Bernie Flint

FLINT EYEING BREEDERS’ CUP JUVENILE WITH EXFACTOR – Stoneway Farm’s Exfactor, the last-to-first winner of the 110^th running of Saturday’s Grade III Bashford Manor Stakesat Churchill Downs, was in good order at Bernie Flint’s barn on Monday morning and his trainer was making plans to get the colt to the starting gate for the $2 million Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (GI) beneath the Twin Spires on Nov. 5.

"If I can keep him coming from behind like that, we’ve got the Breeders’ Cup right here,” Flint said. “He’s a special horse; he’s been a special horse.”

The 71-year-old Flint said after Exfactor’s impressive Bashford Manor win that the colt would sent to Saratoga this summer, but he indicated on Monday that plans for the precocious colt remain uncertain.

“I’m not going to make plans for awhile,” Flint said. “We’ll take our time and try and keep a fresh horse.”

Stoneway Farm and Flint also started Bonaparte in the Bashford Manor. He challenged for the lead early and then faded to sixth in the field of seven.

“He (Bonaparte) did what he could do that day,” Flint said. “He got a little sick and missed a work or two, so he wasn’t a hundred percent – but he also-ran in some nice company.”

Despite Bonaparte’s disappointing run, he still has much confidence in the son of Touch Gold.

“He did not run a bad race,” Flint said. “He just got a little late at the end, but it can’t do anything but help him down the road. I’ll keep him in stakes company.”

Flint has saddled seven winners at the Spring Meet and four of those wins have come for Stoneway Farm. The connections will have their final starter of the meet with Leola Bella in Monday’s third race, a 2-year old maiden special. Flint, who has a long history of success with 2-year-olds, has five wins in 20 starts in “baby” races this spring.

Leola Belle, a 2-year-old daughter of juvenile champion, Stevie Wonderboy, will make her debut under leading rider Julien Leparoux, who recorded his 500^th career victory at Churchill Downs on Sunday with another 2-year-old, Joseph Sutton’s Maan. Leparoux also won Sunday’s featured allowance race aboard James B. Tafel LLC’s Prado Dash to improve his career total to 501.

JOCKEY, TRAINER TITLES STILL UP FOR GRABS ENTERING CLOSING DAY – Potential for “Getaway Day” drama loomed at Churchill Downs on Monday as the races for champion jockey and trainer of the 2011 Spring Meet were still on the line entering the closing day of the 38-day racing session.

Julien Leparoux, who has earned seven riding titles at Churchill Downs, enters the special 11-race, Independence Day program with a solid, but no insurmountable, lead over Corey Lanerie, who is bidding for his first local crown.  Leparoux entered Monday’s racing with 51 wins, which put him five ahead of Lanerie.

The French-born Leparoux, who on Sunday became just the tenth jockey in Churchill Downs history to record 500 wins at that track, is scheduled to ride in all 11 races on Monday, including the morning-line favorites in Races 5, 9 and 11.  Lanerie was set for 10 mounts, including the morning line favorite in Race 6.

The race for leading trainer is a three-way battle between Steve Asmussen, Ken McPeek and Eddie Kenneally. Asmussen, who has won nine riding titles at Churchill Downs, entered Monday’s action with 18 wins, which was two ahead of McPeek (16 wins), who earned the Fall 2002 training crown, and Kenneally (16), who is seeking his first local title.

Asmussen will have six starters on Monday in Races 3, 7 and 9-11, Kenneally will saddle horses for Races 4, 6, and 8 and McPeek will have horses competing in Races 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 11.

The leading owner for the Spring Meet is Richard and Karen Papiese’ Midwest Thoroughbreds Inc. The stable entered Monday with eight wins at the meet and have their final starter of the spring in the first race.

TOP RIDERS AT CHURCHILL MAKE SUMMER PLANS AS MEET ENDS – As the 38-day Spring Meet at Churchill Downs wound toward its conclusion on Monday, members of the track’s talented jockey colony were preparing to disperse throughout the country to ride at other tracks through the summer.

Julien Leparoux, Shaun Bridgmohan, Kent Desormeaux, Robby Albarado, Freddie Lenclud and Miguel Mena will ride at the high-profile meet a New York’s Saratoga.   Corey Lanerie, Brian Hernandez Jr. and Jon Court plan to remain in Kentucky to ride at Henderson’s Ellis Park.

Manoel Cruz, completing a strong first meet in Kentucky, will head to Saratoga for the first time.

Three-time Kentucky Derby winning jockey Calvin Borel, who has ridden 32 winners this spring and ranked third in the spring standings heading into Monday’s final program, planned a limited summer schedule.

"I’ll be at Ellis and then ship around on the weekends to ride some good ones,” Borel said. “I want to be able to stick with my good horses throughout the summer. I’ll probably go up to Saratoga a few times. It’ll be fun.”

WHO’S HOT – The hottest jockeys over the last five racing days (June 26-July 3) are Julien Leparoux (9-for-34) and Calvin Borel (8-for-29). Bill Mott (5-for-8) and Eddie Kenneally (5-for-15) are the hottest trainers over the same period. Mace and Samantha Siegal’s Jay Em Ess Stable (3-for-3) and Kenneth L. and Sarah K. Ramsey (3-for-9) are the hottest owners.

WORKTAB – Vinery Stables’ Regally Ready, winner of the Churchill Downs Turf Sprint (GIII) on Kentucky Derby Day in his most recent start, breezed five furlongs over a fast main track Monday morning in 1:02 for trainer Steve Asmussen.

Lothenbach Stables Inc.’s Mister Marti Gras, who was scratched from Monday’s Firecracker Handicap Presented by GE (GII), breezed five furlongs in 1:01 on the main track for trainer Chris Block.

Grant Heider, John Kuehl and David Conway’s Lil Bit O’Fun, winner of the Oliver Stakes on the turf at Indiana Downs, breezed five furlongs in 1:01.20 for trainer Tom Proctor.

Stonestreet Stables and George Bolton’s Astrology, who finished third in the Grade I Preakness behind Shackleford and Animal Kingdom prior to a disappointing sixth-place performance in the Grade III Iowa Derby at odds of 1-2 last time out, breezed four furlongs in :52.40 for Asmussen.

Courtlandt Farms’ Perregaux, who finished third in the Jefferson Cup Presented by Abu Dhabi (GIII) for trainer Neil Howard, breezed five furlongs in 1:00 – the second fastest of 22 works at the distance.

Stoneway Farm’s Exfactor charged down the stretch, made the lead with just over an eighth of a mile remaining and drew clear to win the 110^th running of the Grade III, $111,500 Bashford Manor for 2-year-olds by 2 ¾-lengths on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

Trained by 71-year-old Bernie Flint and ridden by three-time Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Calvin Borel, Exfactor covered the six furlongs on a fast track in 1:10.30. It was the second win in the Bashford Manor for the Flint-Borel duo, as the pair previously teamed up to win its 2008 edition with William Carl’s Screen Your Friend.  Borel, who rode five winners on Saturday, scored his third Bashford Manor win overall as he won the race in 2000 aboard Phillips Racing Partnership’s Duality.

The 5-1 third-choice in the field of seven, Exfactor returned mutuels of $12.60, $5.20 and $3.60. Courtlandt Farms’ Power World rallied from sixth to finish second under Corey Lanerie and returned $4.80 and $3.60, while Dumbarton Stable’s Friscan, who set a rapid early pace under Shaun Bridgmohan, held for third and returned $4.60 to show. It was a neck further back to Klaravich Stables Inc. and William Lawrence’s Sum of the Parts, the 4-5 Bashford Manor favorite who broke in the air, but rushed to challenge Friscan for the early lead before giving way in the stretch.

The victory was worth $67,748 for Exfactor and increased the bankroll for the Kentucky-bred son of Exchange Rate to $109,348.  The winner’s career record stands at 2-1-0 in three starts.

Exfactor broke last in the field of seven and stayed there as Friscan and Sum of the Parts led the field through a quick opening quarter in :21.59.  Borel asked Exfactor for his run with three-eighths of a mile remaining and began to pick off horses as he swung five-wide entering the stretch. Friscan and Sum of the Parts led the field into the stretch, but Exfactor was rolling on the outside, stuck his head in front with an eighth of a mile to go and quickly drew away.  Power World rallied from sixth and closed well in the stretch to gain the runner-up spot, but could not threaten Exfactor.

Chalybeate Springs finished fifth, and was followed past the finish by Bonaparte and Hot Speed. Lil Cherokee, Green Mouse, Tarpy’s Goal and Laurie’s Rocket were late scratches.

Racing continues beneath the historic Twin Spires of Churchill Downs on Sunday, July 3 with a 12-race program that begins at 12:45 p.m. EDT.                                                                  

BASHFORD MANOR QUOTES

Bernard Flint, trainer of Exfactor (Winner)

“The game plan was (Stoneway Farm stablemate) Bonaparte was supposed to go to the front and carry the front end.  But apparently it was quite hot out there and he couldn’t get there.  But that’s OK because he was sick a couple of weeks ago and I had missed a work or two with him, so sometimes you’ve got to go with the one that’s best ready and that was Exfactor.”

Q: You were very confident before the race that Exfactor was going to run well …

“It was a question of whether I was going to hang around on the front end or go from behind (with Exfactor) and today I decided I’m going to go from behind – that’s it.  We have two horses and that’s the purpose for an entry – for one to go on and set the pace, but the other one couldn’t even set the pace.  It was vicious out there.  It was an extremely good race with good horses, and it’s a pleasure to have something like that in the barn.  I thank Mr. Stone for going out and buying these horses.”

Q: Is it more special at this time in your life and career to win a race like this with a young horse?

“This late in your life, you don’t usually get the opportunities.  Everybody forgets about the old man, but the old man don’t forget what he learned.  Mr. Stone must be congratulated for having enough faith in me to come back to me and give me a second chance.  Hey, I’m tickled.”

Q: How much potential does this horse have?

“It’s unlimited, because if I can keep him coming from behind like that we’ve got the Breeders’ Cup right here.  He’s a special horse, he’s been a special horse, but I didn’t have him ready to run the first time. … You can’t squeeze the lemon – you’ve got to be careful with what you do.

“The best 2-year-olds in the country have always come out of Churchill Downs. I don’t care what anybody says, whatever price they were or whatever it is, it’s the pinnacle of 2-year-old racing.  And I’m just tickled to death at my age to have a horse like this.  It doesn’t happen to a 71-year-old man, OK?  But Mr. Stone had enough faith in me to say ‘Let’s go out and let’s go get ‘em.’

“It’s really a joy to win at home, but it’s even a bigger joy to have a truly good 2-year-old.  No one ever commits suicide if they’ve got an untried 2-year-old, and when they’ve got a stakes-winning or graded stakes-winning 2-year-old, for sure you’re not going to commit suicide.”

Q: What do you think might be next?

“I’m going to see how he came out of this race and hopefully we’ll go on to Saratoga and we’ll wait here and lay in the woods and wait ‘til Breeders’ Cup.”

 

James Stone (Stoneway Farm), owner of Exfactor (Winner)

Q: What does this win mean for you?

“This means everything because we haven’t been here in seven or eight years.  I guess we won the Stonerside Beaumont (at Keeneland) back in ’02, ’03, along in there.  It’s that old country song, ‘If it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.’  But it’s changed.  I’m back to my first trainer, Bernie.  We went through 54 trainers, but we’re back and he’s got all my horses.

“He’s got great eyes for picking just the physical horse.  Don’t show him the pedigree.  He just looks at the horse.  We hooked up about a year or year and a half ago, and he’s got 30 horses in the racing stable, all told.

“You’ve got to have someone you can communicate with.  That doesn’t mean Bernie and I always agree or he does it my way.  He does it his way, but at least we have a great rapport and I’ve been taught more by Bernie Flint than any other individual in the horse business.”

"We’re just rollin’, we’re just loving it.  We’re having fun.  Whatever comes, it’s a pleasure.”

Calvin Borel, jockey on Exfactor (winner)

“I let him drop back out of there.  I knew they’d have a little speed, :21 and :45, that’s pretty good fractions for a 2-year-old.  I just said, ‘If we’re going to teach him, teach him right.  That’s what Mr. Carl (two-time Kentucky Derby winner trainer Carl Nafzger) always told me.  I’ll tell you what, he’s a nice colt and we’re trying to form him to be a nice colt to get on down the road and do bigger things.  So I let him break and was just comfortable.   He felt real, real good coming to the (quarter) pole, so I rode him with a lot of confidence.  He showed up and gave me that punch.  At the wire he was getting a little late, but not bad.  I was very impressed.”

Q: What do you think Exfactor learned out of this race?

“A lot.  I’ve been working him a long time and he’s very versatile.  If you want him there (near the lead), he’s there, but he’ll sit back and make one run.  I like that in a horse.  Today was big plus for him.  They’ll do it in the morning sometimes by themselves, but in the afternoon will they do it?  You’ve got to check ‘em out and hope it works out if you want a good one that will fit down the road, and I think this colt can do it.”

Corey Lanerie, jockey of Power World (second): “My horse was good; he broke good today. He was maybe a little keener than I thought he would have been. But I was in a good spot and at the five-sixteenths (pole) I thought I had them. (Jockey) Calvin (Borel on Exfactor) came around me and swept by me. I kind of cut through a little bit and saved a little more ground but I just couldn’t catch him today.”

Neil Howard, trainer of Power World (second): “I thought he ran good. (Trainer) Bernie Flint’s horse (Exfactor) had been on my mind since he broke his maiden. That was a nice race first-time out. Obviously it would have been great to win it, but I love what I’m seeing with this colt for the future … you know, seven-eighths (of a mile) and the races this fall. He’s a nice colt, I think. I hope at least. This was a good group of two-year-olds.”

Leandro Goncalves, jockey of Sum of the Parts (fourth as the favorite): “He didn’t come out of the gate too good, just like during the first time when he broke a step slow. But (Bonaparte) broke out and (Hot Speed) came in and squished me a little bit. After that, he didn’t really relax for me at all. He got bumped from both horses, got mad and tried to run off the whole way. He didn’t have much finish and that’s why. I was never able to get him to relax for me and he didn’t finish strong like he had been training in the morning or like he did first time out. He’s a good horse, though. He’s just a young horse, very competitive and tried too hard. He just needs to learn to relax.”

Klaravich Stables Inc and William H Lawrence’s Sum of the Parts, an impressive son of Speightstown who was a convincing winner in his lone career start, heads a field of 11 2-year-olds entered to compete in Saturday’s 110^th running of the $100,000-added, Grade III Bashford Manor Stakes at Churchill Downs.

The six-furlong race, the first graded stakes race of the year for 2-year-olds, is scheduled as the 12^th and featured event on a special 13-race program on the final Saturday of the historic track’s 38-day Spring Meet.  Post time for the first race is 12:45 p.m. (all times EST) and the Bashford Manor is set for 6:23 p.m. start.

The Bashford Manor Stakes, which was first run in 1902, is named in honor of the prominent Louisville Thoroughbred breeding farm owned by George James Long, who bred three winners of the Kentucky Derby on the property.  The farm bred and raced Derby winners Azra (1892) and Sir Huon (1906) and bred 1899 winner Manuel.  Bashford Manor also owned Kentucky Oaks winners Selika (1894) and Kathleen (1916).

The Tom Amoss-trained Sum of the Parts turned heads early in the Spring Meet with a flashy 2 ¾-length victory as the favorite in his 4 ½-furlong racing debut on May 14.  That is the lone start for the colt that is bidding to join Lone Star Sky (2002) and Backtalk (2009) as Bashford Manor winners saddled by Amoss.

“He’s a horse we’re very excited about,” Amoss said.  “I thought his race was really good, and the horse that ran second to him, Exfactor, won his next race.  Exfactor won a split (maiden) race and he ran a lot faster than the other division, so that was encouraging.”

Leandro Goncalves had the mount on Sum of the Parts in his debut and will be in the irons again on Saturday.  Sum of the Parts will carry 118 pounds in his stakes debut.

Stoneway Farm’s Exfactor, a gray/roan son of Exchange Rate trained by Bernie Flint, will get a shot at turning the tables on Sum of the Parts in the Bashford Manor.  After his runner-up finish in his debut, Exfactor returned to score an easy 4 ½ length victory at 5 ½ furlongs in his most recent outing on June 9 at Churchill Downs.  Exfactor will carry 118 pounds and Calvin Borel will ride Flint’s colt for the third time in as many starts.

Stoneway Farm and Flint will also be represented by Bonaparte, a speedy son of Touch Gold who rolled to a front-running 5 ½-length victory at 4 1/2 furlongs in his lone start on May 30.  Jon Court has the return call on Bonaparte, who will also carry 118 pounds.

Ed Few’s unbeaten Texas invader Lil Cherokee is the only member of the 11-horse field for the Bashford Manor has stakes experience on his resume.  Lil Cherokee won the colts and geldings division of the Texas Thoroughbred Association Sales Futurity for trainer Bret Calhoun on June 11 at Lone Star Park.  The Texas-bred son of Cherokee Run, an easy winner in his racing debut at Lone Star on May 12, will carry high weight of 120 pounds in the Bashford Manor and Miguel Mena will ride.

Other contenders include Courtlandt Farm’s homebred Power World, a Distorted Humor colt who overcame traffic problems to win his June 11 career debut at Churchill Downs at odds of 14-1; Mike Tarp’s Tarpy’s Goal, a son of High Cotton who won his May 19 Churchill Downs debut for trainer Dale Romans;  Hot Speed, a Florida-bred son of Burning Roma who has one win in two starts at Florida’s Calder Race Course; Dunbarton Stable’s Friscan, who won his only start for trainer Al Stall Jr. at Keeneland on April 14; and Denzik Racing LLC and Meritage Racing LLC’s Green Mouse, a Cherokee Run colt who was a 3 1/2-length winner over a sloppy track in his second career start on May 26 at Churchill Downs.

Two colts will bid to score their first career victory in the Bashford Manor.  Willis Horton’s Laurie’s Rocket finished second his lone start for trainer Dallas Stewart at Churchill Downs on May 30.  And Bluegrass Hall’s Chalybeate Springs ran fifth over a sloppy track in his debut on June 18 of Hall of Fame trainer and five-time Bashford Manor winner D. Wayne Lukas.

Another event of note on Saturday’s 13-race program is the 11^th:  a 6 ½ furlong allowance optional claiming race with a purse of $65,200 with a field of nine that includes Vinery Stables and Mrs. Susan Roy’s Awesome Act and Robert Baker and William Mack’s Dublin.  Both competed in the 2010 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) won by WinStar Farm’s Super Saver.

The race will launch a comeback for the Lukas-trained Dublin, the winner of the 2010 Hopeful (GI) at Saratoga who finished seventh in the Derby.  Dublin has not competed since a fifth-place run behind Lookin At Lucky in the Preakness (GI). Awesome Act, a British import who won the 2010 Gotham (GIII), was injured in a 19^th-place finish in the Derby and has not been close in a pair of 2011 starts for trainer Steve Asmussen.

The field for the 111^th running of the Bashford Manor, in post position order from the rail out (with jockey, weight) includes:  Laurie’s Rocket (Brian Hernandez Jr., 116), Lil Cherokee (Mena 120), Power World (Corey Lanerie, 118), Exfactor (Borel, 118), Chalybeate Springs (Jesus Castanon, 116), Bonaparte (Court, 118), Sum of the Parts (Goncalves, 118), Hot Speed (Robby Albarado, 120), Tarpy’s Goal (Kent Desormeaux, 118), Green Mouse (Manoel Cruz, 118) and Friscan (Shaun Bridgmohan, 118).

 GET STORMY ASSIGNED HIGH WEIGHT FOR FIRECRACKER HANDICAP – Dual Grade I winner Get Stormy has been assigned the high weight of 123 pounds by Churchill Downs racing secretary Ben Huffman for the 21^st running of the $175,000-added Firecracker Handicap (Grade II) at a mile on the Matt Winn Turf Course on Monday, July 4.

Sullimar Stable’s 5-year-old son of Stormy Atlantic captured the Maker’s Mark Mile at Keeneland in April for his first Grade I victory and followed that triumph with a winning performance in the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (GI) on Churchill Downs’ Kentucky Derby Day undercard. Get Stormy finished a disappointing third at odds of 4-5 in his most recent start in Monmouth Park’s Monmouth Stakes (GIII).

Estrorace LLC’s Workin for Hops was assigned the next top weight at 120 pounds. A 4-year-old gelded son of City Zip, Workin for Hops was second to Get Stormy in the Maker’s Mark Mile prior to taking the Hanshin Cup Handicap (GIII) over the Polytrack courts at Arlington Park on May 21.

Pam and Marty Wygod’s Courageous Cat and Tom McCarthy’s General Quarters, both assigned 119 pounds, are next on Huffman's Firecracker weights.

Courageous Cat, a multiple graded stakes winner with $781,300 in career earnings, won the Poker Stakes (GIII) at Belmont Park on June 10. The was his first race for the Bill Mott-trained Courageous Cat since a third-place finish to turf champion Gio Ponti in the Shadwell Turf Mile (GI) at Keeneland in October.  The 5-year-old son of Storm Cat has five wins from 10 career turf starts.

McCarthy’s General Quarters is the other multiple Grade I winner in the field and is a likely starter for next Monday’s race. A 5-year-old son of Sky Mesa, General Quarters was being pointed to a start in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Mile (GI) following two impressive performances during last year’s Spring Meet.  He won the  Woodford Reserve Turf Classic on turf and followed that with a third-place run behind eventual Breeders’ Cup Classic winner and champion older horse Blame in Stephen Foster (GI) on the main track.

The McCarthy-trained Kentucky-bred was knocked off last year’s Breeders’ Cup trail when he injured his left front leg following a seventh-place finish in the Grade I Arlington Million. General Quarters returned from a near 10-month layoff in a runner-up finish to Maggi Moss’ Native Ruler in a seven-furlong allowance over the main track at Churchill Downs.

Horses under consideration for the Firecracker Handicap (with their trainers, weights) include Baryshnikov (Mike Maker, 117), El Caballo (Ralph Nicks, 114), Flat Out (Scooter Dickey, 114), General Quarters (McCarthy, 117), Lubash (James Ryerson, 115), Mister Marti Gras (Chris Block, 115), Strike Impact (Pat Dupuy, 117), Wise Dan (Charlie Lopresti, 115) and Yankee Injunuity (James McMullen, 115).

FLINT POINTING STONEWAY FARM DUO TO BASHFORD MANOR – Veteran trainer Bernie Flint has a long history of success with young horses and, with four 2-year-old winners so far in the 2011 Spring Meet, he finds history repeating itself this spring at Churchill Downs.

The 71-year-old New Orleans native will attempt to keep that run of success with juveniles going when he saddles the Stoneway Farm duo of Bonaparte and Exfactor in Saturday’s 110^th running of the $100,000-added Bashford Manor Stakes (GIII).

Bonaparte, a $30,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October sale purchase, won at first asking by 5 ¼ lengths under Jon Court in a May 30 maiden special weight race at Churchill Downs. The son of Touch Gold breezed four furlongs in :51.80 over a sloppy track on Sunday morning in preparation for the Bashford Manor.

“They’ll have to come running to beat Bonaparte,” Flint said.

Exfactor, purchased for $27,000 as a yearling by Stoneway at the FTK October Sale, won his second career start by 4 ½ lengths under Calvin Borel. The son of Exchange Rate finished second to Klaravich Stables Inc. and William Lawrence’s Sum of the Parts, the likely Bashford Manor favorite, in his racing debut.    Exfactor also worked beneath the Twin Spires on Sunday, completing four furlongs in :48.80.

“He (Exfactor)’s a strong, solid horse,” Flint said.

If all goes well in the six-furlong Bashford Manor, Flint expects for Exfactor to be near the lead, while Bonaparte will close from the back of the pack.

“It’ll be an entertaining race and we’ll have some entertainment on the front end and entertainment in the back,” Flint said. “I think that’s how the race will go, but you never know with these baby races.”

Court, who has 19 wins at the spring meet, will ride Bonaparte in the Bashford Manor, while Borel, who has collected 25 victories, has the return call on Exfactor.

Known horses under consideration for the Bashford Manor and their trainers include Backdoor Kenny (James Divito), Bonaparte (Flint), Exfactor (Flint), Friscan (Al Stall Jr.), Green Mouse (William Denzik Jr.), Hot Speed (Ron Moquett), Lil Cherokee (Bret Calhoun), Power World (Neil Howard), Sum of the Parts (Tom Amoss) and Threanddonedan (John Salzman).

SIMMS THINKING BREEDERS CUP WITH DEBUTANTE WINNER – Barry King’s Flashy Lassie, charged down the Churchill Downs stretch Saturday to score a 17-1 upset in the 111^th running of the $109,300 Debutante GIII), came out her first stakes win well and rested in trainer Garry Simms’ barn Sunday morning.

“She came out of the race fine and licked up her feed tub,” Simms said. “We’re doing good and ready to roll.”

The Debutante was the first stakes victory beneath the Twin Spires for the veteran Simms, who hopes now to add several more to that total. One stakes target already on Simms’ long-range radar is the $2 million Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (GI) at Churchill Downs on Friday, Nov. 4.

“The ultimate goal is the Breeders’ Cup,” Simms said. “I haven’t even thought about where she will run next, but we’ll look for something in about 30 or 40 days.”

Simms, who has waged a battle with melanoma since early 2010, said Saturday’s victory by Flashy Lassie was good medicine.

“All the pain leaves!” Simms said. “There’s nothing like winning a horse race.”

Flashy Lassie, purchased by Simms for $4,000 at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October, increased her bankroll to $77,211 with the first-place check she picked up in the Debutante.  Her stakes victory came in just the second start for the Kentucky-bred daughter of first-year sire Flashy Bull. She launched her career with a nine-length romp in a $20,000 maiden-claiming event at Churchill Downs on May 13.

BARN TALK – Churchill Downs-based trainer Steve Margolis, whose Barn 23 suffered the most severe damage in Wednesday’s tornado, won the Grade III Iowa Oaks with Little Miss Holly on Saturday night at Prairie Meadows for Al Gold’s Gold Square. “She (Little Miss Holly) was in Barn 23, but was not here for the storm,” Margolis said. “She flew up there on Wednesday morning so she just missed it.” …

Through the June 11 racing program at Churchill Downs, Corey Lanerie was leading the jockey standings with 34 wins from 145 mounts and Julien Leparoux was in third with 23 wins from 120 mounts. From that point Leparoux has been on a torrid streak and has won with 19 of his 44 mounts since June 12.  Lanerie is only 5-for-54 from the same date. …

With two more winners on Saturday, jockey Robby Albarado now holds sole position of third place in career wins at Churchill Downs. Albarado, who has 927 victories beneath the Twin Spires, was tied for third with Hall of Famer Don Brumfield entering Saturday’s action. …

Courtlandt Farms’ Machen, winner of the $200,000-added The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial (GIII) at Churchill Downs on April 30, will be pointed to the Grade II Amsterdam at Saratoga on August 1 according to trainer Neil Howard. “We’ll see how it goes and then hopefully go in the King’s Bishop (Grade I at Saratoga on Aug. 27). …

Sunday’s card at Churchill Downs will feature a Pick 6 carryover of $98,241. The Pick 6 will begin with Race 5 at 2:51 p.m. EDT. …

Churchill Downs will not make up Thursday’s lost day of racing, but additional races will be added to the programs next week, which is the final week of the spring meet. Three races will be added Thursday, two races Friday, two races Saturday (July 2), and one race Sunday (July 3). No races will be added to the Monday, July 4, program. …

WHO’S HOT – The hottest jockey over the last five racing days (June 17-25) is Julian Leprous (15-for-35). Ken McGee (6-for-12) is the hottest trainer over the same period. Midwest Thoroughbreds Inc. (2-for-6) is the hottest owner.

WORKTAB – Columbine Stable’s O.K.’s Thunder, winner of the Grade I Dixiana Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland prior to a ninth place finish in the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in his most recent start, worked four furlongs in :50.40 over a sloppy track on Sunday morning at Churchill Downs for trainer Al Stall Jr. “We’re slowly getting him back, but he’s still a month or two away from making a start,” Stall said.

Robert Baker and William Mack’s Dublin, winner of the Grade I Hopeful who scratched out of the Kelly’s Landing stakes on Friday night, worked five furlongs in 1:02 Sunday morning for trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

Chasing Dreams Racing 2008 LLC’s Noble’s Promise, winner of the Grade III Aristides at Churchill Downs in his most recent start, worked five furlongs in 1:02.80 for trainer Ken McPeek.

WEATHER – Sunday: cloudy with a 70% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 82. Monday: partly sunny with a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms, 90. Tuesday: partly sunny with a 40% chance of thunderstorms, 89. Wednesday: mostly sunny, 87. Thursday: mostly sunny, 90. Friday: sunny and hot, 93. Saturday: mostly sunny, 93.

Gold Mark Farm LLC’s Culotte and Stoneway Farm’s Queen Teuta, who finished 1-2 when they faced each other in the first race of their respective careers, loom as likely favorites when eight lightly-raced 2-year-old fillies meet in Saturday’s 111^th running of the $100,000-added Debutante Stakes (Grade III) at Churchill Downs.

The six-furlong race is the nation’s first graded stakes event for 2-year-old fillies and the featured 10^th race on the next-to-last Saturday program of the Churchill Downs Spring Meet.  Post time for the first of 11 races on Saturday is 12:45 p.m. (Eastern).

The connections of the eight fillies set to compete in Saturday’s Debutante hope their fillies can live up to the standards of excellence established by a roster past Debutante winners that include Bewitch and Alcibiades, two outstanding champions of the first half of the 20^th century.  Recent winners include two-time champion Silverbulletday, a Hall of Fame filly who won the 1998 Debutante and the 1999 Kentucky Oaks (GI), and multiple stakes winners Chilukki and Cashier’s Dream.  Fillies that competed in recent Debutante runnings but failed to win include 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, third in the ’08 Debutante; Countess Diana, the 1997 2-year-old filly champion who suffered the only loss of her championship season in a runner-up run the Debutante; and Serena’s Song, who finished fourth in 1994 but retired as racing’s all-time female earnings leader.

Culotte, a daughter of Sky Mesa trained by Tom Amoss, could end up as the favorite in the 2010 renewal of the Debutante because of her dazzling racing debut in a 4 1/2-furlong maiden race at Churchill Downs on May 13.  She started quickly and led throughout as the 2-1 favorite to score an emphatic 5 ½-length win over Debutante rival Queen Teuta.  The latter, a daughter of Theatrical trained by veteran Bernie Flint, rebounded to win her next start at 4 ½ furlongs on June 3.

Culotte will break from post seven under jockey Leandro Goncalves, while Queen Teuta and jockey Calvin Borel will start from post two.  Both fillies are set to carry 118 pounds.

There are no fillies in the Debutante’s field of future stars with more than two career starts, and only one member of the field is a veteran of stakes competition.   That filly is Wayne Sanders and Larry Hirsch’s Shocktime, a Texas-bred daughter of Langfuhr who invades from the Lone Star State off a pair of lopsided victories for trainer Bret Calhoun.

Shocktime won her two previous races at Lone Star Park by a combined margin of 21 ¾ lengths.  In her most recent start the homebred filly cruised to a 12 ¾-length win in the filly division of the $93,000 Texas Thoroughbred Association Sales Futurity on June 11.  She covered five furlongs that day in :58.61, a clocking that was faster than the winning time turned in by stablemate Lil Cherokee one race earlier in the Futurity’s division for colts and geldings.

Miguel Mena, who won last week’s $500,000-added Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) aboard William Farish Jr.’s Pool Play, will ride Shocktime, who will carry high weight of 120 pounds.

Another out-of-state threat is posed by R N R Stable’s Defy Gravity, a Maryland-based daughter of Bandini who comes in to the Debutante off an easy victory in a 4 ½-furlong maiden race at Pimlico on May 8.  Trainer Valerie Testerman’s filly finished third in her career debut on April 15, but rolled by six lengths in her second and most recent outing.

Wesley Ho has been in the saddle for both of Defy Gravity’s starts and will travel to Churchill Downs to ride in her stakes debut.  Defy Gravity breaks for post eight and carries 118 pounds.

Other Debutante contenders include Terry Allen’s Five Star Momma, an impressive winner of her June 10 debut at Churchill Downs for trainer Scooter Dickey, and Barry King’s Flashy Lassie, a Garry Simms-trained filly from the first crop of Flashy Bull who won her May 13 debut beneath the historic Twin Spires by nine lengths.  Corey Lanerie will ride Five Star Momma from the rail post, while Kent Desormeaux and Flashy Lassie will start from post five.

The field for the 111^th Debutante (from the rail out with jockey, weight) includes: Five Star Momma (Lanerie, 118), Queen Tueta (Borel, 118), Tippy Toes (Julien Leparoux, 116), My Due Process (Robby Albarado, 116), Flashy Lassie (Desormeaux, 116), Shocktime (Mena, 120), Culotte (Goncalves, 118) and Defy Gravity (Ho, 118).

Steve Asmussen, this year’s runaway leader in victories and earnings by Thoroughbred trainers in North America, heads the roster of trainers whose horses will compete during the 21-day Fall Meet at Churchill Downs that opens on Sunday, Nov. 1.

    Asmussen earned the 2009 Spring Meet title beneath the historic Twin Spires by saddling 29 winners and will be looking to sweep the two Churchill Downs  meets for a third time.  He collected Spring and Fall titles at the home of the Kentucky Derby in 2004 and ’07. The North American divisions of Asmussen’s sprawling stable had earned a spectacular 539 victories through Monday, according to figures compiled by Equibase. Asmussen set the record for wins by a trainer in a calendar year when he campaigned 622 victories in 2008.  His horses have earned more than $18.7 million, which comfortably leads the more than $12.8 million earned by horses trained by current runner-up Todd Pletcher.

    Asmussen’s Spring ’09 training crown was his sixth title at Churchill Downs and he now ranks fifth in career victories at the track. His Spring Meet wins pushed Asmussen’s career win total at the track to 337 – two more than Hall of Famer and 1987 Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Jack Van Berg. Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott leads the career victory roster with 622 wins and a solid Spring Meet allowed Louisville native Dale Romans (472 wins) to slip past Hall of Famer and four-time Kentucky Derby (Grade I)  and Kentucky Oaks (GI) winner D. Wayne Lukas (471) into second place on the all-time Churchill Downs win list.  Romans had 15 wins while Lukas had eight during the 45-day spring session.  Bernie Flint stands fourth in the career top five with 414 victories.

    Mott, Romans, Lukas and Flint will all be back for the Fall Meet, along with a strong group of Churchill Downs regulars that includes record-setting defending Fall Meet training champ Mike Maker. During the 2008 session, Maker, a former Lukas assistant and son of the late trainer George Maker, won 31 races during the 26-day stand, which demolished the previous record of 20 victories set by Romans during the 27-day Fall Meet of 2003.

    Other top trainers with hopes of making their presence felt this fall include Tom Amoss, Greg Foley, Mike Maker, Helen Pitts-Blasi, Ken McPeek, Ian Wilkes, Eddie Kenneally, Bret Calhoun, Albert Stall Jr., Ronny Werner, Lynn Whiting, Steve Margolis, Vickie Foley, Cecil Borel, Tom Proctor, Ralph Nicks, Forrest Kaelin, Bob Holthus, Neil Howard, Dallas Stewart, Paul J. McGee, William “Jinks” Fires, Robert O’Connor II, Angel Montano, David Vance, Tony Reinstedler and David Carroll.

    Other Hall of Fame trainers scheduled to participate in the meet are two-time Kentucky Derby winners Nick Zito and Carl Nafzger.

    Veteran trainer Hal Wiggins, who won the 2009 Kentucky Oaks with leading Horse of the Year contender Rachel Alexandra, will make the Fall Meet his swan song.  Wiggins plans to retire at the end of the meet. So will J. Larry Jones, the 53-year-old Kentucky-born trainer who won the 2008 Kentucky Oaks with Proud Spell and finished second in the Kentucky Derby with Hard Spun (2007) and Eight Belles (2008). Jones’ final starter is expected to be Payton d’Oro in the Grade II, $150,000 Chilukki on Saturday, Nov. 7.

    Another trainer scheduled to have horses stabled at Churchill Downs or its Trackside training center include Michael Matz, trainer of 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro. Matz has been allotted five stalls for the meet.

    One trainer who could have a substantial impact in the short autumn meet is Chicago-based Wayne Catalano, who has been granted 22 stalls. Other new or infrequent visitors to Churchill Downs and Trackside who are scheduled to have horses stabled at one or both facilities include Dale Bennett, Steve Hobby, Judy Hicklin, Rick Jackson, Rebecca Maker, Barbara McBride, Lisa Merritt, Danny Miller, Chuck Peery, Rick Jackson and Elizabeth Gray.

    The Churchill Downs Fall Meet begins on Sunday with the first of two “Stars of Tomorrow” programs that are restricted to 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. ET.  The Fall Meet will conclude on Saturday. Nov. 28.

    Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875.  Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN) also operates Trackside at Churchill Downs, which offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 1, 2010. The track will conduct its 2009 Fall Meet from Sunday, Nov. 1 through Saturday, Nov. 28.  Churchill Downs is scheduled to host the Breeders’ Cup World Championships for a record seventh time on November 5 and 6, 2010.  Information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.churchilldowns.com.

(November 23, 2008) – Naveed Chowhan’s Control System took control in deep stretch and then held off a late charge from Awsugahnow to win Sunday’s featured $44,260 Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation purse at Churchill Downs by three-quarters of a length.

            Trained by Bernie Flint and ridden by Kent Desormeaux, Control System ran the seven furlongs on the fast main track in 1:23.95. The victory was the seventh in 12 career starts for Control System, a 4-year-old Pennsylvania-bred daughter of Lion Hearted. Her career bankroll swelled to $368,844 with Sunday’s winner’s check of $25,544.

            Sent off as the favorite in the field of eight, Control System returned $7.60, $4.20 and $3.20. Awsugahnow, ridden by Calvin Borel, returned $4.20 and $3.20 and Victorianna, under Julien Leparoux, finished another three-quarters of a length back in third and paid $3.80 to show.

            Leparoux rode three winners on the Sunday card to increase his Fall Meet-leading total to 50 with four days remaining in the meet that ends Saturday. The Churchill Downs Fall Meet record for victories by a jockey is 55, set by Pat Day in 1985. Robby Albarado is second in the standings with 33 winners.

            Live racing resumes Wednesday at Churchill Downs with a 10-race program that begins at 12:40 p.m. ET. There’s a $15,063 carryover in the Race 3 Z-5 (Super Hi-5), which requires bettors to pick the top five finishers in order.

Action over the final three days – 12-race cards on Thanksgiving Day, Friday and Saturday – will start early at 11:30 a.m. ET.

- END -

As usual, Calvin Borel went about his business Sunday morning with a smile on his face.

Working horses for his brother Cecil, Borel was back at it with a milestone victory in his back pocket: career victory No. 4,500.

The victory, which made him the 32nd North American rider to reach 4,500, came aboard Screen Your Friend in the Bashford Manor (GIII) for Borel's first stakes win of the meet and 36th overall under the Twin Spires.

"I have liked him all along," said Borel, who has ridden the colt three times including his maiden score on June 4. "It was good to see him take that step up yesterday."

Borel, who hurt his knee when he came off a horse during training hours on June 13, is going to take some time off when the meet closes Sunday.

"I am going to ride a few weekends around the country, but for the most part just rest it over the summer," Borel said. "It is still a little sore."

Which means the climb to 5,000 wins will get off to a slow start.

"That's my next goal," said Borel, 41. "Hopefully I can get it in three years."

Presently, there are 22 North American riders in the 5,000-win club. Sitting just ahead of Borel on the all-time North American list is Kentuckian Don Brumfield with 4,573 victories.

 

SCREEN YOUR FRIEND DOING WELL AFTER BASHFORD MANOR WIN - William Carl's longshot Bashford Manor winner Screen Your Friend came out his victory in Saturday's stakes debut in good order according to Georgia Jackson, assistant to trainer Bernie Flint.

"He's doing good this morning," Jackson said. "It was a great way to end the meet for us. We started slow, but finished with nine wins."

Among the nine wins was a victory by Saltgrass Trail on June 11 that gave Flint his 400th score at Churchill Downs.

However, Flint was not able to enjoy either victory at the track because he was at home recovering from back surgery.

"He tried to get out here a couple of weeks ago, but those things just take time," Jackson said.

 

CHAMPION CURLIN SCHEDULED FOR MONDAY WORK - Reigning "Horse of the Year" Curlin is scheduled to work on Monday at Churchill Downs in preparation for a scheduled debut on the turf next weekend either at Belmont Park or Arlington Park.

The Steve Asmussen-trained son of Smart Strike, an easy winner this year of the $6 million Dubai World Cup (GI) at Nad Al Sheba and the $1 million Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) at Churchill Downs, is scheduled to work over the main track in Asmussen's second set of horses on Monday. Curlin should step onto the one-mile dirt oval at approximately 6:15 a.m. (EDT).

Curlin breezed seven furlongs on the Matt Winn Turf Course in 1:31.20 last Tuesday in his first training effort over the surface. With an eye toward a possible run in France's famed Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in early October, Asmussen plans for Curlin to make his turf debut on Saturday, July 12 in either the $500,000 Man O' War (GI) at Belmont or the $200,000 Arlington Park Handicap (GIII) at the Illinois track.

Published reports have had Asmussen leaning toward the New York race, but licensing issues related to the colt's minority ownership must be settled in either jurisdiction to allow the winner of the 2007 Breeders' Cup Classic Powered by Dodge (GI) to compete.

 

TOP RIDERS HEADED TO SARATOGA, PRESQUE ISLE - With the close of the 52-day Spring Meet on Sunday, the leading jockeys in the rider standings will be heading to various destinations.

Headed to Saratoga are leading rider Robby Albarado, Julien Leparoux, Shaun Bridgmohan and, for the first time, Jamie Theriot. Miguel Mena and Jesus Castanon, who have combined for 93 victories for agent Steve Elzey, will be headed to Presque Isle.

Leparoux, who guided Churchill Downs-based Pure Clan to victory in the American Oaks Invitational (GI) on Saturday for trainer Bob Holthus, will return to Hollywood Park this coming Saturday to ride Fab Oak Stable's Nownownow in the Grade II Swaps Stakes. Leparoux rode Nownownow to victory in the inaugural Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf last fall at Monmouth Park.

Mena and Castanon leave Tuesday for Presque Isle, where Mena has mounts beginning Wednesday and Castanon on Thursday.

Larry Sterling Jr., who with 11 victories is tied for 11th in the rider standings, is going to Arlington Park to rejoin the Chicago circuit on which he has been a regular since 1998.

Other riders in the top 10 -- Corey Lanerie, Brian Hernandez Jr., and John McKee - are slated to go to Ellis Park, which is set for a belated opening on Friday, July 11.

"It's great to have a job," Hernandez said of the agreement reached that will preserve the meet at Ellis Park. "We got lucky."

 

TRAINER, JOCKEY TITLE CHASES DRIVE TO RESOLUTION - The race for leading trainer is down to a two-man race as both Tom Amoss and Steve Asmussen picked up a victory each on Saturday.

Amoss enters Sunday's final program with a 33-30 lead on Asmussen, but Asmussen has seven horses entered on the 11-race card to only three for Amoss.

Amoss is seeking his first outright title at Churchill Downs. A 46-year-old native of New Orleans, Amoss shared the 2002 Spring title with Dale Romans.

Asmussen, who enters Sunday's card with 299 career victories at Churchill Downs, won both trainer titles at Churchill Downs in 2007 in addition to the 2004 Spring title and Fall crowns in 2001 and 2004.

With two victories Saturday, Robby Albarado may have put a vise grip on his first leading rider title. Entering Sunday's card, Albarado holds a 70-63 lead over Miguel Mena, who was blanked on Saturday.

Albarado has seven mounts Sunday; Mena has 10.

 

BARN TALK - It's on to Saratoga for West Point Thoroughbreds' Phosphorescent, stylish winner of his career debut Saturday for trainer Dale Romans. A son of Rock Slide, Phosphorescent won the first six-furlong maiden race for 2-year-olds at the meet in 1:11.38. "He is going to run in one of those stakes at Saratoga," Romans said. Ironically, the winner of the first such race last summer was Pyro, who has turned into a three-time graded stakes winner. "I hope he is as good as Pyro," Romans said. ... The other half of the split baby race was won by Winchell Thoroughbreds' Zion in 1:11.89 for trainer Steve Asmussen. Winchell Thoroughbreds also owns Pyro. ... Trainer D. Wayne Lukas is two wins away from 4,500. He has four horses entered on Sunday. ... Trainer David Vance has 2,999 career victories. He has two horses entered on Sunday's card. "I'm ready for it, I just hope the horses are," Vance said Sunday morning regarding the 3,000 mark, a figure attained by 21 North American trainers.... Ken and Sarah Ramsey, who have locked up their 13th overall leading owner title, have four horses entered Sunday. The Ramseys have 19 winners this meet and they own the record 21 winners for a meet of 57 days or fewer.

 

WORK TAB - Arindel Farm's 2006 3-year-old filly champion Wait a While, pointing for the July 26 Diana Handicap (GI) at Saratoga, worked five furlongs on a "fast" track in 1:01.60 for trainer Todd Pletcher. ... West Point Thoroughbreds' Derby Trial winner Macho Again, runner-up in the Preakness (GI) and fifth in the Belmont Stakes (GI), worked a half-mile in :49.20 for trainer Dallas Stewart. ... Gainesway Thoroughbreds' Ocean Colors, the next-to-last foal of 1988 Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors, worked five furlongs in 1:02.40 for trainer Steve Asmussen.

 

2008 SPRING MEET LEADERS

Through Saturday, July 5 Jockeys Starts 1-2-3

Robby Albarado 281 70-44-38

Miguel Mena 355 63-49-50

Julien Leparoux 298 54-55-49

Calvin Borel 294 51-42-38

Jamie Theriot 284 48-37-39

Shaun Bridgmohan 224 44-42-32

Jesus Castanon 268 30-28-31

Corey Lanerie 229 21-33-30

Brian Hernandez Jr. 202 18-29-23

John McKee 150 14-21-20

Trainers

Tom Amoss 84 33-15-13

Steve Asmussen 140 30-26-21

Ken McPeek 85 26-14-11

Mike Maker 70 20-14-11

Dale Romans 147 19-27-24

Ian Wilkes 54 15-13-7

Eddie Kenneally 64 12-10-10

Paul J. McGee 52 12-8-6

Greg Foley 68 10-10-9

Cody Autrey 56 10-9-11

Steve Margolis 50 10-7-11

Robert O'Connor II 23 10-3-4

D. Wayne Lukas 63 10-2-6

Bret Calhoun 26 10-2-5

Owners

Ken and Sarah Ramsey 71 19-11-15

Maggi Moss 33 14-7-5

Zayat Stables, LLC 55 9-12-11

Richard, Elaine & Bert Klein 39 9-7-7

Jay Em Ess Stable 26 6-4-2

Heflin & Driver Racing 29 5-5-6

Heiligbrodt Racing Stable 17 5-1-0

Seven (7) owners tied at four (4) wins

 

(June 11, 2008) – Bernie Flint became the fourth trainer in Churchill Downs history to accumulate 400 victories under the historic Twin Spires when Saltgrass Trail won the second race on Wednesday’s card.

Owned by L.T.B. Inc. (Bernie and Terri Flint and Miles Childers), Saltgrass Trail gave Flint his fourth victory of the Spring Meet from 35 starters.

Flint, 68, has been the leading trainer at four meets at Churchill Downs, most recently in the Spring of 2001. He also has been leading trainer at nine other tracks in his career that began in 1976.

His 400 Churchill Downs victories trail only Bill Mott (588), D. Wayne Lukas (444) and Dale Romans (432).

Flint was not in attendance Wednesday. He underwent back surgery on Friday and was recovering at his Louisville home.