Park.

Regular jockey Jose Lezcano will be in the saddle for trainer Bruce Levine.  The son of Saint Liam, who also won Aqueduct’s Nashua by 14 lengths, will break from post two.

Major rivals to the favorite include Jackson Bend, a Nick Zito-trained winner of five-of-seven races who finished second in the Holy Bull (GIII) last out at Gulfstream; the Todd Pletcher-trained duo of Eskendereya and Aikenite; and Lost Aptitude, a Kentucky-based colt trained by Dale Romans who makes his debut on dirt following a narrow loss on grass in the Tropical Park Derby (GIII).   Zito also trains Ice Box, who is coming off a recent allowance win at the Fountain of Youth distance at the Florida track.

Also on Saturday’s Gulfstream Park card is the $150,000 Hutcheson (GII) at seven furlongs.  The race matches brother-against-brother as trainer Rick Dutrow, who saddled Big Brown to win the 2008 Kentucky Derby, sends Saratoga Special (GII) and Belmont Futurity (GII) winner D’Funnybone and British import Radiohead out to face younger sibling Tony Dutrow’s A Little Warm, winner of the Spectacular Bid (GIII) at Gulfstream Park.

A strong Gulfstream allowance race on Sunday has attracted potential Kentucky Derby contenders that include the Zito-trained Fly Down, Pletcher’s Colizeo and Romans’ First Dude.

In Wednesday, Padua Stables’ Odysseus stamped himself as a 3-year-old to watch when he crushed a field in an allowance race at Tampa Bay Downs by 15 lengths.  The Tom Albertrani-trained son of Malibu Moon could run next in the Tampa Bay Derby (GIII),

On the same day, Lentenor – the little brother to 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro – finished second to the rail-skimming Doubles Partner in a 1 1/8-mile allowance race on the grass at Gulfstream Park.

"I thought he performed well,” said Lentenor’s trainer Michael Matz, who also trained Barbaro.  “He was a little immature and green down the stretch.  He just needs experience.”

SOUTH / LECOMTE WINNER RON THE GREEK TAKES ON TOUGH GROUP IN RISEN STAR – Ron the Greek, a stretch-running winner of the Lecomte (GIII) at New Orleans’ Fair Grounds, faces a group of invaders headed by highly regarded Florida shipper Drosselmeyer, the speedy Tempted to Tapit and stakes veteran Discreetly Mine in the 1 1/16 mile Risen Star (GII).

Jockey James Graham will be back aboard Ron the Greek, whose stiffest challenge could come from Drosselmeyer, a winner of back-to-back races at Churchill Downs and Gulfstream Park for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, who is looking for his first Kentucky Derby victory.

Other major players include Stay Put, who brings a two-race winning streak into the Risen Star for Louisville, Ky.-based owners Richard, Elaine and Bert Klein and trainer Steve Margolis, and Hotep, a son of A.P. Indy owned by Canada’s famed Sam-Son Farm who scored a recent allowance victory for trainer Mark Frostad.  The latter is a brother to Eye of the Leopard, the winner of the 2009 Queen’s Plate, Canada’s equivalent to the Kentucky Derby.

DUBLIN GETS BETTER POST IN RE-DRAWN SOUTHWEST – The $250,000 Southwest Stakes (GIII) was postponed Monday because of icy conditions at Oaklawn Park, but all 10 horses originally entered in the one-mile race were back in the entry box when it was re-drawn on Thursday at the Hot Springs, Ark. track.

Dublin, trained by four-time Kentucky Derby winner D. Wayne Lukas, ended up in post three on Saturday after having drawn the outside post in the earlier version of the race.  Lukas’ colt won the Three Chimneys Hopeful (GI) at Saratoga and underwent throat surgery to correct a breathing problem after suffering back-to-back losses to end his 2-year-old season.

A trio of California invaders headed by the unbeaten Conveyance figure to be among Dublin’s chief rivals.  Conveyance won the San Rafael (GIII) over synthetic footing at Santa Anita and is perfect in three starts for three-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Bob Baffert.  He makes his debut on real dirt, as will Cardiff Giant and Domonation, the 2-3 San Rafael finishers.

Other major players include Smarty Jones winner Dryfly, who is trained by Lynn Whiting, who saddled Lil E. Tee to win the 1992 Kentucky Derby, and Kitty’s Turn, a flying third in the Smarty Jones after a poor start.

WEST / EL CAMINO REAL, TURF PARADISE DERBY ARE HEADLINERS – Trainer Todd Pletcher’s Connemara, an upset victim when he suffered his first career loss as the odds-on favorite in the California Derby, will attempt to make amends in Saturday’s $150,000 El Camino Real Derby at Northern California’s Golden Gate Fields.  Despite his runner-up finish in the earlier race, the son of Giant’s Causeway is the 2-1 favorite as he faces nine rivals under jockey Russell Baze.

Ranger Heartley, who defeated Connemara in the earlier race, is the 5-2 second choice.

Arizona native Bob Baffert has shipped Indian Firewater to Turf Paradise in Phoenix for the $50,000 Turf Paradise Derby at 1 1/16 miles.  The son of Indian Charlie is coming off a runner-up finish to stablemate The Program in a Santa Anita allowance race.

DERBY 136 NOTES: South African-based 4-year-old Musir defeated Godolphin’s Kentucky Derby-nominated 3-year-old Frozen Power in the UAE 2000 Guineas on Thursday at Dubai’s Meydan Race Course … The Courier-Journal’s Jennie Rees reports that Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s William’s Kitten, a wagering interest in Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, is off the Kentucky Derby Trail after suffering a minor ankle injury during a workout at Gulfstream Park.

There were few surprises on a brisk opening day of betting in Pool 1 of Churchill Downs’ 2010 Kentucky Derby Future Wager (“KDFW”) as 2-year-old champion Lookin At Lucky ended the day as the favored individual contender for the May 1 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum Brands (Grade I), but the “all others” wagering interest was a heavy overall favorite.

Fueled by a $5,000 wager placed on the mutuel field, which represents all Thoroughbreds other than the 23 individual horses in Pool 1, during the first five minutes of Friday’s betting, odds on the “all others” betting interest dropped as low as 1-9 in and had risen slightly to 2-5 by late evening.  The Bob Baffert-trained Lookin At Lucky, winner of the Cash Futurity (GI) at Hollywood Park last time out, was the second choice at 9-1, while Remsen (GII) winner Buddy’s Saint was a close third choice at 12-1.

A total of $121,975 was wagered during the first of three days of Pool 1 Derby Future betting – which included $105,905 in win wagers and $16,070 in exacta betting.   Of the win total, $60,788 was wagered on the mutuel field.  Betting is set to resume in the first of three 2010 KDFW pools at noon (all times EST) on Saturday, Feb. 13.  Pool 1 wagering will conclude on Sunday, Feb. 14 at 6 p.m.

The Kentucky Derby Future Wager provides an opportunity for fans to wager weeks in advance on contenders for the Kentucky Derby – which will be run at Churchill Downs on Saturday, May 1 – at odds that could be more attractive than those they would receive on Derby Day.  Exacta wagering, a popular addition to the Kentucky Derby Future Wager betting menu in 2009, is back for all three pools in 2010.  The Derby Future bet is a $2 minimum “win” wager.  The minimum wager for a straight exacta, which requires the bettor to select the Kentucky Derby’s top two finishers in the exact order of finish, is $2, while the minimum for exacta boxes and wheels is $1.

Other horses that attracted significant support on Friday’s opening day of betting included Dublin (27-1), the Hopeful (GI) winner trained by four-time Kentucky Derby winner D. Wayne Lukas; unbeaten Uptowncharlybrown (35-1), one of the favorites for Saturday’s Sam F. Davis Stakes (GIII) at Tampa Bay Downs; and the WinStar Farm duo of Drosselmeyer (40-1) and Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) winner Super Saver (41-1).
 
#        Wagering Intereest       ODDS         
                               
1        AIKENITE        83-1     
2        AMERICAN LION        59-1     
3        BUDDY’S SAINT        12-1   
4        CONCORD POINT        99-1  
5        CONVEYANCE        71-1    
6        DAVE IN DIXIE        99-1   
7        DROSSELMEYER        40-1   
8        DRYFLY        79-1    
9        DUBLIN        27-1  
10        ESKENDEREYA        50-1      
11        JACKSON BEND        60-1   
12        LOOKIN AT LUCKY        9-1    
13        MAKE MUSIC FOR ME        99-1   
14        MAXIMUS RULER        99-1    
15        NOBLE’S PROMISE        70-1  
16        RON THE GREEK        62-1   
17        RULE        59-1
18        STAY PUT        98-1      
19        SUPER SAVER        41-1  
20        TIZ CHROME        47-1   
21        UPTOWNCHARLYBROWN  35-1
22        VALE OF YORK (IRE)        52-1    
23        WILLIAM’S KITTEN        73-1     
24        MUTUEL FIELD “ALL OTHERS”        2-5   
                               
TOTAL                        105,905.60    

Robert Baker and William Mack’s Dublin, winner of prestigious Grade I Hopeful at Saratoga, tops a field of a dozen 2-year-olds entered for the 28th running of Churchill Downs’ $100,000 Iroquois (Grade III) at one mile on the main track on Sunday’s “Stars of Tomorrow I” program that raises the curtain on the historic track’s 21-day Fall Meet.

The Iroquois and the $100,000-added Pocahontas (GIII), a mile race for 2-year-old fillies, share the marquee on the opener of the meet that runs through Nov. 28. First post time for Sunday’s 11-race card is 12:40 p.m. (all times EST) with the Iroquois going as the 10th race with a 5:02 p.m. post time.

Sunday’s program is the first of two Fall Meet “Stars of Tomorrow” cards entirely devoted to rising 2-year-old stars who have aspirations to compete in next year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) and Kentucky Oaks (GI).  Over the previous four years “Stars of Tomorrow” races have served as launching pads for 15 Grade I winners, including millionaires Rachel Alexandra, Lawyer Ron, Macho Again, Pure Clan, Court Vision, Swift Temper and Any Given Saturday.

Dublin, who runs for the stable of four-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer D. Wayne Lukas, was supplemented at a cost of $5,000 to run in the Iroquois. Dublin was fifth as the odds-on favorite last time out in the Champagne (GI) at Belmont Park on Oct. 10 and the son of Afleet Alex is the 4-1 favorite for the Iroquois in oddsmaker Mike Battaglia’s morning line odds.  He will be ridden for the first time by Rajiv Maragh and the colt will break from post position six under top weight of 123 pounds.

Other stakes winners in the field are Burning Sands Stable’s unbeaten Comedero, winner of the restricted Razorback Futurity at Louisiana Downs; A.C. and Clare Asbury’s Gleam of Hope, winner of the off-the-turf Cradle at River Downs; Vision Racing’s Three Day Rush, who won Monmouth Park’s restricted NATC Futurity; and Triple AAA Ranch’s Uh Oh Bango, a 10 ½-length winner of the Prairie Meadows Freshman

Capt. Candyman Can, who will be running in next weekend’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint, won last year’s Iroquois.

The field for the Iroquois, from the rail out (with jockey and morning line odds), is as follows: Raging Wit (J. Leparoux, 117 pounds, 12-1), Call Shot (R. Albarado, 117, 6-1), Oh Charlie Boy (M. Mena, 117, 30-1), Three Day Rush (E. Prado, 121, 8-1), Brassy Boy (C. Borel, 117, 30-1), Dublin, Uh Oh Bango (G. Corbett, 121, 5-1), Soaring Empire (E. Castro, 117, 15-1), Fist of Rage (K. Desormeaux, 117, 20-1), Thiskyhasnolimit (S. Bridgmohan 117, 6-1), Gleam of Hope (C. Lanerie, 121, 5-1) and Comedero (J. Theriot, 121, 6-1).

LUKAS SUPPLEMENTING HOPEFUL WINNER DUBLIN TO IROQUOIS – Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has supplemented Robert Baker and William Mack’s Dublin into Sunday’s 28th running of the Iroquois (Grade III) at a mile on the main track.

Fifth in his most recent start in the Champagne (GI) at Belmont Park on Oct. 10, Dublin has turned in two five-furlong works at Churchill Downs since that race.
    “He has done very well since the Champagne,” said Lukas, who has given the riding assignment to Rajiv Maragh. “I did not consider the Breeders’ Cup with him, because I did not want to run him on the artificial (Pro-Ride surface at Santa Anita).”

A $525,000 Keeneland September Sale purchase last year, Dublin debuted during the spring meet here running fourth behind two-time graded states winner Backtalk. Dublin returned two months later at Saratoga to break his maiden and then capture the Grade I Hopeful on Sept. 7.

“He’s my best 2-year-old and he may be one of the best in the country,” said Lukas, a four-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer. “Over the past few years, he ranks right with the best that I have had. I have been high on him since Day One. He has a good pedigree (Afleet Alex out of a Storm Bird mare) and lots of ability.”

TELLING WORKS AROUND THE DOGS FOR BREEDERS’ CUP TURF – Alex and JoAnn Lieblong’s Telling, upset winner of the Grade I Sword Dancer Invitational in August at Saratoga, worked a leisurely five furlongs in 1:08.20 around the “dogs” Thursday morning at Churchill Downs with Jesus Castanon up for trainer Steve Hobby.

“He usually averages 1:03 and change on the dirt, so 1:08 and 1 around the dogs on soft ground is probably about right for him,” Hobby said. “This is the first time I have worked him on the turf.”

Clockers rated the course as “firm” although there had been steady rain early the morning before.

“It is still pretty soft out there but nowhere near as soft as what he ran in the last time,” Hobby said referring to the Turf Classic Invitational (GI) on Oct. 3 at Belmont Park in which Telling finished third but was disqualified to fourth for interference in the stretch.

Telling arrived at Churchill Downs on Sunday from Hawthorne and will fly out to Santa Anita on Monday for a run in the Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Turf (GI) on Nov. 7. Javier Castellano, who has been aboard for Telling’s past two starts, will have the call.

The Santa Anita trip will be the first for Hobby, a 53-year-old Illinois native.

“I have never run in California,” Hobby said. “Heck, I never had run in New York before this summer.”

SHE’S OUR ANNIE ON COMEBACK TRAIL FOR FIRES – When Destiny Oaks’ She’s Our Annie won the Prima Donna in stakes record-equaling time in March at Oaklawn Park, the sky appeared to be the limit.

   “After that race, we detected the start of a slab fracture and caught it before it materialized,” trainer Jinks Fires said. “Her next out was going to be going a mile at Oaklawn (in the Instant Racing Stakes). We gave her 90 days off and she has come back really good.”

A homebred daughter of Medaglia d’Oro, She’s Our Annie has won three of four career starts. She has turned in five works locally, four bullets, with the most recent being a six-furlong move in 1:13.40 on Tuesday.

She’s Our Annie is nominated to the one-mile Chilukki to be run Nov. 7.

“She is probably going to run in an overnight stake, but we have nominated to the Chilukki,” Fires said. “We had high hopes for her this spring and we still do.”

BARN TALK – Calvin Borel, who this spring became the first jockey since 1993 to win the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby in the same year, has been invited to participate in a jockey challenge in Japan from Dec. 2-7 according to his agent Jerry Hissam. Borel, who won the Oaks on Rachel Alexandra and the Derby on Mine That Bird, finished the spring meet with 61 victories, second only to Julien Leparoux’s 62.

   Jackson Bend, who swept the Florida Stallion series at Calder, arrived in trainer Nick Zito’s barn at Churchill Downs early Thursday morning according to Tara Murty, Zito’s assistant. Robert La Penta purchased a controlling interest in the 2-year-old colt, who has won five consecutive races with the most recent being the In Reality Stakes on Oct. 17.

General Quarters, the pride and joy of owner-trainer Tom McCarthy, is back on the track following his recovery from surgery to have a chip removed from his right front knee. “He had his first work back last week (:38.80 on Oct. 22) and he may go tomorrow if it doesn’t rain and the track is OK,” McCarthy said Thursday morning as General Quarters galloped by.     Winner of the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (GI) this spring at Keeneland, General Quarters ran 10th in the Kentucky Derby and ninth in the Preakness before going on the shelf. McCarthy had hoped to have General Quarters ready for a possible run in the Nov. 27 Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GII), “but every time we get ready to do something, it rains,” McCarthy said. “If he doesn’t make a race here, I’ll point to something at the Fair Grounds this winter.”

2010 CHURCHILL DOWNS WALL CALENDAR GIVEAWAY ON OPENING DAY – The first 5,000 fans in attendance on Sunday, Nov. 1 – opening day of the 2009 Fall Meet – will receive a free 2010 Churchill Downs Wall Calendar, sponsored by Humana. The colorful calendar features major event listings and vivid and memorable images from the Kentucky Derby and around the historic racetrack.

Opening day of the anticipated 21-day stand doubles as “Stars of Tomorrow I” with 11 live races entirely devoted to rising 2-year-old stars who have aspirations of trail-blazing their way to next year’s Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks (GI). The featured events are the open Iroquois and the fillies’ Pocahontas, a pair of Grade III, $100,000-added events run at one mile on the main track.

The day also will feature the debut a new free Sunday morning public workout program from 8-10 a.m. entitled “Daybreak at the Downs” and a special 2-year-old handicapping seminar and breakfast in the Paddock Pavilion from 9-11:30 a.m.
Admission gates will open at 11:30 a.m. and first post is 12:40 p.m. ET.
Churchill Downs 120th Fall Meet, featuring world-class horse racing, will continue for a four-week stand through Saturday, Nov. 28.

General admission is $3, but only $1 for senior citizens and members of the track’s free-to-join Twin Spires Club. Children 12 and under are admitted free when accompanied by an adult. Parking is free in the Longfield Avenue lot (Gates 10 & 12) and $3 in all other lots. Valet parking is $5.

For more information or to reserve seats, please call (502) 636-4400 or visit www.ChurchillDowns.com.

SPECIAL 2-YEAR-OLD HANDICAPPING SEMINAR SET ON OPENING DAY FROM 9-11:30 A.M. – Churchill Downs will host its annual “Stars of Tomorrow” 2-Year-Old Handicapping Seminar on Sunday, Nov. 1 in the Paddock Pavilion from 9-11:30 a.m.

Churchill Downs racing analyst Jill Byrne will host this year’s seminar with jockey Jon Court, trainer Ian Wilkes and workout clocker John Nichols. The quartet will provide insight on how to improve handicapping skills for 2-year-old racing and in-depth analysis of the entire “Stars of Tomorrow I” racing program with a question and answer session.

One of the most attractive aspects of the seminar is a special trip to the saddling paddock for an up-close inspection of a 2-year-old and its confirmation, behavior and equipment.

The cost to attend is $25 and includes breakfast buffet, official program, Brisnet.com past performances, and a reserved seat in Skye Terrace 5. There also will be a raffle for door prizes, including a VIP day at the races, two rounds of golf at Belterra Casino Resort & Spa, signed framed photographs of past Kentucky Derby winners and a chance to watch a race from the Churchill Downs announcer’s booth with track commentator Mark Johnson.

Call (502) 636-4400 for reservations.

“WHO’S THE CHAMP?” HANDICAPPING TOURNAMENT RETURNS SUNDAYS & WEDNESDAYS – Churchill Downs’ popular “Who’s the Champ” Handicapping Tournament will return for the 2009 Fall Meet with contests every Sunday and Wednesday through Nov. 22.

Horse racing fans can pit their handicapping skills against the best Louisville has to offer for twice-weekly cash prizes and an invitation to the Sunday, Nov. 22 final. The top two finishers in the final will win coveted berths in the Daily Racing Form/National Thoroughbred Racing Association Handicapping Championship XI scheduled for Jan. 29-30 at Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa in Las Vegas.

Prize money for each contest, which requires participants to place mythical $2 Win and Place wagers in Races 3-9, totals $4,000, including a $1,400 first prize.

The top 25 unique participants in each contest through Wednesday, Nov. 18 will be invited to the Nov. 22 final.

The participation fee for each contest is $30 and includes complimentary lunch. It’s discounted to $25 for Twin Spires Club members. Registration will take place in the Champions Club Lounge on the second floor of the clubhouse from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on contest days. Additional contest seating will be available in the Churchill Downs Lounge when necessary.

NEW “DAYBREAK AT THE DOWNS” FREE EVERY SUNDAY FROM 8-10 A.M. – “Daybreak at the Downs” – patterned after Kentucky Derby week’s well-attended “Dawn at the Downs” – will make its debut on opening day, Sunday, Nov. 1, and take place every Sunday from 8-10 a.m. throughout the 2009 Fall Meet.
Churchill Downs’ racing analyst Jill Byrne will host the program with select special guests and she’ll describe the on-track action and provide insightful commentary as hundreds of horses prepare for their upcoming races in morning workouts.

“Daybreak at the Downs” is free to attend each Sunday. Complimentary coffee, donuts and milk will be served to attendees.

Interested patrons should park in the Longfield Lot and enter through Gate 10. The “Daybreak at the Downs” will be presented in Sections 116-117 of the clubhouse. Visitors are welcome to stay for a day at the races free of charge.