Pure Clan

Veteran trainer Robert Holthus, a regular on racing circuits in Kentucky, Arkansas and the Midwest for nearly 60 years, died Tuesday morning in Louisville, Ky. at the age of 77.

He was preparing to head to Churchill Downs to oversee his horses’ morning training when Holthus was stricken by an apparent heart attack.  He died a short time later at a local hospital.

Holthus is survived by his wife, Bonnie; sons Paul and David; and a daughter, Debbie.

A local memorial service for Holthus has been scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 26 at 10:30 a.m. (EST) at Christ Chapel on the Churchill Downs backside.  An additional memorial service will be scheduled later in Hot Springs, Ark.

"This is a very sad day for all members of the Churchill Downs and Kentucky Derby families as we have lost a revered figure and a true friend in Robert Holthus,” said Kevin Flanery, president of Churchill Downs.  “His talents as a horseman are easily appreciated by a look at wins and earnings that serve as the bottom line for a remarkable career, but Bob was also a true gentleman to everyone who crossed his path.  He has meant so much to fellow horsemen, fans who have watched his horses compete here for more than a half-century and to members of our Churchill Downs team.  Our hearts and prayers are with the Holthus family and Bob’s many friends during this time of great loss.”

His career, which began at Nebraska’s Columbus racetrack in 1952, started well before the launch of official record-keeping for American Thoroughbred racing.  But Holthus saddled documented winners of 2,824 races, which ranks 28^th on the sport’s all-time win list, and compiled earnings of $46,085,877.  He had at least 146 stakes wins, with 27 of those in graded stakes events.

Career highlights included a pair of victories in the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park with Proper Reality (1988) and Lawyer Ron (2006), both of whom were among his five career starters in the Kentucky Derby (GI).  Proper Reality finished fourth to Winning Colors in his “Run for the Roses,” while Lawyer Ron finished 12^th behind Barbaro.  Holthus’ other Derby hopes were Our Trade Winds (12^th in 1972), Pro Prado (13^th in 2004) and Greater Good (13^th in 2005).

Proper Reality went on to win the Metropolitan Mile (GI) at Belmont Park and the Iselin Handicap (GI) at Monmouth Park.  Lawyer Ron’s wins in the spring of his 3-year-old season for Holthus also included the Southwest and Rebel Stakes (GIII).

Another outstanding horse in his career was Pure Clan, a stakes winner on both turf and dirt.  Her wins on the grass included the Flower Bowl Invitational (GI) at Belmont Park and the American Oaks (GI) at Hollywood Park.  Two of Pure Clan’s stakes victories came on the dirt at Churchill Downs in the 2007 Golden Rod (GII) and Pocahontas (GIII), both races for 2-year-old fillies, and she also won the Regret (GII) for 3-year-old fillies on turf the following year.

Holthus never won a training title at Churchill Downs, but won 211 races locally and had six documented top five finishes in “leading trainer” races.  They included:

• Third place finishes in the Spring Meet in 1974 (9 wins) and ’75 (10 wins);
• A fourth-place finish in the 2005 Spring Meet (14 wins); and
• Fifth-place finishes in the 2006 Fall Meet (six wins), 1997 Spring (11 wins) and 1995 Spring (nine wins).

Other successes among his 11 career stakes victories at Churchill Downs included renewals of the Churchill Downs Handicap with Bay Phantom, Holthus’ first local stakes win in 1966, and Top Avenger, who won a division of the race in 1982.  He also won the River City Handicap with Suliman (1981), Grade III Bashford Manor with A.V. Eight (1995), the first of two Pocahontas wins with The Happy Hopper (1998), Grade III American Turf with Air Rocket (1999), Grade II Humana Distaff with Ruby Surprise (2000) and the Grade II Kentucky Jockey Club (Greater Good, 2004).

His earned his last victory at Churchill Downs with Dance Caller on Nov. 18, 2010.

The native of Table Rock, Neb. was the son of a trainer and is the all-time win leader at Oaklawn Park. Holthus earned nine “leading trainer” titles the Arkansas track and his Oaklawn exploits earned Holthus enshrinement in the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.  He also won training titles at Arlington Park, Hawthorne Race Course, Louisiana Downs, Detroit Race Course, and Kentucky’s Ellis Park and Turfway Park.

BOREL GETS FIRST SPRING MEET RIDING TITLE – Jockey Calvin Borel popped the gate on opening day by winning five races and never looked back in winning his first Spring Meet riding title at Churchill Downs.
“That first day felt good, but it is a long meet and you never know what will happen,” said Borel, who won an outright Fall Meet title in 1999 and shared Fall honors in 2006 and 2009. “But I have ridden here so long, it is like being in my yard and I am happy here.”

In addition to the most number of wins, Borel led all riders with five stakes victories, starting opening day with Hurricane Ike in The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial (Grade III) and coming back a week later to win the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) on Super Saver.  The latter victory for Borel was an unprecedented third triumph in four years in the “Run for the Roses.”

"I’ve had a good meet. I rode some good horses and I’d like to thank the trainers for giving me the opportunities,” Borel said. “But winning the Derby, man, that made everything.”

With 49 winners entering Sunday’s final card, Borel was in position to have his second-best Spring Meet in terms of numbers with 10 mounts. Borel rode 61 winners last spring and he had 52 winners in both 2006 and 2008. He also hit the 50-win mark in 1998 with 50 and in 2001 and 2002 when he had 51 in both years.

Other stakes winners Borel rode were defending Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra in the Fleur de Lis (GII), Atta Boy Roy in the Churchill Downs (GII) and Ailalea in the Dogwood (GIII).

Borel will take some time off after the meet ends and before heading to Saratoga for that meet that begins July 23.

LOCUST GROVE WINNER DANZON SARATOGA BOUND – Trainer Jim Baker was still shaking his head in amazement Sunday morning after Danzon prevailed in a six-horse photo finish in Saturday’s one-mile Locust Grove Handicap (GIII).

"I thought for sure we got beat,” Baker said. “You get caught up in all the emotion after the race and then the camera showed the four (Acoma) and 90 percent of the time, those guys are right.

“Then they put up the 6-9, and I thought I was the nine.”

Baker claimed Danzon for $80,000 for owner Alfred Nuckols Jr., and this was the 7-year-old mare’s first start in his care.

“I am just glad she ran so well,” Baker said. “I have lost a lot of close ones, but even if you get beat a nose, you know you ran well. She will go to Saratoga for sure and we will look around and see what they have up there.”

Happiness Is, who finished a nose back in second and Keertana, who was fifth beaten three noses and a neck, were both doing well Sunday morning according to Fergus Bogle, assistant to trainer Tom Proctor who was in Chicago where his Snow Top Mountain ran second in Saturday’s Arlington Oaks (GIII).

"Happiness Is may to go Canterbury for the race she won last year (the $100,000 Lady Canterbury at a mile on the turf on July 24)),” Bogle said. “Keertana is still on track for the Beverly D. (GI on Aug. 21). She had a wide trip and still only got beat a half-length.”

The Beverly D. also remains the target for favored Acoma, who finished fourth beaten two noses and a neck.

“I thought she ran a good race,” trainer David Carroll said. “It was just her second race back, she was giving weight and just got beat a neck. I am not disappointed at all. I don’t think she saw the horses on the outside and I think that she thought she had won.”

Carroll said that Acoma would remain here until just before the Beverly D, run at 1 3/16 miles, a distance Carroll says is more to Acoma’s liking.

PURE CLAN TO RESUME GALLOPING MONDAY MORNING – As exercise rider Steve Schmelzel brought Pure Clan off the track after jogging a mile, trainer Bob Holthus sported a broad smile.

“She looks a lot happier out there than she was all last year,” Holthus said as Pure Clan bucked her way back to Barn 32. “She will start galloping again tomorrow.”

Owned by Lewis Lakin, Pure Clan has been battling a bruised left front foot this spring. She refused to train the morning of May 6 and the 5-year-old mare was given time off at Lakin’s farm in Versailles and spent time on an aqua-tread.

“She has been on the treadmill for 45 days, so it won’t be that long until she works,” said Holthus of Pure Clan, who returned to the barn Thursday and has jogged the past two mornings. “So far, I like what I see from her.”

Pure Clan, who has compiled a career record of 8-4-3 in 16 races with earnings of $1,987,498, has not raced since a runner-up finish to Midday in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (GI) last November at Santa Anita. That race, scheduled for Nov. 5 at Churchill Downs, is the ultimate goal for Pure Clan who will spend the summer here.

"We are going to try to make the Flower Bowl (GI),” Holthus said of an October race at Belmont Park that Pure Clan won last year. “That would give us the best chance to make the Breeders’ Cup.”

BARN TALK – Maggi Moss’ final starter of the meet, Don’t Shoot, rewarded Moss with her ninth winner of the meet and a two-win cushion over Ken and Sarah Ramsey entering the final day of the meet. The Ramseys, winners of the past five meet-leading owner titles and a record 16 overall (eight Spring and eight Fall), picked up their seventh winner of the meet in Saturday’s fourth race with Custers Last Stand. The Ramseys have six horses entered Sunday. Moss’ lone Churchill Downs leading owner title came in the 2007 Spring Meet. …

Steve Asmussen, who swept the training titles at both meets in 2009, rode the victory by Kantharos in the Bashford Manor (GIII) to open a 24-18 advantage on Dale Romans and clinch at least a tie for the title. Eyeing his fourth Spring Meet title and eighth overall, Asmussen has five horses entered Sunday and Romans has six. …

Shaun Bridgmohan was blanked Saturday, keeping his Churchill Downs victory total at 297. Bridgmohan is named on six mounts Sunday in his bid to become the 19th rider to reach 300 victories at Churchill Downs. …

Trainer Neil Howard reported that Dogwood Stable’s Lou Brissie probably would head to Saratoga after his runner-up effort on Kantharos in the Bashford Manor. “He is fine this morning,” Howard said of Lou Brissie, who suffered his first loss in three starts. “That was a good colt that beat him and we knew that going in.”

WORK TAB – Hull, winner of the 2009 Derby Trial (GIII), worked a half-mile in :47.60 over a fast track, fastest of 63 at the distance. … Colizeo, winner of last month’s Northern Dancer (GIII), worked a half-mile in :48.40, fourth best of the morning at the distance.

HOLTHUS TURNS 76 TODAY; BEST PRESENT COMES NEXT WEEK – Bob Holthus has been a trainer for more than 75 percent of his life and today he turns 76, some 58 years after he got his trainer’s license in 1952.

Did he have an idea starting out he would still be training horses all these many years later?

“No,” Holthus said quickly and with a laugh.

Holthus has seen a lot of things in his years on the track, including some he thought he never would see.

“Lights at Churchill Downs. I never thought I would see that,” said Holthus, who saddled his first horse beneath the Twin Spires in 1955. “But we ran at night in the summer at Fairmount Park and Cahokia Downs in the 1950s.”

Holthus, whose top horses have included Proper Reality and Lawyer Ron, sees a different game today than from when he started.

“The purses have increased, but so have the costs,” Holthus said. “Back then, it was more of a family with people looking out for one another and that has changed.”

Although the birthday is today, Holthus is scheduled to receive his best gift next week when stable star Pure Clan returns to the barn.

The two-time Grade I winner, unraced since a runner-up effort in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (GI) last November at Oak Tree at Santa Anita, refused to train on May 6 and was sent to the Rood & Riddle Clinic in Lexington for a thorough examination.  She was diagnosed with a bruised left front foot.

“I have been over to see her once a week and she looks good,” Holthus said of Pure Clan, who has been at owner Lewis Lakin’s farm in Versailles. “She will be back here on the first or second (of July).”

Holthus’ long-term goal for Pure Clan is a third run at the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf that will be held at Churchill Downs on Nov. 5. Pure Clan won the Regret (GIII) as a 3-year-old on the Matt Winn Turf Course in 2008 and made her 2009 debut here with a runner-up effort in the Early Times Mint Julep Handicap (GIII).

PADDY O’PRADO MOVING TOWARD KITTEN’S JOY CLASS FOR ROMANS – Donegal Racing’s Paddy O’Prado moved to the head of the 3-year-old turf class last Saturday with his three-length victory in the $500,000 Colonial Turf Cup (GII) at Virginia’s Colonial Downs.

The next step he takes will be on a familiar path for trainer Dale Romans, who traveled the same road six years ago with Kitten’s Joy, who went on to be voted an Eclipse Award winner as champion turf horse in 2004.

“He is getting close (to Kitten’s Joy’s level),” said Romans, who has targeted the $600,000 Virginia Derby (GII) on July 17 at Colonial and the $400,000 Secretariat (GI) on Aug. 21 at Arlington as the next stops for Paddy O’Prado.

Kitten’s Joy won both of those races as well as four other stakes during his championship campaign that included the Palm Beach (GIII) at Gulfstream Park, a race Paddy O’Prado won this year to break his maiden.

Paddy O’Prado returned to the turf at Colonial after abandoning the grass for Grade I tries on Polytrack in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland (running second) and on dirt in the Kentucky Derby (third) and Preakness (sixth). Kitten’s Joy never raced on dirt again after his first two starts.

"I had Jerry Bailey come work him on the dirt and he agreed with me that he was not a dirt horse,” Romans said. “There’s a chance Paddy O’Prado could run again on dirt. He can run on anything.”

Kitten’s Joy posted a career record of 9-4-0 in 14 outings for earnings of $2,075,791. His Virginia Derby triumph came in his ninth start and was his fourth stakes victory. Paddy O’Prado got his second stakes victory in the Colonial Turf Cup, which was his ninth start, to improve his record to 2-2-3 in nine races for earnings of $758,497.

Romans, who led all trainers at Churchill Downs with four victories last week including his 500th locally, will try to keep the hot streak going Saturday in the 110th running of the $100,000-added Debutante with debut maiden winner Just Louise.

Owned by Eldon Farm Equine, Just Louise is a half-sister to the Romans-trained Sara Louise. That filly, who did not debut until August of her 2-year-old year, won the 2008 Pocahontas (GIII), defeating Rachel Alexandra who turned the tables on Sara Louise in the Golden Rod (GII).  Sara Louise was sold after that race to Dubai-based racing powerhouse Godolphin.

“They are totally different fillies,” Romans said. “But, they both have a lot of talent.”

LEPAROUX BACK IN THE SADDLE, RETURNS TO THE RACES JULY 1 – Jockey Julien Leparoux returned to the saddle Wednesday morning galloping horses and will resume riding races next Thursday, July 1.
Leparoux, who has won or shared six riding titles at Churchill Downs, was injured May 14 during the running of the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (GII) at Pimlico. Leparoux suffered a compression fracture in his vertebrae after being unseated from Diva Delite when she clipped heels.

Leparoux rode the next day on the Preakness Day card, winning two races, and won two races the following day at Churchill Downs. The injury was discovered during an MRI on May 18.

"I didn’t think I was that badly hurt,” Leparoux said of the injury. “But that is all behind me now, in the past.”
During the five weeks off, Leparoux spent a week and a half in his native France and another week in the Bahamas.

Leparoux’s agent, Steve Bass, said the 26-year-old jockey would ride the final four days of the meet and stay in Kentucky for a couple of weeks after the meet before going to Saratoga about a week before that meet opens July 23.

BARN TALK – Jockey Greta Kuntzweiler, who last rode here during the Fall 2005 meet, will resume her riding career Thursday afternoon with three mounts on the nine-race card. Kuntzweiler, 34, first rode at Churchill Downs during the Spring 1999 meet and has ridden 65 winners here.  Kuntzweiler won here first race here in the 1999 Fall Meet and her most recent win came during the 2004 Spring Meet. Her best meet here was in the spring of 2000 when she rode 19 winners. Steve Krajcir will handle Kuntzweiler’s book here and this summer at Ellis Park. …

With eight racing programs remaining in the meet, trainer Tom Amoss continues to put up gaudy numbers. Amoss is tied for second in the trainer standings with Dale Romans with 15 victories, six fewer than Steve Asmussen. However, Amoss has started only 43 horses and is winning at a 35 percent clip, the only conditioner with more than 10 victories winning at better than 30 percent. “The meet has been very good,” Amoss said. “I don’t run enough to win a (training) title unless we win at a silly percentage.” Forty percent qualifies as silly, which Amoss did in the 2008 Spring Meet when he won his only outright title here with 35 winners from 87 starters. Amoss also shared the Spring title with Romans in 2002.

STEPHEN FOSTER BID POSSIBLE FOR GENERAL QUARTERS – Owner-trainer Tom McCarthy wanted to keep Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (GI) winner General Quarters on the grass after that big Derby Day victory, but there is a tempting target in three weeks that could put the 4-year-old Sky Mesa colt back on dirt.
“I am thinking about it,” McCarthy said of the $600,000 Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) to be run June 12. “I’d like to keep him on the grass, but there is nothing for him on the grass when we need to run.”

After the Turf Classic victory, the second Grade I triumph for General Quarters who took the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes last spring on Polytrack at Keeneland, McCarthy had mentioned the Arlington Handicap (GIII) to be run July 17 as his prep for the Grade I Arlington Million on Aug. 21.

The Stephen Foster is six weeks (from the Turf Classic),” McCarthy said. “The only other spot where he could run would be at Monmouth, but I don’t want to ship him when I can just walk out the door here.”

A Stephen Foster triumph would put General Quarters in exclusive company. Only Lava Man has won Grade I races on grass, dirt and a synthetic surface. General Quarters is two-thirds of the way there.

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND STAKES FIELDS TAKING SHAPE – Atta Boy Roy did not take the money and run back west.

Winner of the Grade II Churchill Downs on May 1, Atta Boy Roy is one of four sprinters considered as “probable” by Churchill Downs racing officials for next Saturday’s 22nd running of the $100,000-added Aristides (GIII) at six furlongs on dirt..

Trained by Valorie Lund for R.E.V. Racing, Atta Boy Roy made his Churchill Downs debut a winning one by holding off Warrior’s Reward in the seven-furlong sprint on Derby Day.

Others considered likely to face Atta Boy Roy in the Aristides are Richard, Bertram and Elaine Klein’s Cash Refund, winner of five of six career starts; Courtlandt Farms’ Cassoulet; and, Wayne Sanders and Larry Hirsch’s Chief of Affairs, winner of the James Whitcomb Riley at Indiana Downs on May 12 in his most recent start.

Also slated for next Saturday is the 36th running of the $100,000-added Dogwood (GIII) for 3-year-old fillies going a mile on the main track.

Topping a list of seven probables is Starlight Partners’ Ailalea, who is coming off a fifth-place finish behind Blind Luck in the Kentucky Oaks (GI). Other probables are Patricia Blass’ Bell’s Shoes, Lansdon Robbins III and Samuel Delaney’s Fuzzy Britches, Desk Farms’ Helen Belen, Carl Pollard’s Tap Tap Tapping, Heiligbrodt Racing Stable’s Vertical Vision and Martin Cherry’s Visavis.

Entries for the Aristides and Dogwood will be taken Wednesday.

Defending champion Dubai Majesty tops a list of six probable starters for the seventh running of the $100,000-added Winning Colors (GIII) to be run at six furlongs on the main track on Monday, May 31.
Owned by the Martin Racing Stable and Dan Morgan, Dubai Majesty has won two of five starts at Churchill Downs and in her career has a record of 4-5-0 in 11 races at the Winning Colors distance.
Other probables for entry in the race on Friday include Dawn and Ike Thrash’s Emmy Darling, Mrs. Ty Scheumann’s J A Warrior, Carl Pollard’s Minewander, Richland Hills and John Kuehl’s Secret Gypsy and Joseph Sutton’s Warbling.

HOLTHUS HOPEFUL THE OLD PURE CLAN RETURNS IN JULY – Two weeks ago, trainer Bob Holthus feared he had lost his stable star, Lewis Lakin’s Pure Clan,  when the 5-year-old mare refused to train.
“We didn’t know what it was,” Holthus said of Pure Clan, who has not raced since finishing second in last fall’s Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (GI) at Santa Anita.

Atrip to Rood & Riddle in Lexington discovered a bruised left front foot. Pure Clan is spending her days now at Lakin’s Versailles farm exercising on an Aqua-tred.

“We are trying to keep the weight off her foot,” Holthus said. “If we get her back in the barn by the first of July we have a chance to make the Flower Bowl.”

Pure Clan won the Flower Bowl (GI) last October at Belmont Park and five weeks later made her Breeders’ Cup run to cap a five-race season.

Holthus was hoping for a similar campaign this year, but said “it looks like we are down to two or three (races).

“We’d like to make the Flower Bowl and then train up to the Breeders’ Cup (at Churchill Downs on Nov. 5-6). But you have to get to the first one first.”

Pure Clan, who has compiled a career mark of 8-4-3 in 16 races with earnings of $1,987,498, was turned out after the Breeders’ Cup last year.

“She was as good as she was all year after the Breeders’ Cup,” Holthus said. “Sometimes, I wish I had not taken her out of training.”

BARN TALK – Tom and Jack Conway’s Stately Victor, eighth in the Kentucky Derby, is scheduled to work Monday or Tuesday at Trackside Training Center as he continues preparations for the June 5 Belmont Stakes (GI). “He will leave for New York on the 27th and then have one work at Belmont,” trainer Mike Maker said of the winner of the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (GI) at Keeneland on April 10. …

Apprentice Freddie Lenclud posted his second three-win day of the meet on Friday. Lenclud, who also won three races on May 6, moved into a tie for seventh place in the rider standings with 10 victories this spring. Lenclud’s winners were Hands On ($4.40 in the 1st race), Excitable Boy ($9 in 2nd) and New Frontier ($5.20, 8th). …

Steve Bass, agent for sidelined jockey Julien Leparoux, is hopeful his rider can be back in action by the end of June. “He is resting and he is bored,” Bass said of Leparoux, who suffered a compression fracture in his vertebrae in a spill May 14 at Pimlico. “He goes back to the doctor next week and in four weeks he will get another MRI. Leparoux, second in the rider standings with 13 victories, had been named on six mounts Friday. Of the six, five won and the sixth ran second.

Mine That Bird, winner of the 2009 Kentucky Derby (GI), galloped for the first time since returning to Churchill Downs on Thursday night. With Arielle Witkowski up, Mine That Bird was on the “muddy” track shortly after 6:30. “He is light on his feet,” new trainer D. Wayne Lukas said. “He went a mile and five-eighths this morning and didn’t take a deep breath coming back.”

WORK TAB (Track: GOOD) – Churchill Downs (GII) winner Atta Boy Roy, prepping for next Saturday’s Aristides (GIII), blazed a half-mile in :46.60 after the renovation break. The move was the fastest of 31 at the distance. Also working a half-mile were defending Winning Colors (GIII) champion Dubai Majesty (:47.80, fourth- fastest) and La Canada (GII) winner Striking Dancer (:48.80) in preparation for the June 12 Fleur De Lis (GII). Custom for Carlos, winner of the Grade III Mr. Prospector and   Count Fleet Handicaps, drilled a bullet five-eighths in :59 after the break. Ben Ali (GIII) winner Dubious Miss covered five furlongs in :59.80, fourth-fastest of 16 at the distance.

HORSEMEN’S GOLF SCRAMBLE RETURNS ON JUNE 8 – The second annual Horsemen’s Golf Scramble will be held Tuesday, June 8 at the Glenmary Country Club in Fern Creek, Ky., to help raise funds for the Backside Learning Center at Churchill Downs. The cost of the golf outing is $100 per player with four players to a team. Players will be treated to an 11 a.m. lunch. The 18-hole tournament will begin with a shotgun start at 12:30 p.m. There will be contests for the longest drive, closest to the pin, and a hole-in-one in which someone could win a 2010 Toyota Corolla from Oxmoor Toyota. Registration is due Friday and entry forms can be found at the Backside Learning Center or by visiting www.derbymusuem.org/backsidelc.

PRIZE MONEY, TRIP TO HORSEPLAYER WORLD SERIES UP FOR GRABS IN SUNDAY’S ‘WHO’S THE CHAMP?’ HANDICAPPING CONTEST – Churchill Downs’ “Who’s the Champ?” Handicapping Contest continues every Sunday through June 13 with $4,000 in prize money and a coveted prize package to compete in the Horseplayer World Series each week.

The weekly first prize is $1,500 and a five-day, four-night trip to Las Vegas with round-trip airfare courtesy of American Airlines to compete in the Horseplayer World Series, which is scheduled for Feb. 16-19, 2011 at the Orleans Resort and Casino.

Ira Hopkins of Louisville was last week’s winner. 

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

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

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.

BREEDERS’ CUP PARTICIPANTS RETURN HOME – Lewis Lakin’s Pure Clan was back in her stall in Barn 32 on Sunday afternoon after her runner-up finish in Friday’s Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (Grade I) at Santa Anita.

She will be here a week or so and then go to the farm,” trainer Bob Holthus said. “We will pick her up the first of the year and take her to Oaklawn Park.”

Pure Clan had run 10th in a field of 10 last year in the same race over the same course at Santa Anita.

“I think she was more mature this year,” Holthus said of the improved showing. “I never have figured it out why she ran the way she did last year. It is the only bad race she has ever run.”

Trainer Ian Wilkes said that Capt. Candyman Can, eighth in Saturday’s Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Sprint (GI), was back at the Skylight Training Center.

“He is done for the year and I have no plans for him at the moment,” Wilkes said. “He just wasn’t good enough that day. Maybe the Polytrack had something to do with it. I thought he ran well (beaten only 3 ½ lengths), but he just didn’t finish with his usual kick.”

Trainer Steve Hobby said that Telling was headed to the farm and was done for the year after running last in the field of seven, beaten 10 ¼ lengths, in the Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Turf (GI). “He came back OK, but he bled in the race,” Hobby said.

Returning from California on Tuesday was King Ledley, who finished 10th in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf in his first U.S. start and first outing for trainer Darrin Miller.

“He will probably go to Florida this winter and we will look at the series of 3-year-old grass races,” Miller said of King Ledley, who raced close to the pace before fading late to lose by six lengths. “I thought he ran a good race. I was not disappointed in the effort, just the result.”

Also returning Tuesday afternoon was Stronach Stable’s Einstein (Brz), who finished 11th in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI). The result was the worst in the 29-race career for the 7-year-old Einstein that covers five years.

“I wish I had an answer for how he ran, but I don’t,” trainer Helen Pitts-Blasi said. “He came out of the race fine.”

GET STORMY STORMS BACK TO KENTUCKY – Kentucky money was so appealing to trainer Tom Bush that he did not wait long to try for a second chuck of change when he sent Get Stormy to Churchill Downs for Sunday’s sixth running of the $100,000-added Commonwealth Turf (GIII).

“We are getting the frequent flier miles,” said Bush, whose first trip to run a horse at Keeneland resulted in a $75,000 payday when Get Stormy won the Bryan Station (GIII) on Oct. 18. “We were able to ship out the morning after the Bryan Station and he has been doing fabulous since that race.”

Owned by Sullimar Stables, Get Stormy has won his past three starts, all at a mile. The Commonwealth Turf is 1 1/16 miles, a distance at which Get Stormy has had no success. Get Stormy’s career record is 11-4-2-1 with the off-the-board finishes coming at 1 1/16 miles with the most recent being June 6.

“He is a little more mature now and I am not worried about the distance,” Bush said. “It is well within his scope. He has recovered nicely from his last race and had one work before coming here.”

That work by Get Stormy was a “bullet” five-furlong move in 1:00.10 on Nov.6 over the main track at Belmont Park.    

NOMINATIONS CLOSE TODAY FOR CLOSING WEEKEND’S GRADED STAKES – Today is the deadline for nominations for the final five graded stakes of the Fall Meet to be run Thanksgiving Weekend.

The 94th running of the $150,000-added Falls City Handicap (GII) for fillies and mares going 1 1/8 miles on the main track kicks off the holiday weekend on Thanksgiving Day, the first of three 12-race programs to conclude the meet. Miss Isella won the 2008 Falls City.

Scheduled for Friday, Nov. 27 is the 135th running of the $400,000-added Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GII) and the 32nd running of the $100,000-added River City Handicap (GIII).

The Clark, won last year by Einstein (Brz), is 1 1/8 miles on the main track, while the River City is at the same distance on the Matt Winn Turf Course. Karelian and Demarcation dead-heated in last year’s River City.

Two-year-olds will take center stage on closing day, Saturday, Nov. 28, with the Stars of Tomorrow II card filled with races exclusively for the juveniles. Headlining the day will be the 83rd running of the $150,000-added Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) and that 66th running of the $150,000-added Golden Rod (GII) for fillies.

Four winners of the Kentucky Jockey Club have returned to Churchill Downs the following spring to win the Kentucky Derby with the most recent being Cannonade in 1973-74. Beethoven won last year’s Kentucky Jockey Club.

Rachel Alexandra began her current nine-race win streak in last year’s Golden Rod, a streak that includes a 20 ¼-length triumph in this year’s Kentucky Oaks (GI).

WORK TAB – Denis of Cork, unraced because of injuries since finishing second in the 2008 Belmont Stakes, made his return to the work tab Monday breezing three furlongs in :38 for trainer David Carroll. Also working Monday for Carroll was possible Cardinal Handicap (GIII) entrant Acoma, who covered a half-mile in :48.80. … Giant Oak, runner-up in last year’s Kentucky Jockey Club to Beethoven, worked five furlongs in 1:02 in preparation for the Clark Handicap for trainer Chris Block. … Putting in half-mile grass works on Tuesday for Saturday’s Mrs. Revere (GII) were C.S. Silk (:48.20) for trainer Dale Romans and Keertana (:50) for trainer Tom Proctor.

BREEDERS’ CUP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS FEATURE STRONG CHURCHILL DOWNS INFLUENCE – When the 26th renewal of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships begin its two-day run at Oak Tree at Santa Anita on Friday, the presence of Churchill Downs-based trainers and runners that have performed beneath the Twin Spires in 2009 will be significant.

In all, 13 of the 14 races will feature participants that, in some fashion, have ties to Churchill Downs, with the only exception being Friday’s Ladies’ Classic (Grade I)..

The Breeders’ Cup card kicks off Friday at 3:35 p.m. (all times EST) with the Marathon followed by five races for fillies and mares culminating with the Ladies’ Classic at 6:45 p.m. Saturday will feature nine Breeders’ Cup races beginning with the Juvenile Turf at 1:45 p.m. and concluding with the Classic at 6:45 p.m.

First post time for the live Churchill Downs cards both days is 12:40 p.m.

Here is a rundown of horses that have run or trained at Churchill Downs in 2009 or who have trainers with Churchill Downs or the Trackside Training Center as their main base participating in the Breeders’ Cup in race order:

Marathon: Gangbuster (30-1).

Juvenile Fillies Turf: House of Grace (4-1), Jungle Tale (15-1), Lisa’s Kitten (12-1) and Tapitsfly (8-1).

Juvenile Fillies: Beautician (6-1), Connie and Michael (4-1) and She Be Wild (8-1).

Filly & Mare Turf: Pure Clan (5-1) and Visit (10-1).

Filly & Mare Sprint: Game Face (10-1) and Informed Decision (5-2).

Juvenile Turf: Becky’s Kitten (12-1), Bridgetown (8-1), Kera’s Kitten (12-1) and King Ledley (20-1). Dean’s Kitten (20-1) is on the also-eligible list.

Turf Sprint: Cannonball (8-1).

Sprint: Capt. Candyman Can (15-1) and Join in the Dance (30-1).

Juvenile: Aspire (30-1), Noble’s Promise (8-1) and William’s Kitten (30-1).

Mile: Court Vision (12-1) and Cowboy Cal (6-1).

Dirt Mile: Bullsbay (3-1), Chocolate Candy (15-1), Furthest Land (20-1) and Mr. Sidney (12-1).

Turf: Telling (20-1).

Classic: Einstein (12-1), Mine That Bird (12-1), Regal Ransom (20-1), Summer Bird (9-2) and Zenyatta (5-2). Zenyatta trained two days at Churchill Downs this spring in preparation for the Louisville Distaff (GII) but did not run because of track condition.

RAIL DRAW IN CLASSIC FOR DERBY WINNER BUOYS BOREL – Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) winner Mine That Bird landed in the No. 1 post position for Saturday’s $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) at Santa Anita when the 14-race World Championships card was drawn Tuesday.

“I love it,” jockey Calvin Borel said with a big grin Wednesday morning during the renovation break at Churchill Downs.

Borel gave Mine That Bird a rail-skimming ride in the Derby in May to post a 50-1 upset. It was Borel’s second Kentucky Derby victory. Borel, who turns 43 on Saturday, is hoping Mine That Bird gives him a second Breeders’ Cup victory.

“I have seen him training in the mornings and he looks like he is going just like he was before the Derby, maybe more so than in any race since the Derby,” Borel said.

Borel, who rode two winners here on Sunday’s opening-day card, said he has talked with trainer Chip Woolley since Mine That Bird’s sixth-place finish in the Goodwood (GI) at Santa Anita on Oct. 10.

“He told me he has been training good,” Borel said. “His last race was not that bad. He gets an extra eighth of a mile this time and he needed that last race since it was his first start in two months.”

Borel has one other mount on Saturday: Ready’s Echo for trainer Todd Pletcher in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.

“He’s a nice little horse,” Borel said of Ready’s Echo, who drew post position 10. “I rode him one time at Saratoga and he ran good (finishing third in the seven-furlong Forego). He might have won with a little luck because he got in a little trouble.”

DEMARCATION RETURNS TO THE DIRT IN FRIDAY’S ACK ACK – It is back to the dirt for the Amerman Racing Stables’ Demarcation in Friday’s 17th running of the $100,000-added Ack Ack (GIII).

Trained by Paul McGee, Demarcation has not raced on the dirt since Feb. 17, 2008, at the Fair Grounds. The ensuing 13 starts have been on the grass at five tracks.

So why dirt and why now?

Actually it was by process of elimination,” McGee said. “I entered him in a money/allowance at Keeneland last week that didn’t fill and then I entered him in a money/allowance here that didn’t fill.

But he has run well on dirt and I was looking to get him back on the dirt. He broke his maiden going six furlongs on the dirt at the Fair Grounds and he ran second here in the Matt Winn behind Spin Master as a 3-year-old.”

Jose Castanon has the riding assignment Friday and will break from post position three in the field of eight. Castanon was aboard for Demarcation’s most recent victory, a dead heat with Karelian in last fall’s River City Handicap (GIII) here.

McGee also said that David Holloway Racing’s Dubious Miss, an easy winner Saturday at Keeneland, is being pointed to the Nov. 27 Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GII) at 1 1/8 miles on the main track.

BARN TALK – Doc Danner, agent for jockey Julia Brimo who was injured in a spill Friday at Keeneland, said the rider had an operation Tuesday at the University of Kentucky Hospital in Lexington. “The operation went well and now we just hope for the best for the next 48 to 72 hours,” Danner said of the procedure to relieve pressure on Brimo’s vertebrae.

Nominations close today for the 36th running of the $100,000-added Cardinal Handicap (GIII) for fillies and mares going 1 1/8 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course on Saturday, Nov. 21. Indescribable won last year’s Cardinal under Kent Desormeaux for trainer Bill Mott, his record sixth victory in the race.        

PURE CLAN HAS LIGHT DRILL FOR BREEDERS’ CUP FILLY & MARE TURF – Lewis Lakin’s Pure Clan put in her final major move for her start in Friday’s $2 million Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (Grade I)  at Santa Anita by working three furlongs in :37.60 over a “fast” track early Sunday morning at Churchill Downs.

With regular morning partner Steve Schmelzel aboard, Pure Clan was on the track at 6:15. Trainer Bob Holthus watched from his usual backstretch viewing stand and expressed satisfaction with the move.
    “It was a nice little work,” Holthus said. “She will load in the morning about 4 and when she gets to Santa Anita, she will gallop on the turf Wednesday and Thursday morning.

Garrett Gomez will have the mount on Pure Clan, who turned in her only off-the-board finish in 15 starts with a 10th-place finish in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, which was also run at Oak Tree at Santa Anita.

“We are on the same schedule as last year,” Holthus said. “She had her last work before the race here and then shipped out. I know it was awful hot last year out there and that could have affected her.”

Temperatures were in the mid-90s last year for the Breeders’ Cup, but the long-range forecast for Arcadia, Calif., on Friday calls for a high of 81.

CAPT. CANDYMAN CAN PUTS IN FINAL WORK FOR BREEDERS’ CUP SPRINT – David Zell and the late Joseph Rauch’s Capt. Candyman Can worked a half-mile in :48.40 under jockey Freddy Lenclud on Sunday morning at the Skylight Training Center.

“It was a good work. I was happy with him,” trainer Ian Wilkes said of the move that was accomplished over a Pro-Ride surface that is similar to the one Capt. Candyman Can will run on Saturday at Santa Anita in the $2 million Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Sprint (GI).

“He will leave from Skylight and go straight to the plane in the morning,” Wilkes said. “He may go to the track at Santa Anita on Tuesday; I’ll want to see how he travels.”

A four-time stakes winner this year, Capt. Candyman Can finished second to Fatal Bullet in his most recent start in the Phoenix (GIII) at Keeneland on Oct. 8 over the Polytrack.  The 3-year-old Candy Ride gelding is a two-time stakes winner at Churchill Downs, with wins in the Matt Win earlier this year and last fall’s Iroquois (GIII).

DENIS OF CORK RETURNS TO DAVID CARROLL’S BARN – Denis of Cork, who ran third in the 2008 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) and followed that with a runner-up effort in the Belmont Stakes (GI) has returned to the barn of trainer David Carroll.

“He is back galloping,” Carroll said. “He got back about a month and a half ago. We jogged him the first month and now he is galloping. We are delighted to have him back.”

Owned by Mr. and Mrs. William K. Warren Jr., Denis of Cork went on the shelf in the summer of 2008 when Carroll found the start of a hairline fracture in the colt’s left hind ankle. Denis of Cork was turned out at a farm in Ocala, Fla., and this January suffered an injury to his right front suspensory.

“It took us that long to get him back,” Carroll said. “We are just taking it day to day and I can’t even tell you when he’ll breeze. We are just trying to put a foundation back in him.”

When the Fall Meet ends here Nov. 28, Carroll will take Denis of Cork with the rest of his stables to New Orleans and the Fair Grounds meet.

Another standout for Carroll, the 4-year-old filly Acoma, may resurface in the $100,000-added Cardinal Handicap (GIII) at 1 1/8 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course.

A three-time graded-stakes winner at Churchill Downs, Acoma had her perfect record at Kentucky tracks end in her most recent start, a ninth-place finish in the First Lady (GI) at Keeneland on Oct. 10.

“She had trained well for the First Lady, but she caught soft turf and didn’t run at all,” Carroll said of Acoma, who had won all six of her previous starts in Kentucky. “We checked her over after that and she was fine, so hopefully we can go in the Cardinal and finish the year on a positive note.”    

MRS. REVERE DRAWS 40 NOMINATIONS – Nelson McMakin’s homebred Hot Cha Cha, winner of the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (GI) at Keeneland, headlines a list of 40 nominations to the 19th running of the $175,000-added Mrs. Revere (GII).

The Mrs. Revere, won last year by Acoma, is for 3-year-old fillies and will be run at 1 1/16 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course on Nov. 14.

Hot Cha Cha is not the only Grade I winner nominated to the Mrs. Revere. Waratah Thoroughbreds’ Miss World, winner of the Garden City at Belmont Park in September, ran fourth behind Hot Cha Cha in the QE II.

Other graded-stakes winners on the turf nominated to the Mrs. Revere are Dell Ridge Farm’s Bluegrass Princess, who took a division of the Grade III Valley View at Keeneland; Barbara Hunter’s Keertana, winner of the Regret (GIII) here in June; and, Paul Pompa Jr.’s Mary’s Follies, winner of the Grade III Boiling Springs at Monmouth Park in June.

BARN TALK – Calvin Borel has picked up a second Breeders’ Cup mount according to agent Jerry Hissam. Borel will be reunited with Lets Go Stable’s Ready’s Echo for trainer Todd Pletcher for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (GI). Borel rode Ready’s Echo to a third-place finish in the seven-furlong Forego (GI) at Saratoga on Sept. 5. Borel’s other Breeders’ Cup mount is Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird in the $5 million Classic.

Julien Leparoux, who is confirmed on nine Breeders’ Cup mounts, has picked up the mount on Glen Hill Farm’s No Inflation in the Oak Tree Derby (GII) for trainer Tom Proctor on Saturday at Santa Anita. Third in the Jefferson Cup (GII) at Churchill Downs in June, No Inflation won the Grade III Kent at Delaware Park by 6 ¼ lengths on Sept. 5.

WORK TAB – Warrior’s Reward, who ran fifth as the favorite in the Perryville (GIII) at Keeneland last month, worked a half-mile at Churchill Downs in :50.80 for trainer Ian Wilkes. … Two probable starters for Friday’s $100,000 Ack Ack (GIII), Riley Tucker and Que Paso, put in half-mile moves. Riley Tucker covered the distance in :50 for trainer Steve Asmussen and Que Paso was clocked in :51 for trainer Allen Milligan.

Lewis Lakin’s Pure Clan, winner of the Grade I Flower Bowl Invitational at Belmont Park in her most recent start, continued her preparation for a second bid for the $2 million Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (GI) with a five furlong workout on Tuesday at Churchill Downs.

The Robert Holthus-trained 4-year-old daughter of Pure Prize breezed five furlongs in a strong 1:00.40 over a “fast” track under exercise rider Steve Schmelzel.  The move ranked as the seventh-fastest of 39 moves at the distance.  Pure Clan covered the distance in fractional times of :12.60, :24.80 and :36.60 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.80.

“This was her final major work,” said Holthus.  “We’ll probably just let her do something easy Sunday morning before she gets on the plane on Monday.  It looks like she came out of her work good, so we hope we’ll get a decent post, a clean trip and a little more luck than last year.”

The consistent Pure Clan turned in an uncharacteristically poor effort in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, which was run at Oak Tree at Santa Anita, as it will be for this year’s running on Friday, Nov. 6.  She finished last of 10 fillies and mares behind champion Forever Together in that race, but has returned this year with a strong campaign in which she has compiled a record of 2-1-1 in four races.  She also won the Modesty (GIII) and finished third to Dynaforce in the Beverly D. (GI), both at Arlington Park, before overcoming soft turf to win the Flower Bowl on Oct. 3.

“She’s more mature and has been very lightly raced this year,” Holthus said.  “She’s going into the race pretty fresh.”

Pure Clan will have a new jockey in the Breeders’ Cup race as regular rider Julien Leparoux is committed to ride Forever Together.   Garrett Gomez will be in the saddle aboard Holthus’ filly on Breeders’ Cup Day.

   The work by Pure Clan occurred just after the mid-session break for track maintenance on a cloudy, cool morning at Churchill Downs.
    
EINSTEIN HEADS WEST FOR BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC BID – A short time before Pure Clan’s work, Stronach Stable’s Einstein climbed aboard a van for the short ride to Louisville International Airport, where he caught a flight to California for the Breeders’ Cup.

Trainer Helen Pitts-Blasi’s two-time winner of Churchill Downs’ Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (GI), 2009 Santa Anita Handicap (GI) and the 2008 Clark Handicap (GII) is set to run in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI), a race that could be the last on-track appearance by the 7-year-old, Brazilian-bred son of 1985 Kentucky Derby (GI) winner Spend a Buck.

Einstein has a career record of 11-4-3 in 28 races with earnings of $2,903,324.

CHURCHILL DOWNS FALL MEET OPENS SUNDAY – Churchill Downs’ 21-day Fall meet opens on Sunday, Nov. 1 with the first of two “Stars of Tomorrow” racing programs that are restricted to races exclusively for 2-year-old Thoroughbreds.

The 11-race program, topped by the $100,000-added Iroquois Stakes (GIII) and Pocahontas Stakes (GIII), has a post time of 12:40 p.m. (all times EST).  The Fall Meet will conclude on Saturday, Nov. 28.

Sharing the spotlight with the racing on opening day is the 2010 Churchill Downs Calendar Giveaway sponsored by Humana.  The first 5,000 fans through the admission gates on Sunday will receive a copy of the calendar.

Also on Sunday, Churchill Downs will unveil its new “Daybreak at the Downs,” an early morning insider’s look at Churchill Downs racing and workouts hosted by racing analyst Jill Byrne.  “Daybreak at the Downs” will be held each Sunday of the meet from 8-10 a.m in the Churchill Downs Clubhouse sections 117-118.  Admission is free, as is coffee, milk and donuts for all of those attending the weekly sessions.

“Daybreak at the Downs” fans should park in the Gate 10 Longfield Ave. parking lot and enter the track though Gate 10.

Also set for opening day is the first “Who’s the Champ? Handicapping Contest” in the Churchill Downs Champions Club Lounge.

Events are also scheduled for kids every Saturday and Sunday of the Fall Meet in Churchill Downs’ “Junior Jockey Club,” which is located just inside of Gate 10.

WORK TAB (Main track: FAST) – Brassy Boy, third in the Bashford Manor (GIII) and a contender for Sunday’s opening day Iroquois (GIII), breezed five furlongs in 1:03 for trainer Hal Wiggins.

Darley Stable’s Tizaqueena, winner of the Churchill Distaff Turf Mile (Grade II) on Kentucky Derby Day, will carry top weight of 118 pounds as she faces seven older fillies and mares in Sunday’s 28th running of the $100,000-added Locust Grove Handicap (Grade III).

The Locust Grove, run at a mile over the Matt Winn Turf Course, will go as the 10th race on the 11-race card that closes out Churchill Downs’ 45-day Spring Meet. The program begins with a first post time of 12:45 p.m. (all times EDT).and the Locust Grove is set for 5:29 p.m.

Trained by Michael Stidham, Tizaqueena has won four out of five starts at the mile distance and is 2-for-2 at the distance on the turf. In her most recent start, the 4-year-old daughter of Tiznow finished third behind Acoma and Pure Clan in the 1 1/16-mile Early Times Mint Julep (Grade III) on June 6.

Jamie Theriot, who has been aboard in six of Tizaquenna’s seven starts, has the riding assignment Sunday and will break from post position four. Tizaqueena will concede 2-6 pounds to her rivals.
Sharing the second high weight of 116 pounds are James Spence’s Tensas Yucatan and Kim and John Glenney’s Gloria Goodbody.

Trained by Ralph Nicks, Tensas Yucatan enters the Locust Grove on a three-race win streak. Brian Hernandez Jr. has the call on Tensas Yucatan, who will break from post position one.
John Glenney trains Gloria Goodbody, winner of a June 19 optional claimer at Churchill Downs. Jon Court, who has ridden Gloria Goodbody to three of her four victories, has the call Saturday and will break from post position seven.

The field for the Locust Grove, from the hedge out, is as follows: Tensas Yucatan (Brian Hernandez Jr., 116 pounds), Leamington (Calvin Borel, 115), Closeout (Robby Albarado, 115), Tizaqueena (Jamie Theriot, 118), Zee Zee (Miguel Mena, 114), Namaste’s Wish (Shaun Bridgmohan, 114), Gloria Goodbody (Jon Court, 116) and Stealin’ Kisses (Tony Farina, 112).