Silverfoot

Fred Bradley’s veteran Brass Hat will face 10 rivals Saturday as he attempts to become the seventh horse to score multiple victories in the $100,000-added Louisville Handicap (GIII).

The 73rd running of the 1 ½-mile test over the Matt Winn Turf Course will go as the 10th race on Saturday’s 11-race program with an approximate post time of 5:29 p.m. (all times Eastern). First post time is 12:45 p.m.

Trained by Buff Bradley, the popular Brass Hat rallied to win the 2009 Louisville Handicap by a half-length over Spice Route. Calvin Borel, who was aboard that day for his third Louisville Handicap triumph, has the call on Brass Hat, who will carry top weight of 119 pounds and concede 2-6 pounds to his rivals. A fast-closing second in the Elkhorn (GII) at Keeneland on April 23 in his most recent start, the 9-year-old Brass Hat will break from post position five.

One of those rivals is Chrysalis Stables’ Silverfoot, a three-time winner of the Louisville Handicap and another popular veteran who is now 10-years-old.  Trained by Dallas Stewart, Silverfoot won this race in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Silverfoot, who will be ridden by Corey Lanerie, will carry 115 pounds and break from post position nine.

Other multiple winners of the Louisville Handicap are Chorwon (1997-99), List (1971, 1974), Cabildo (1967-68), Tartan Man (1966, 1969) and Little Fitz (1960-61).  Chorwon and Silverfoot are the only horses to win multiple runnings of the Louisville since the race was moved to the grass.

Three horses share second high weight in the field at 117 pounds headed by Lothenbach Stables’ Bearpath. Trained by Ian Wilkes, Bearpath won the Pan American (GIII) at Gulfstream Park in March and gave apprentice jockey Freddie Lenclud his first graded stakes victory. Lenclud will be back aboard Saturday on Bearpath, who will break from post position one.

Also carrying 117 pounds are Maynard Farm and B A Man Stable’s Blushing Bear and JoAnn and Alex Lieblong’s Telling.

Trained by James Dodgen, Blushing Bear finished third in the Elkhorn in his most recent start. Brian Hernandez Jr. has the mount Saturday. Telling, trained by Steve Hobby, won the Grade I Sword Dancer last summer at Saratoga and was fourth in his 2010 debut last month at Keeneland. Shaun Bridgmohan has the mount Saturday.
    
    The field for the Louisville Handicap, from the hedge out, is as follows: Bearpath (Lenclud, 117 pounds), Blushing Bear (Hernandez Jr., 117), Telling (Bridgmohan, 117), Free Fighter (Francisco Torres, 115), Brass Hat (Borel, 119), Eagle Poise (Jamie Theriot, 115), March to Victory (Julien Leparoux, 114), Spy in the Sky (James Lopez, 114), Silverfoot (Lanerie, 115), Silver Mountain (Miguel Mena, 113) and Hidden Glance (Alex Solis, 113).

BOREL HAPPY WITH SUPER SAVER, PREAKNESS POST – A winner of three of last four runnings of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I), jockey Calvin Borel will bid Saturday for his second consecutive victory in the $1 million Preakness, the second jewel of racing’s Triple Crown, aboard WinStar Farm’s Derby winner Super Saver.

Borel is scheduled to ride in eight of Thursday’s nine races at Churchill Downs, then boards a flight to Baltimore and Pimlico Race Course, where hopes to help keep the Triple Crown hopes of owner/breeder WinStar and trainer Todd Pletcher alive.  Super Saver was installed as the 5-2 favorite for the Preakness and the son of Maria’s Mon drew post eight in a field of 12 3-year-olds.

“I’m very happy,” Borel said Thursday at Churchill Downs.  “I worked him the other morning and Todd was very pleased.  “He galloped out good, switched leads perfect right at the eighth pole.  You can’t ask for a better place.”

Last year, Borel abandoned longshot Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird to ride Kentucky Oaks (GI)-winning filly Rachel Alexandra in the 1 3/16-mile second jewel of the Triple Crown.  Stonestreet Stable and Harold McCormack’s future Horse of the Year and Borel held off the late-running Mine That Bird to take the 2009 Preakness.  His 2007 Kentucky Derby winner, James Tafel’s Street Sense, was nipped at the Preakness finish by future two-time Horse of the Year Curlin.

Four of the horses that faced Super Saver at Churchill Downs – third-place Derby finisher Paddy O’Prado, beaten favorite Lookin At Lucky, Dublin and Jackson Bend – are back for another try at Borel’s Derby winner in the Preakness, with seven horses stepping into Triple Crown competition for the first time.

“We’ve got a couple of new shooters, but I don’t think they’ve got the class this horse has,” Borel said.  “What I like about this colt is he’s peaking.  He’s lightly-raced coming into here, but I think that’s a big plus.  It might not be, but in my opinion I think it is.”

Borel and agent Jerry Hissam continue to limit media opportunities for the popular rider in the days leading up to the Preakness.  Those limits are to allow Borel to maintain focus on Saturday’s goal: to win the Preakness and take dead aim three weeks later on the Belmont Stakes (GI) with a chance to become the first 3-year-old to sweep the elusive Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978.

“We’re going to go out there and try our damndest to win it,” Borel said.  “If we can get away with this one, we’ll worry about the next one.  But we’re just going to worry about this one now.”

Borel will ride at Pimlico on Friday and Saturday in a light schedule that includes the mount on favored Tidal Pool for trainer D. Wayne Lukas in Friday’s Black-Eyed Susan (GII) for 3-year-old fillies. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             HOT MARGOLIS HAS HIGH HOPES FOR COOL BULLET – One of the hottest trainers thus far at Churchill Downs hopes that playing it cool will pay off in Saturday’s featured ninth running of the $100,000 Matt Winn Stakes.

Steve Margolis started Thursday’s race with five victories – one win back of current leading trainer and two-time Eclipse Award-winner Steve Asmussen – and will look to improve that total Saturday when he saddles Robert and Lawana Low and Winmore LLC’s Cool Bullet in the seven-furlong Winn.

The gelded son of Preakness winner Red Bullet returns to competition six weeks after a 4 ½-length romp in the $50,000 Hansel at six furlongs on Polytrack at Turfway Park.  The victory was the third in seven races for Cool Bullet, who had tried the Kentucky Derby trail over the winter, but returned to one-turn distances following an eighth-place finish to Conveyance in Oaklawn’s Southwest (GIII) at 1 1/16 miles.

“We thought the Hansel would be a good race to get him back on course, as opposed to the [one-mile The Cliff’s Edge] Derby Trial (GIII) and it worked out really well,” Margolis said.  “He couldn’t be training any better.  We’ve had four really nice moves over the track.”

Calvin Borel rode Cool Bullet in the Hansel, but will be at Pimlico on Saturday to ride Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver in the Preakness.  Brian Hernandez Jr., who was aboard Cool Bullet in his first five starts, will be back in the saddle for the Matt Winn.  Cool Bullet’s five foes include Iroquois (GIII) winner Thiskyhasnolimit, winner of last fall’s Iroquois (GIII) at Churchill Downs and the beaten favorite in the $150,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) won by Super Saver, and the John Sadler-trained Privilaged, a good third to D’Funnybone in Gulfstream Park’s Swale (GII) at the Winn distance of seven furlongs last out.
That’s a lot of quality in a six-horse field, but Margolis likes the chances of Cool Bullet in the Winn, a race Margolis just missed winning a year ago when he saddled Richard, Elaine and Bert Klein’s Cash Refund to a runner-up finish behind Capt. Candyman Can.

“He’s a nice little gelding,” Margolis said of Cool Bullet.  “He trains very good, he’s a very handy little horse and does everything right.”

Cash Refund, last year’s Winn runner-up, continues to train toward a run in the $100,000-added Aristides (GIII) at six furlongs.

Margolis is also looking at plans for the Kleins’ 3-year-old Stay Put, an allowance winner on Kentucky Derby Day that is being considered for a run in the Belmont Stakes (GI), the third jewel of the Triple Crown on June 5.  He said the Broken Vow colt is nominated to the $125,000 Northern Dancer (GIII) on June 12 at Churchill Downs, but a bid by the Kleins for the 1 ½-mile Belmont is very possible.

The horse is improving,” Margolis said.  “You only get so many chances to run in the Belmont.  We’re just going to wait and see what happens out of the Preakness.  We’ve got the Northern Dancer in our backyard, too, so we don’t really have to make any decisions now.”

VETERANS TOP LOUISVILLE HANDICAP NOMINATIONS - Former victors Brass Hat and Silverfoot top the 33 nominees for the 73rd edition of the $100,000-added Louisville Handicap (GIII) to be run Saturday, May 22 at 1 ½ miles over the Matt Winn Turf Course.

Fred F. Bradley’s Brass Hat will be looking for his first victory since taking the 2009 Louisville Handicap for trainer William “Buff” Bradley. Brass Hat recorded a second place finish in his last start, the Elkhorn Stakes (GII) at Keeneland on April 23.

Chrysalis Stables LLC’s Silverfoot, at age 10, looks to regain his winning form as a previous winner of this race in 2005 and ‘06. One of two three-time winners of the Louisville, the salty veteran is just $52,000 shy of hitting the $1 million mark with $948,365 in earnings for trainer Dallas Stewart.

Other notable nominees include Lothenbach Stables Inc.’s Bearpath, who two starts back took the Pan American (GIII) at Gulfstream Park, and Johanna L. Glen-Teven’s Musketier (GER), the winner of the Elkhorn Stakes.

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

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

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

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

SATURDAY’S SEVENTH RACE TO HONOR OLMSTEAD – For the second consecutive year, Churchill Downs will run the Chuck Olmstead Memorial on Preakness Stakes Day to honor the memory of the popular Louisville telvision newsman who passed away in March 2009 after an aneurysm ruptured in his brain.

The second annual Chuck Olmstead Memorial will be run as Race 7 on Saturday at approximately 3:57 p.m. ET.

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

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

TURN 3 TO PERFORM DURING FRIDAY HAPPY HOURS – This week’s “Dress to Impress” Friday Happy Hours from 4-7 p.m. in Churchill Downs’ paddock area will showcase live music by Turn 3, $2 Budweiser Select, $2 mojitos and $2 hot dogs. Also, one male and one female deemed “most stylish” will a $100 wagering voucher and $250 gift certificate to a local Louisville area boutique, respectively.

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

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

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

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

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

BARN TALK – Churchill Downs based jockeys Robby Albarado (four mounts), Calvin Borel (three mounts including Super Saver in the Preakness), Garrett Gomez (eight mounts, including Dublin in the Preakness) and Julien Leparoux (eight mounts, including Pleasant Prince in the Preakness) will be riding at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday.

WORK TAB (Main: FAST … Turf: FIRM, dogs up) – Louisville Stakes (GII) winner Atta Boy Roy zipped four furlongs under jockey Calvin Borel in :47.20, the fastest work of 26 at the distance … Three-time Louisville Handicap (GIII) winner Silverfoot breezed five furlongs on turf in 1:03.20 … Lost Aptitude breezed four furlongs on turf in :49.40 for trainer Dale Romans … You Go West Girl breezed three furlongs on turf in :37.60 for trainer Tom Proctor.

After two days off and a 9 ½-hour van ride from Baltimore, Kentucky Derby (Grade I) winner Mine That Bird returned to the track at Churchill Downs for a light jog on Tuesday.
    Double Eagle Ranch and Buena Suerte Equine’s gelded son of Birdstone had regular exercise rider Charlie Figueroa in the saddle as he headed to the track around 7:15 a.m. (all times EDT).  It was Mine That Bird’s first trip to the track since his runner-up finish to the Kentucky Oaks-winning filly Rachel Alexandra in Saturday’s Preakness.  
    Trainer Bennie “Chip” Woolley Jr. said Mine That Bird jogged one mile the wrong way over a “fast” surface.
    “He went good, he looked good,” Woolley said.  “He was bucking and playing a little, so we’re in good shape I think.”
    Woolley said Mine That Bird would on gallop on Wednesday as the Kentucky Derby winner continues his preparation for the $1 million Belmont Stakes (GI), the third jewel of racing’s Triple Crown.  There is no set schedule for Mine That Bird’s next work.
    The trainer’s phone continues to ring with offers from agents of jockeys who hope to pick up the mount on Mine That Bird for the Belmont Stakes.  Mike Smith, who rode Mine That Bird in the Preakness, cannot ride because of a previous commitment in California.  Calvin Borel, who was aboard for his 50-1 upset in the Derby, is committed to ride Rachel Alexandra, but her status for the Belmont Stakes (GI) has not been decided by majority owner Jess Jackson and trainer Steve Asmussen.
    Woolley said he would discuss the issue with Mine That Bird’s owners and they hope to have a decision in “a couple of days.”
    The runner-up finish in the Preakness improved Mine That Bird’s career record to 5-2-0 in 10 races and lifted his earnings to $2,011,581.
    Meanwhile, Rachel Alexandra walked under Asmussen’s shedrow on her second day back at Churchill Downs following her historic win in the second jewel of the Triple Crown.
    Rachel Alexandra is scheduled to return to training on Wednesday.  Asmussen said the daughter of Medaglia d’Oro would go to the track with his second set of horses around 6:15 a.m.
    Her Preakness victory marked the sixth consecutive win for Rachel Alexandra, who has a record of 8-2-0 in 11 races with earnings of $1,618,354.

KENTUCKY DERBY CONTENDER ADVICE WORKS – WinStar Farm’s Advice, winner of the Coolmore Lexington (GII), turned in his first serious training move since his 13th-place finish in Kentucky Derby 135 when he worked four furlongs around the dogs on Tuesday at Churchill Downs.
    The Todd Pletcher-trained son of Chapel Royal had exercise rider Kevin Willey in the saddle as he covered the distance on “firm” turf in :50.80.  The move ranked fifth out of seven at the distance on the Matt Winn Turf Course.
    Among the possible near-term options for Advice would be a run in the $150,000-added Jefferson Cup (GII) on the Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) undercard on June 13.
    Other stars who worked on the Matt Winn Turf Course on Tuesday include three-time Louisville Handicap (GIII) winner Silverfoot.  The 9-year-old son of With Approval breezed six furlongs in 1:15.40 as trainer Dallas Stewart guides the veteran toward his 2009 racing debut.
    Demarcation, a dead-heat winner of last fall’s River City Handicap (GIII) for trainer Paul McGee, breezed five furlongs in 1:01.80, which tied for second among eight works on the turf at that distance.
    Tuesday workers on the “fast” main track included Silverton Hill’s 2007 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (GI) winner Dominican, who covered four furlongs in :47.80.  The quick move was the second-fastest of 33 at the distance.
    Keep the Peace, who figures to be among the favorites in the upcoming $100,000 Winning Colors (GIII) for older fillies and mares, breezed a half-mile for trainer Eddie Kenneally in :47.40, which was the fastest work of the day at the distance.
    Be Fair, fourth in the Kentucky Oaks (GI) for trainer D. Wayne Lukas, breezed four furlongs in 1:01, which was the third-fastest move at the distance.
    Golden Yank breezed a half-mile in :51.

PREAKNESS CONTENDERS RACHEL ALEXANDRA, PIONEEROF THE NILE DEPART CHURCHILL DOWNS FOR BALTIMORE – The exodus of Churchill Downs-based contenders for Saturday’s 134th running of the $1 million Preakness (Grade I) was completed on Wednesday when major contenders Rachel Alexandra and Pioneerof the Nile stepped onto separate vans around 12:30 p.m. (EDT) on Wednesday for the short trip to Louisville International Airport for their flight to Baltimore.
    Those major players figure to be the top two betting choices in Saturday’s second jewel of racing’s Triple Crown.  Post positions for the 1 3/16-mile Preakness will be drawn this afternoon at Pimlico.
    Kentucky Oaks (GI) winner Rachel Alexandra, running for the first time for new owners Stonestreet Stables and Harold T. McCormick, was led from the barn of new trainer Steve Asmussen to her waiting van by assistant trainer Scott Blasi.  She had galloped and stood briefly in the starting gate on her final morning of training before traveling to take on the boys in the Preakness.
    Assistant Jim Barnes accompanied Zayat Stables LLC’s Pioneerof the Nile, runner-up to Mine That Bird in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) and winner of the Santa Anita Derby (GI), to his van.  The son of Empire Maker also galloped and spent a little time standing in the starting gate on his final morning of Preakness preparations at Churchill Downs.
    Also leaving Churchill Downs for the flight to Baltimore was Adele Dilschneider’s Terrain, the fourth place finisher in the Toyota Blue Grass (GI) and third in the Louisiana Derby (GII) for trainer Al Stall Jr.
    Mark Allen and Dr. Leonard Blach’s Mine That Bird traveled to Baltimore in trainer Bennie “Chip” Woolley’s horse trailer on Tuesday.  Also making the trip to Pimlico by van on Tuesday were owner-trainer Tom McCarthy’s Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (GI) winner General Quarters, who finished 10th in the Kentucky Derby, and the D. Wayne Lukas-trained duo of Flying Private, last of 19 in the Kentucky Derby, and Marylou Whitney’s Luv Gov, who notched his first career victory in Churchill Downs maiden race on the Kentucky Derby undercard.

‘CANDYMAN’ READY FOR CHURCHILL DOWNS RETURN – A lot has happened to Joseph Rauch and David Zell’s Capt. Candyman Can since he stamped himself as one of the top 2-year-olds on the grounds – and in the country – during the Fall Meet at Churchill Downs.
    After a win in the Iroquois Stakes (GIII) and a gritty third-place run in the Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) over this track, trainer Ian Wilkes gave the Candy Ride gelding the opportunity to prove himself as a candidate for the Kentucky Derby.  The first step, a victory in the seven-furlong Hutcheson (GII) at Gulfstream Park, was promising, but he faltered in a fourth-place run behind Quality Road in the one-mile Fountain of Youth (GII) over the same track.  The latter convinced Wilkes that 1 ¼ miles on the first Saturday in May was not the goal that Capt. Candyman Can should pursue.
    “Seven furlongs, I think, is the max he wants to go,” Wilkes said.  
    Capt. Candyman Can returned to form, and to the national racing consciousness, with a sharp victory in the seven-furlong Bay Shore (GIII) at Aqueduct.  On Saturday he’ll be back at the seven-furlong distance when he starts as the likely favorite in the $100,000-added Matt Winn Stakes for 3-year-olds over his home track at Churchill Downs.
    Wilkes said the Bay Shore was a big step for Capt. Candyman Can, who is being pointed toward a run in the seven-furlong King’s Bishop (GI) this summer at Saratoga.
    “He’s got a lot of talent,” Wilkes said.  “The win was good just to prove that we were doing the right thing with him in taking him back short.”
    With Capt Candyman Can’s focus back on one-turn distances, the Matt Winn – which is being run for the second time at seven furlongs – was a natural spot for Wilkes’ young star.
    “I don’t have to ship him, that’s the good thing about it,” Wilkes said.  “We’re in our own backyard, he likes this track and it’s worked out perfect.”
    Capt. Candyman Can tuned up for the Matt Winn with a sharp five-furlong work in 1:00.60 on Monday, the second-fastest of 19 works at the distance that day.  The steady gelding brings a record of 4-0-1 in seven races and earnings of $344,145 into Saturday’s Matt Winn.

VETERAN SILVERFOOT GEARS UP FOR ANOTHER CAMPAIGN – When the $100,000-added Louisville Handicap (GIII) is run over the Memorial Day holiday weekend at Churchill Downs, do not expect the veteran Silverfoot to be among those who enter the starting gate for the 1 ½-mile turf test.
    But just because Chrysalis Stables LLC’s gray – now nearly white – campaigner will not be competing in his favorite race should not be interpreted as a sign that the now 9-year-old son of With Approval will not be chasing lofty goals this year.
    Silverfoot, winner of three consecutive runnings of the Louisville Handicap from 2004-06 and fifth behind the victorious Lattice a year ago, is just gearing up for a campaign that will span the final six months of 2009.  He worked a solid six furlongs around the dogs on the Matt Winn Turf Course on Tuesday in 1:16.80, and trainer Dallas Stewart likes what he sees in the old boy.
    “He’s doing great,” Stewart said. “He’s nine years old.  We’re just going to give him steady workouts for the rest of the month and sometime in mid-June he’ll be ready.”
    Silverfoot managed only one win in 10 starts in 2008, but that was a victory in the $175,000 Stars and Stripes (GIII) at Arlington Park.  He finished a good fourth to the front-running Spirit One in the Arlington Million (GI) and was beaten just 2 ½ lengths by the winner in that important race.
    “He ran really well in the Stars and Stripes, and had a bad trip in the Arlington Million,” Stewart said.  “So that’s kind of the schedule we’re looking at, hoping we’ll have him back on target for that this year.”
    After those good efforts at Arlington Park in 2008, Silverfoot ended his season with a fourth-place run as the favorite in the Kentucky Cup Turf (GIII) at the all-turf Kentucky Downs and a fifth-place finish behind Always First in Keeneland’s Elkhorn (GIII).
    “We give him a break every year – every year he gets a couple of months off,” Stewart said.  “After the Kentucky Cup and the Keeneland race, we just turned him out.  But he’s sound.”
    Silverfoot has a career record of 10-1-2 in 34 races and has earned $909,515.  He has won five of seven races over the Churchill Downs turf.

Zayat Stables' Thorn Song and Patricia Cunningham and Melissa Green, Lessee's Einstein, the one-two finishers in Friday's $200,000-added Firecracker Handicap (GII), were reported to be doing well Saturday morning by their connections.

"He came out of the race good," trainer Dale Romans said of Thorn Song, who gave Romans his third stakes victory of the meet, a total matched only by Steve Asmussen.

Romans will go for his fourth stakes win on Sunday when he sends out Jacks or Better Farm's Bayou's Lassie in the Locust Grove Handicap (GIII). Bayou's Lassie gave Romans one of his earlier stakes victories when she took the Churchill Downs Distaff Turf Mile (GIII) on Derby Day.

Romans stands fifth in the trainer standings with 17 wins, far below his average since 2000 of 29 during the Spring Meet. However, he has more seconds (27) and thirds (24) than any trainer at the meet.

"It hasn't been all that bad," said Romans, whose lowest spring total this decade was 18 wins in 2000. "We have won three stakes and the money's been good."

Trainer Helen Pitts said that Einstein was "ticked off that he lost. He hates to get beat."

Einstein is being pointed to the Aug. 9 Arlington Million (GI) at a mile and a quarter. The Firecracker was run at a mile and Thorn Song took the field wire to wire.

"The scratches (of Inca King and A.P. Xcellent) killed us," Pitts said. "But he ran good and got a piece of it. We've got five weeks now (until the Million) and he comes back at a distance he likes."

MILESTONES MAY AWAIT LUKAS, BOREL ON SATURDAY - Hall of Fame trainer and four-time Kentucky Derby (GI) winner D. Wayne Lukas, bearing down on career victory 4,500, has three horses entered on Saturday's card.. Should Lukas not hit the milestone on Saturday, he will have four more chances on Sunday.

Sixth all-time in victories among North American trainers, Lukas' career total stood at 4,498 victories heading into Saturday's races at Churchill Downs.

Jockey Calvin Borel boosted his career win total to 4,496 on Friday's Independence Day card by riding two winners. Borel is named on nine mounts Saturday as he attempts to become the 34th North American rider to reach 4,500 victories.

Carl Pollard's Minewander finished eighth in Friday's eighth race, denying trainer David Vance the opportunity to become the 22nd North American trainer to reach 3,000 victories. Vance has no horses entered Saturday, but two on Sunday.

Vance's Sunday runners are Citizen John in the fourth and Northeast Harbor in the seventh. Both are owned by Pollard, with whom Vance teamed to score the biggest victory of his career: the 2000 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (GI) with Caressing at Churchill Downs. The duo also teamed to win Churchill Downs' Humana Distaff (GI) in 2005 with My Trusty Cat.

WHIRLIE BERTIE READY TO MAKE THE NEXT STEP - Richard, Bertram and Elaine Klein's Whirlie Bertie ran her win streak to three - all during the Churchill Downs Spring Meet - with a 1 ¾-length victory in Friday's eighth race. The victory has the Kleins and trainer Steve Margolis eagerly looking ahead.

"This is a nice filly," Margolis said. "We are thinking about the Monmouth Oaks (a Grade III event on Aug. 9) or maybe the Alabama (at Saratoga on Aug. 16). One is five weeks and one is six."

Whirlie Bertie got in to Friday's non-winners of three lifetime allowance test when the mile and a sixteenth race was moved to the main track.

"If she had not run yesterday, we had nominated her to the Serena's Song, a small stake at Monmouth on July 13," Margolis said.

In winning her first two starts at Churchill Downs, Whirlie Bertie had scored in wire-to-wire fashion. On Friday, she stalked the pace under Shaun Bridgmohan and then repulsed several challenges in the stretch.

"She got a little hot in the paddock, but once we put the saddle on her, she was OK," Margolis said. "The thing I liked was how she responded when challenged. In her other two races, she won as she pleased, but yesterday Shaun put her in a good spot and when Neil's horse (Highest Class trained by Neil Howard) came to her, she took off again.

"Her dam (Grade II winner De Bertie) was a dead closer and Bert thought she would be like that. But she has tactical speed ... that's the Stormin Fever ... and that's a big advantage."

A run at the Alabama would offer the Kleins a chance at some Saratoga redemption. In 2002, their Allamerican Bertie set the pace in the mile and a quarter event before being collared in deep stretch by Kentucky Oaks (GI) winner and eventual 3-year-old filly champion Farda Amiga, who won by three-quarters of a length.

ALBARADO, AMOSS OPEN BREATHING ROOM IN RACES FOR TOP RIDER, TRAINER - Jockey Robby Albarado opened a little breathing room in his quest for his first riding title at Churchill Downs with a victory aboard Forest Command in Friday's ninth race.

Albarado's nearest competitor, Miguel Mena, was blanked on Friday's card and enters Saturday's 11-race program trailing Albarado 68-63. Both riders have 10 mounts each on Saturday's card, while on Sunday, Mena has 10 mounts to Albarado's seven.

Albarado, a finalist for the 2007 Eclipse Award for America's top jockey, has perennially been one of Churchill Downs' top jockeys since his arrival at the historic track in 1996, but has never won riding crown under the Twin Spires.

Tom Amoss increased his lead over Steve Asmussen to 32-29 in the race for leading trainer with the victory by Cactus Conie in Friday's third race. However, it may not have been the knockout punch Amoss was seeking from his four Friday entrants on a day when Asmussen and Ken McPeek (with 26 wins) had only one starter each.

Asmussen has seven entrants and McPeek six on Saturday's card; Amoss has two. On Sunday's closing 11-race program, Asmussen has seven entrants; Amoss and McPeek three each.

BARN TALK - Trainer Dallas Stewart was all smiles Saturday morning after Silverfoot's victory in the Grade III Stars and Stripes on Friday at Arlington Park. The victory snapped a 10-race losing streak for the 8-year-old gelding that dated back to the 2006 Louisville Handicap, which he won for the third time. "The White Horse!," Stewart exclaimed. "He has been training like a winner all along and doing the right things. He had just been a victim of paceless races with :51 and :52 halves." On Friday Silverfoot, owned by Chrysalis Stables, got a :49.40 half-mile pace and rallied to score a two-length victory. ... Running last in the Stars and Stripes as the favorite was Adele Dilschneider and Claiborne Farm's Lattice, trained by Al Stall Jr. "He vanned all night back to Keeneland and we'll go over and check him out," Stall said. "Julien (jockey Julien Leparoux) said he didn't have any horse." ... Bill Troilo's victory in Friday's nightcap aboard Who Done That gave the 47-year-old native of Philadelphia his 255th career win at Churchill Downs. That ties him with Craig Perret for 19th all time. Lurking right behind with 252 victories at Churchill Downs is Julien Leparoux, who is riding Pure Clan for trainer Bob Holthus in Saturday's American Oaks Invitational (GI) at Hollywood Park. Leparoux is scheduled back for closing day on Sunday when he is named on nine mounts on the 11-race card. ... Kent Desormeaux's victory aboard Thorn Song in the Firecracker Handicap was his 15th stakes victory at Churchill Downs, a total that includes three Kentucky Derby victories (Real Quiet, 1998; Fusaichi Pegasus, 2000; Big Brown, 2008). It also was the 4,496th victory of his Hall of Fame career. A total of 22 North American riders have reached the 5,000-win plateau.

WORK TAB - Zayat Stables' Eaton's Gift, winner of the Grade II Swale Stakes this winter, worked a half-mile over a "good" track in :49.20 for trainer Dale Romans. ... Racecar Rhapsody, fourth in the Preakness (GI) in his most recent start, worked five furlongs in 1:03 for trainer Ken McPeek. Other 3-year-olds working for McPeek were Miller Cradle winner Old Man Buck and Colonial Turf Cup (GIII) runner-up Nistle's Crunch, who both worked six furlongs in 1:13.20.

 

2008 SPRING MEET LEADERS

Through Friday, July 4

 

Jockeys Starts 1-2-3

Robby Albarado 271 68-43-37

Miguel Mena 346 63-48-49

Julien Leparoux 298 54-55-49

Jamie Theriot 275 48-37-38

Calvin Borel 285 47-42-38

Shaun Bridgmohan 215 43-40-28

Jesus Castanon 260 28-28-31

Corey Lanerie 220 19-31-29

Brian Hernandez Jr. 193 17-29-20

John McKee 150 14-21-20

Trainers

Tom Amoss 82 32-15-13

Steve Asmussen 133 29-24-19

Ken McPeek 79 26-13-10

Mike Maker 66 20-13-9

Dale Romans 143 17-27-24

Ian Wilkes 52 16-13-7

Eddie Kenneally 63 12-10-10

Paul J. McGee 52 12-8-6

Cody Autrey 56 10-9-11

Greg Foley 66 10-9-9

D. Wayne Lukas 60 10-2-5

Four (4) trainers tied at nine (9) wins

Owners

Ken and Sarah Ramsey 67 19-10-13

Maggi Moss 32 13-7-5

Zayat Stables, LLC 53 9-12-11

Richard, Elaine & Bert Klein 38 8-7-7

Jay Em Ess Stable 23 6-4-2

Heflin & Driver Racing 29 5-5-6

Heiligbrodt Racing Stable 17 5-1-0

Six (6) owners tied at four (4) wins

 

 

 

 

(May 24, 2008) – Jockey Robby Albarado capped a four-win day with a hedge-skimming victory aboard Lattice in Saturday’s $170,100 Louisville Handicap (Grade III) at Churchill Downs. Conditioned by Al Stall Jr., the 4-year-old colt beat 34-1 outsider Transduction Gold by three-quarters of length en route to his second career graded stakes win.

Lattice, bred in Kentucky by his owners Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider, ran 1 ½ miles over a “firm” turf course in 2:31.13 for his fourth victory in nine starts. The $99,134 winner’s share of the purse jumped his career earnings to $345,233.

Last summer, Lattice took the Grade II American Derby at Arlington Park.

“This horse is growing up,” said Albarado, who notched his third stakes win of the Spring Meet. “I rode him all last year and I felt like I always had to shove on him and get him some position. I had to make him do things, but we thought a lot of him. This year he’s taking himself into the race and he’s running.”

Sent off as the 5-2 second betting choice in the field of 11 older horses, Lattice tracked pacesetter Transduction Gold from the inside through dawdling fractions of :26.25 for the first quarter mile, :52.08 for the half, 1:17.21 for three-quarters of a mile and 1:42.38 for one mile.

Lattice, in close pursuit the entire way, began to vie for the lead midway through the final turn, slipped through an opening along the inside and kicked on gamely for the victory.

“There was an obvious question with the third turn and the trip, but I figured that if he stayed the trip he was certainly competitive with this group. And he did,” said 46-year-old Stall, who collected his fourth Churchill Downs stakes win and first since the 2003 Edgewood with Forest Shadows. “It might be a new road to go down, these staying races. It’s kind of exciting. It’s all new to me, that’s for sure. But I’m looking forward to trying to plot out a little program for him.”

Birdbirdistheword, a 46-1 longshot, finished a neck behind Transduction Gold in third with 2-1 favorite Brass Hat fourth and three-time Louisville Handicap winner (2004-06) Silverfoot fifth.

The 7-year-old gelding Brass Hat and 8-year-old Silverfoot were last and third to last, respectively, with a half-mile to the finish. Both displayed strong closing kicks, but could not close ground on the top three.

“They were going so slow up front,” said Brass Hat’s jockey Calvin Borel. “He (trainer Buff Bradley) wanted me to take him back a little bit, and distance-wise he was perfect, but they were going too slow.”

Lattice, a son of Arch out of the Rahy mare Lateral, returned $7.40, $4.60 and $4.20. Tranduction Gold paid $23.80 and $13. Birdbirdistheword returned $13.20.

Albarado won three other races on Churchill Downs’ 11-race program to grab sole possession of the lead in the jockey standings from Julien Leparoux, 26-25. Leparoux, the defending riding champ, won three races, including an allowance with Sam P., who equaled Louisville Stakes (GII) winner Ginger Punch’s time of 1:43.08 for 1 1/16 miles – the two fastest of 33 races at the distance this meet.

Albarado – nine-for-22 since Wednesday – rode three winners for trainer Ken McPeek, including Rue de Vie in the second race. That triumph gave McPeek, the Spring Meet’s leading trainer with 16 victories, his 200th win at Churchill Downs. Only 28 trainers have accomplished the feat in the 133-year history of the track.

“We love to win here at Churchill Downs and we love to win at Keeneland,” said McPeek, Churchill Downs’ 2002 Fall Meet training champ. “We’re on fire at the moment (16-for-36 for a 44.4% win clip). I’ve got a great team behind me and a great group of clients. At this rate, I think we can even get to 300 or 400!”

Live racing on Memorial Day weekend resumes Sunday at Churchill Downs with a 10-race program that begins at 1:15 p.m. ET. On Monday, the special 11-race holiday program is topped by the $100,000-added Winning Colors Stakes (GIII). Defending champ Miss Macy Sue headlines a field of six fillies and mares for the six-furlong sprint.

Louisville Handicap Jockey & Trainer Quotes

AL STALL JR., Trainer of LATTICE (WINNER)

Q: You were a little concerned going into the race about his ability to handle the mile-and-a-half distance…

“There was an obvious question with the third turn and the trip, but I figured that if he stayed the trip he was certainly competitive with this group. And he did.”

Q: What does a win like this make you think with him for the rest of the year?

“It might be a new road to go down, these staying races. It’s kind of exciting. It’s all new to me, that’s for sure. But I’m looking forward to trying to plot out a little program for him.”

Q: What were your thoughts during the race? He was in a good spot, but the pace was very slow…

“I just thought it would be best if Robby just put him in a trance and let him just go steady, because in his training it just seems like he can literally gallop all day long. That’s what Robby did, he just kind of let him pace himself and he ended up being in the right spot.”

ROBBY ALBARADO, jockey on LATTICE (WINNER)

“This horse is growing up. I rode him all last year and I felt like I was always having to shove on him and get him some position. I had to make him do things, but we thought a lot of him. This year he’s taking himself into the race and he’s running.”

Q: Miguel Mena on Transduction Gold said he didn’t see you coming up the inside until it was too late…

“He’s not supposed to see me (laughs). They were going slow. He’s supposed to be that close – he even gave himself a breather midway down the backstretch.”

Q: This is a big step for Lattice…

“He’s coming around at the right time.”

JOHN GLENNEY, owner-trainer of TRANSDUCTION GOLD (runner-up)

“We thought if we slowed it down we could be able to get it from the front end, but it’s a tough mile-and-a-half. Then once he got a horse in front of him, he really dug in. That’s probably his better style, just stalking a little bit.”

MIGUEL MENA, jockey on TRANSDUCTION GOLD (runner-up)

“He was running good on the lead, but I didn’t see Robby (Albarado on Lattice) coming up the inside. I wish I would have. He got through on me. By the time I saw him it was too late.”

Q: Did you know how slow you were going out there?

“Yeah, it was like :52 (for the half-mile) – it was really slow. I thought we were going to steal it, man – we’ve been able to steal a few races on the lead on the grass. He was the only speed and I thought he was going to hold on to the lead. I thought I was going to get it.”

JESUS CASTANON rider of BIRDBIRDISTHEWORD (third)

“He ran big. I wasn’t really surprised, because I knew that horse could run. He ran well last time and made a nice run last time. Here he was going to go a mile and a half and I thought with the way he likes to run, he was going to get me through the race, and he did.”

Q: Did the pace hurt your chances?

“Yeah. If I had been a little closer maybe it would have been a little different kind of thing. But we just decided I was going to ride it the way it came out.”

WILLIAM “BUFF” BRADLEY, BRASS HAT, (4th as the favorite)

“I stood and just watched them go on and run around the turn after the race and it seemed like he just got geared up. So he got about a three-eighths of a mile run and that was it – the rest was a gallop.”

Q: It had to be frustrating to see him that far back off a slow pace…

“I didn’t mind him being far back, but when the pace was slow, that’s what bothered me. That was the thing, and the first thing Calvin said was ‘That’s my fault.’ And he should know, but he didn’t. He knew he was going slow, but he said he just didn’t want to gear him up too early and was hoping for something more. He said he left him too much to do -- and he did. But that’s part of horse racing. Calvin not knowing him well might have been a factor, too. But he got him to relax well and that’s what I wanted to see. I wanted to see him relaxed and on the rail, and he had him there in a good enough position – but he just didn’t have any pace out front. I thought there would be pace. Looking at the race, I thought there would be pace.

Q: He ran well despite the slow fractions, so would you try him on the grass again?

“I don’t think the grass bothers him – I can run him on the dirt or the grass. I think if he’d have had the right trip today, you’d have seen a different outcome.”

CALVIN BOREL, jockey on BRASS HAT (4th as the favorite)

“They were going so slow up front. He (trainer Buff Bradley) wanted me to take him back a little bit, and distance-wise he was perfect, but they were going too slow. It’s not we were 20 miles back, but he wanted me to take him back there and just make one run – which he did, but they just went a little too slow.”

Q: You also had to go wide with him….

“Down the lane was the only part I really had to go wide with him, so it was fine. The old horse finished up real good, I thought.”

NOTE: Hall of Fame jockey Don Brumfield, the second leading rider in Churchill Downs history and a winner of 12 local riding titles, presented the Louisville Handicap trophy to the winning connections. Brumfield was celebrating his 70th birthday.

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(May 22, 2008) – Multiple graded stakes-winning geldings Brass Hat and Silverfoot headline a field of 11 older horses entered in Saturday’s 71st edition of the $150,000-added Louisville Handicap (Grade III) at Churchill Downs.

Seven-year-old millionaire Brass Hat will attempt to land his first win on grass, while 8-year-old Silverfoot pursues an unprecedented fourth triumph in the 1 ½-mile Louisville Handicap, a race he won from 2004-06.

Fred Bradley’s homebred Brass Hat, who’ll break from post 5 as starting high weight with 117 pounds, was deemed the mild 7-2 morning line favorite by Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia. Silverfoot, who landed post 9, is the 9-2 second betting choice and will carry 115 pounds.

The open turf marathon for 3-year-olds and up also attracted graded stakes winners Lattice, Transduction Gold and Birdbirdistheword, as well as Fort Harrod runner-up Save Big Money and Keeneland allowance winners Pickapocket and Biggerbadderbetter. Firerock Base, Lord Carmen and Spider Power-IRE complete the field.

Brass Hat’s résumé includes victories in the 2004 Ohio Derby (GII) and Indiana Derby (GII) at age three; the Donn Handicap (GI) and New Orleans Handicap (GII) in 2006; and $500,000 Massachusetts Handicap last September. He also finished second to Electrocutionist in the 2006 Dubai World Cup (GI) but was later disqualified because of a medication infraction.

Overall, Brass Hat boasts a record of 8-5-1 and earnings of $1,753,819 in 24 starts. He has yet to win in four races on turf, but finished third in his most recent outing over grass, the $200,000 Elkhorn Handicap at Keeneland on April 25.

“He can run on grass or dirt, it really doesn’t matter,” said trainer William “Buff” Bradley, the owner/breeder’s son. “We just feel like he likes the grass and we want to prove he can run on the grass.”

Calvin Borel, who piloted another three-time Louisville Handicap winner, Chorwon, to victories in 1997 and ’99, will take over the reins on Brass Hat, replacing Willie Martinez who rode the horse in his last 18 starts. Martinez is now based at Pennsylvania’s Presque Isle Downs.

Chrysalis Stables’ Silverfoot skipped last year’s Louisville Handicap after three consecutive wins in the race. He’s winless in four starts this year and finished fifth in the Elkhorn, a quarter-length behind Brass Hat. Four of his nine career wins have come over the Churchill Downs turf course for trainer Dallas Stewart.

Here’s the complete Louisville Handicap field from the rail out (with jockeys, assigned weight and morning line odds): Lattice (Robby Albarado, 114, 5-1); Biggerbadderbetter (Corey Lanerie, 113, 10-1); Spider Power-IRE (James Lopez, 113, 10-1); Transduction Gold (Miguel Mena, 114, 15-1); Brass Hat (Calvin Borel, 117, 7-2); Save Big Money (Shaun Bridgmohan, 113, 6-1); Pickapocket (Elvis Trujillo, 114, 8-1); Birdbirdistheword (Jesus Castanon, 113, 15-1); Silverfoot (Jamie Theriot, 115, 9-2); Lord Carmen (Larry Melancon, 114, 10-1); and Firerock Base (Julien Leparoux, 114, 10-1).

Melancon has a chance to win his fifth Louisville Handicap with his scheduled ride on Lord Carmen. The 52-year-old native of Breaux Bridge, La., shares the stakes record of four victories with Steve Brooks. He won his first Louisville Handicap 30 years ago on It’s Freezing in the 1978 renewal.

Trainer Ken McPeek, who is scheduled to saddle the duo of Biggerbadderbetter and Birdbirdistheword, has won the Louisville Handicap twice before: Pisces, who finished in a dead heat with Classic Par in 2002, and Drilling For Oil last year. Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott (Pickapocket) won a division of the race in 1991 with Chenin Blanc. Trainer John Glenney (Transduction Gold) won the 2003 renewal with Kim Loves Bucky, who holds the stakes record of 2:14.09.

The Louisville Handicap will run as Race 10 at approximately 5:51 p.m. (all times Eastern) on an 11-race program that begins at 1:15 p.m. Churchill Downs admission gates will open Saturday at 11:30 a.m.

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