Falls City Handicap

Carolyn Wilson’s Arena Elvira outdueled longshot Afleeting Lady in deep stretch to grind out a win in the 96^th running of the $193,725 Falls City Handicap (Grade II) for fillies and mares by a neck on Thanksgiving Day at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott and ridden by Junior Alvarado, Arena Elvira raced near the inside rail about two lengths behind pacesetters Juanita and Afleeting Lady as the former led the field of eight through fractions of :24.40, :49.04 and 1:12.83. The leaders got a jump on Arena Elvira on the final turn, but Alvarado switched her to the outside and she wore down the competition in deep stretch for the narrow win in 1:50.76 for 1 1/8 miles over a fast track.

“(Alvarado) made the right decision and went for the right spot leaving the quarter pole,” Mott said. “When they were turning for home, he had a choice to make of who to try to get in between and he selected the right spot.”

Alvarado suggested that despite winning his filly may not have handled the Churchill Downs dirt oval very well. “When we turned for home, she switched leads and I knew I had plenty of horse, but when she got real close to the other horse (Afleeting Lady) she didn’t really want to go by her,” Alvarado said. “I always thought I had enough horse to get there by the wire, though. She’s a nice filly. She ran great last time and ran well again today.”

Arena Elvira has won seven of her last nine starts – including four in a row – and seven of 12 overall. She collected her first graded stakes win in her previous start, the Turnback the Alarm (GIII) at Aqueduct on Nov. 4.

"We’ve brought her along very conservatively, never running in graded stakes until the last couple of times,” Mott said. “But it’s gotten her there. She’s got her confidence up and she’s handled every challenge.”

Arena Elvira is a Kentucky-bred daughter of 2004 Horse of the Year Ghostzapper out of the Twining mare Two Item Limit. The victory was worth $116,506 and increased Arena Elvira’s earnings to $391,436.

Sent to post as the even-money favorite, Arena Elvira, who carried 121 pounds, returned $4, $3 and $2.80. Afleeting Lady, who carried 116 pounds under Kent Desormeaux at odds of 13-1, returned $8 and $4.40 in finishing three lengths in front of It’s Tea Time, who paid $5.20 to show under Manny Cruz while tacking 116 pounds. Juanita, Super Espresso, Brushed by a Star, Secret File and Riviera Chic completed the order of finish. Spring Party and Ravi’s Song were scratched.

Mott, Churchill Downs’ all-time leader with 656 wins, is enjoying a dream Fall Meet beneath the Twin Spires. This was his fourth stakes win of the 21-day meeting. He also won the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic with Drosselmeyer; the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic with Royal Delta; and the Cardinal Handicap (GIII) with Deluxe. Overall, he leads all trainers with 84 local stakes wins, which is a dozen more than runner-up D. Wayne Lukas. This season, he boasts a record of 19-7-2-2—$4,144,208, which is good for a tie for fourth in the local trainer standings.

"It’s been good,” Mott said. “It’s not much fun when it doesn’t work out well, but it’s fun when it does work well.”

Arena Elvira also gave Mott his fourth win in the Falls City Handicap, one back of trainer Harvey Vanier’s record. Mott won the first division in 1985 with Donut’s Pride, the 1997 renewal with Feasibility Study and the 2000 edition with Bordelaise-ARG.

Racing resumes Friday with a 12-race program beginning at 12:40 p.m. (all times Eastern). Highlighting the card is the 137^th running of the $500,000-added Clark Handicap presented by Norton Healthcare (GI) that drew a field of 13. Post time for the Clark, the 11^th race on the program, is 5:42 p.m.

FALLS CITY HANDICAP QUOTES

Bill Mott (by telephone from New York), trainer of Arena Elvira (winner): Q: You had a choice of staying at Aqueduct to run in the Go for Wand or ship here for the Falls City, and your decision worked out … “We looked like we’d be competitive in either spot, but this race was at the nine furlongs that she’s been running at.  It worked out. Sometimes you get lucky. There was a plane coming on Tuesday, and it worked out well.”

Q: What is her future – will she run next year? “I would imagine. She’s only four. I guess she deserves a little bit of a break right now and we’ll bring her back later on. But she’s stepped up. We’ve brought her along very conservatively, never running in graded stakes until the last couple of times. But it’s gotten her there. She’s got her confidence up and she’s handled every challenge.”

Q: She had to fight today. It looked like she was going to run on by, then Afleeting Lady came back and she had to dig in again … “I thought it was good and the boy (jockey Junior Alvarado) rode her good. He made the right decision and went for the right spot leaving the quarter pole. When they were turning for home, he had a choice to make of who to try to get in between and he selected the right spot.”

Q: You’ve had a very good Fall Meet, with the two Breeders’ Cup wins and now this stakes win and a top five spot in the leading trainer standings …“It’s been good. It’s not much fun when it doesn’t work out well, but it’s fun when it does work well.”

Kenny McCarthy, assistant trainer to Bill Mott who trains Arena Elvira (winner): “We figured the five (Juanita) was the speed and thought we’d get a good comfortable spot with her. Certainly around the turn she looked like she was under a little pressure, but I thought once she straightened out in the lane and switched leads that she would really finish up. It was a little close at the end, but I think she proved her mettle at the end today.”

Q. What’s the upside for this filly? “She’s definitely going the right way, so the sky’s the limit.”

Q. This has definitely been a meet to remember, right? “Definitely. We kicked things off with Mr. (James) Karp’s filly (Anecdote) giving Mr. Mott his 650^th win at Churchill Downs and we’ve just rolled since then.”

Junior Alvarado, rider of Arena Elvira (winner): “She was kind of bobbling throughout and not really handling the track. When we turned for home, she switched leads and I knew I had plenty of horse, but when she got real close to the other horse (Afleeting Lady) she didn’t really want to go by her. I always thought I had enough horse to get there by the wire, though. She’s a nice filly. She ran great last time and ran well again today.”

Dale Romans, trainer of Afleeting Lady (runner-up): “She’s doing good. She’s just been an improving mare all summer and fall, so she just keeps getting better and better.”

Q: What about that finish – she looked like she was beat and then she came back …“It looked like she was going to back way up, then she surged again. But she just couldn’t hold her off. That’s a good filly that beat her. I think she’s going to be tough next year.”

Kent Desormeaux, rider of Afleeting Lady (runner-up): “She’s still a little green, so I think there’s room for improvement, which is exciting, you know?  She’ll gain some racing maturity from that race. The other one (winner Arena Elvira) had an edge in experience over her, and it looks like the light went on with the other one a long time ago. We’ll get her light turned on after today, hopefully.”

“Rusty” Arnold, trainer of It’s Tea Time (third): “I was happy with her race. She made a huge run around the turn. She might have hung a little bit, but I think that was because of the pace. I was pretty happy with it.”

Manny Cruz, rider of It’s Tea Time (third): “She ran a big race. We sat off the pace and she gave a lot to me in the end. The pace was a little slower than I hoped and that didn’t help me. Hopefully we’ll get a better pace next time.”

Celebrity chef Bobby Flay hopes for a Thanksgiving Day feast at Churchill Downs when his 4-year-old filly Super Espresso faces nine rivals in the 96^th running of the $175,000-added Falls City Handicap (Grade II), the centerpiece of the annual holiday program at the home of the Kentucky Derby.

The Falls City, which was won last year by Dundalk 5 LLC’s Dundalk Dust, is scheduled to be the 11^th event on Thursday’s 12-race holiday program with a post time of 4:24 p.m. (all times EST).  Post time for the first race on Thanksgiving Day is 11:30 a.m.

The Falls City is one of four stakes races created in 1875 by Churchill Downs founder Col. Meriwether Lewis Clark for the inaugural meet of the track then known as the Louisville Jockey Club.  Clark’s original stakes schedule included the Kentucky Derby on Monday, the Kentucky Oaks on Wednesday, the Falls City on Thursday and the Clark Handicap on the Saturday’s closing-day.

The Falls City will be the second consecutive start on the main track beneath Churchill Downs’ historic Twin Spires for Super Espresso.  In her most recent start the daughter of Medaglia D’Oro ran seventh to Royal Delta in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic (GI) on Nov. 4.  A $1.1 million Keeneland September yearling purchase, Super Espresso captured the Allaire DuPont Distaff (GIII) at Pimlico prior to competing in  a string of five straight Grade I events leading up to the Falls City.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, who won the 2005 Falls City with Indian Vale, Super Espresso will break from post eight under jockey Javier Castellano as the race’s 121-pound co-highweight.

Flay is seeking his first victory in a Churchill Downs stakes race, although has does own a major stakes win at the Louisville track.  His 2-year-old filly More Than Ready won last year’s $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (GII) over Churchill Downs’ Matt Winn Turf Course, and his 3-year-old filly Her Smile ran third to Musical Romance in the $1 million Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (GI) at the Louisville track on Nov. 4.

Also slated to carry121 pounds in Thursday’s Falls City is Carolyn Wilson’s Arena Elvira, who sports a three-race winning streak highlighted by a 6 ¾-length victory in her most recent outing in Aqueduct’s Turnback the Alarm Handicap (GIII). She is trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the all-time leading trainer at Churchill Downs who previously won the Falls City with Donut’s Pride in 1985, Feasibility Study in ’97 and its 2000 running with Bordelaise (ARG).

Arena Elvira drew the rail post for the Falls City and is scheduled to be ridden by Junior Alvarado, but Mott’s New York-based filly might not make the trip to Louisville.  The 4-year-old daughter of Ghostzapper was cross-entered in the Go for Wand (GII) at Aqueduct, which will be run on Friday.

The field for the Falls City, from the rail out, is as follows: Arena Elvira (Alvarado, 121 pounds), It’s Tea Time (Manny Cruz, 116), Riviera Chic (Jesus Castanon, 115), Spring Party (Ben Creed, 114), Juanita (Edgar Prado, 116), Brushed by a Star (Brian Hernandez Jr., 111), Secret File (Julien Leparoux, 115), Super Espresso (Castellano, 121), Afleeting Lady (Kent Desormeaux, 114) and Ravi’s Song (Corey Lanerie, 117).  

RAVI’S SONG RETURNS TO DIRT IN THURSDAY’S FALLS CITY – Ravi’s Song, runner-up to Deluxe in the Cardinal Handicap (Grade III) on the Matt Winn Turf Course, will switch back to the dirt for $175,000-added Falls City Handicap (GII), the Thanksgiving Day racing centerpiece at Churchill Downs.

“I think she’s going to run well,” trainer Carl Bowman said. “She’s a three-time stakes winner on the dirt, so she’ll have no problem with the surface. I think she’ll show she can switch back-and-forth (between turf and dirt).”

A 5-year-old gray/roan daughter of Unbridled’s Song, Ravi’s Song has raced six times on the main track at Churchill Downs and sports a record of 2-1-1 with earnings of $93,683.  She has an assigned weight of 117 pounds for Thursday’s 96^th running of the 1 1/8-mile race for fillies and mares ages 3 and up.

“She’s run really well here (at Churchill Downs),” Bowman said. “The only bad race she ran was in the La Troienne (GII) on (Kentucky) Oaks Day, but she faced some pretty nice fillies that day in Blind Luck and Unrivaled Belle.”

Ravi’s Song, who was fourth to Dundalk Dust in last year’s Falls City, competed on turf for the first time in her runner-up finish to My Baby Baby in the Mint Julep Handicap (GIII) at Churchill Downs in June. She followed that strong grass debut with second-place finish to Romacaca in the Matchmaker (GIII) at Monmouth Park and was then given some time off before her run in the Cardinal.

“There was no scientific reason for putting her on the turf,” Bowman said. “She had trained well over it and there wasn’t a stake on dirt that really fit her. After she ran so well (in the Mint Julep), we decided to keep her on the grass for her next couple of starts. The purse money is better on the dirt and she will probably make her following start on the dirt at Fair Grounds, so that’s why she’s back on the main track.”

Mrs. Yoshio Fujita’s Ravi’s Song will remain in training following the Falls City; however, Friday will mark the end of her 5-year-old campaign.

“She’s definitely going to run as a 6-year-old,” Bowman said. “She’ll remain in training, but won’t make a start until next year. I gave her some time off after the Matchmaker, so she’s already had her break. We’ll find something for her at Fair Grounds in January or February.”

CASUAL TRICK HAS ZITO THINKING OF FIRST SATURDAY IN MAY – Flash back to a year ago and many Churchill Downs racing fans will easily recall an impressive racing debut by Robert LaPenta’s Dialed In, who overcame a poor start and significant traffic woes to win his first outing and immediately established himself as a horse to watch on the road to the 2011 Kentucky Derby.

Dialed In lived up to his strong early reviews and entered the starting gate as the betting favorite for Derby 137, but he finished eighth behind Team Valor International’s victorious Animal Kingdom.

So it should be no surprise that there was a tinge of déjà vu in the air during Friday’s “Downs After Dark” racing card when the Zito-trained Casual Trick carried LaPenta’s racing colors to an emphatic 2 ½-length win under jockey Jesus Castanon in a one-mile maiden race for juveniles.  It was the second career start for Casual Trick, who finished fifth after pressing the pace in his six-furlong debut at Saratoga on Aug. 27.

With two wins in the Kentucky Derby to his credit, Zito’s mind never wanders far from thoughts of Churchill Downs and the first Saturday in May.  So it was easy for the New York-born Hall of Fame trainer to connect the early fortunes of Dialed In and Casual Trick after the latter’s stylish win on Nov. 18.

“He was doing really well and we were looking for a shorter race, but the mile race came up and we decided to go in there,” Zito said.  “He ran a really good race and the fact that he won at a mile kind of puts us ahead of where we might have been with him.”

Casual Trick has a pedigree that suggests the Kentucky Derby could be right down the bay ridgling’s alley.  He’s by 2006 Preakness winner Bernardini out of Casual Look, a Red Ransom mare who took the 2003 renewal of Britain’s Group I Vodaphone Epsom Oaks for breeder William S. Farish.  Casual Look’s victory for the master of Kentucky’s Lane’s End Farm in the 1 ½-mile race for 3-year-old fillies came during Farish’s service in London as U.S. Ambassador to England.

“Bernardini is one of the hottest sires out there, and being out of one of Mr. Farish’s mares, you know there’s quality there,” Zito said.  “We like to bring our horses to Churchill Downs in the fall and it’s worked well for us.  Dialed In is a good example of why we like to come here.”

Dialed In’s Nov. 12 debut last year was the only race of his 2-year-old season.  He launched his 3-year-old campaign with a stretch-running victory in the Jan. 11 Holy Bull (GIII) at Gulfstream Park, and later won the Florida Derby (GI) over that track.  The son of Mineshaft went to the sidelines with an injury after a fourth-place finish to behind Shackleford and Animal Kingdom in the Preakness (GI).

Zito said Casual Trick would probably have a racing timetable similar to his campaign with Dialed In, with a first outing against winners likely sometime in January at Gulfstream.

Another Kentucky Derby hope for Zito could emerge in Saturday’s $150,000-added Kentucky Jockey Club (GII), the co-feature on the Nov. 26 Stars of Tomorrow II program devoted exclusively to 2-year-olds.  He plans to saddle Tracy Farmer’s homebred Saint Honore in the 1 1/16-mile Kentucky Jockey Club.

A son of Farmer’s Sun King, who finished 15^th to Giacomo as one of five Zito-trained runners in the 2005 Kentucky Derby, Saint Honore rallied to score a narrow maiden victory on Oct. 10 at Belmont Park.  Saint Honore’s win came at the Kentucky Jockey Club distance in the third start of his young career.

MCGEE HOPES FOR BIG WEDNESDAY AS HE NEARS 300 HOMETOWN WINS – Louisville-native Paul McGee has saddled 295 winners at Churchill Downs and could make substantial progress in his bid to reach a personal milestone of 300 wins at his hometown track when he saddles a strong group of starters beneath the historic Twin Spires on Wednesday.

McGee has six horses entered in five Wednesday races, including heavy hitters Infrattini, Worldly and Dubious Miss.  All have turned in strong performances at Churchill Downs during their careers.

Z Thoroughbreds LLC’s Infrattini could be McGee’s strongest chance on Wednesday.  The runner-up to Scotus in Churchill Downs’ Matt Winn (GIII), Infrattini enters a 1 1/16-mile allowance race on the main track off a fifth-place finish to Redeemed in the $400,000 Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park.  The 3-year-old son of Include is the 3-5 favorite in Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia’s morning line for the race.

“He’s a nice horse and he’s doing well,” McGee said. “After the Matt Winn, I sat on him for six weeks and then ran him in the West Virginia Derby (GII), and then waited again and ran in the Oklahoma Derby. There’s no reason for giving him a lot of time in-between races other than that we’ve just tried to pick our spots with him.”

Infrattini will break from post four under Corey Lanerie in Wednesday’s seventh race.

Two races later, McGee will saddle Jay Em Ess Stable’s Worldly for Wednesday’s featured ninth, a one-mile allowance race on the Matt Winn Turf Course. Worldly, a 4-year-old son of A.P. Indy and full-brother to multiple graded-stakes winner Suave, will be making his first start on turf since running second in an allowance on the Matt Winn Turf Course in May of 2010.  Worldly comes into Wednesday’s race off a disappointing ninth-place finish behind Headache in last month’s Hawthorne Gold Cup (GII) and a third-place run before that in the $100,000 Governor’s Cup at Remington Park.

“I was at the mercy of the condition book,” McGee said. “He’s still eligible for three other-than (allowances) and coming off his last two defeats I wanted to put him back in the allowance ranks to give him some confidence. The only three other-than on dirt (at Churchill Downs) is a one-turn mile and I don’t think that fits him. Also, he’s run well on the grass.”

If the race should be taken off the Matt Winn Turf Course, McGee would have another starter in the race with Dubious Miss, who is entered for the main track only. A 7-year-old gelded son of E Dubai, Dubious Miss has won eight races during a career that includes four wins on the main track beneath the Twin Spires.

“If the race comes off (the turf) then I would run both of them,” McGee said.

McGee’s other entries Wednesday include Pandering (Race 1, 4-1 morning-line), Even Forest (Race 6, 6-1) and High Quality (Race 8, 4-1).

The 49-year-old trainer, who does not have any horses entered Sunday, is confident in his entries on Wednesday and can see a 300^th win beneath the Twin Spires coming rather soon.

“I’ve got a good shot to do it before the meet ends,” McGee said. “We have about ten horses left to run and they all have a chance to win.”

WHO’S HOT – The hottest jockey over the last five racing days (Nov. 12-18) is Julien Leparoux (8-for-23). Dale Romans (4-for-11) and Ken McPeek (4-for-12) are the hottest trainers over the same period. No owner has more than one win in the last five racing days.

WORKTAB – John Oxley’s Golden History breezed four furlongs in :47.80 on a “good” Churchill Downs main track Sunday morning for trainer Mark Casse. The work was the sixth fastest of 38 at the distance. Golden History, fifth in the Pocahontas (GII) in her most recent start, is being pointed to Saturday’s Golden Rod (GII) at Churchill Downs. …

Pattons Creek Farm’s Will’s Wildcat, winner of the Jimmy V “Don’t Give Up…Don’t Ever Give Up!” at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4, breezed five furlongs in 1:00.80 for trainer Jimmy Baker. It was the seventh fastest work of 32 at the distance. …

Team Block’s Never Retreat, winner of the First Lady (GI) at Keeneland in her most recent start, breezed four furlongs in :48.20, the ninth-fastest half-mile breeze of the morning. Never Retreat will make her next start in Friday’s Matriarch (GI) at Hollywood Park.

RAVI’S SONG RETURNS TO DIRT IN THURSDAY’S FALLS CITY – Ravi’s Song, runner-up to Deluxe in the Cardinal Handicap (Grade III) on the Matt Winn Turf Course, will switch back to the dirt for $175,000-added Falls City Handicap (GII), the Thanksgiving Day racing centerpiece at Churchill Downs.

“I think she’s going to run well,” trainer Carl Bowman said. “She’s a three-time stakes winner on the dirt, so she’ll have no problem with the surface. I think she’ll show she can switch back-and-forth (between turf and dirt).”

A 5-year-old gray/roan daughter of Unbridled’s Song, Ravi’s Song has raced six times on the main track at Churchill Downs and sports a record of 2-1-1 with earnings of $93,683.  She has an assigned weight of 117 pounds for Thursday’s 96^th running of the 1 1/8-mile race for fillies and mares ages 3 and up.

“She’s run really well here (at Churchill Downs),” Bowman said. “The only bad race she ran was in the La Troienne (GII) on (Kentucky) Oaks Day, but she faced some pretty nice fillies that day in Blind Luck and Unrivaled Belle.”

Ravi’s Song, who was fourth to Dundalk Dust in last year’s Falls City, competed on turf for the first time in her runner-up finish to My Baby Baby in the Mint Julep Handicap (GIII) at Churchill Downs in June. She followed that strong grass debut with second-place finish to Romacaca in the Matchmaker (GIII) at Monmouth Park and was then given some time off before her run in the Cardinal.

“There was no scientific reason for putting her on the turf,” Bowman said. “She had trained well over it and there wasn’t a stake on dirt that really fit her. After she ran so well (in the Mint Julep), we decided to keep her on the grass for her next couple of starts. The purse money is better on the dirt and she will probably make her following start on the dirt at Fair Grounds, so that’s why she’s back on the main track.”

Mrs. Yoshio Fujita’s Ravi’s Song will remain in training following the Falls City; however, Friday will mark the end of her 5-year-old campaign.

“She’s definitely going to run as a 6-year-old,” Bowman said. “She’ll remain in training, but won’t make a start until next year. I gave her some time off after the Matchmaker, so she’s already had her break. We’ll find something for her at Fair Grounds in January or February.”

CASUAL TRICK HAS ZITO THINKING OF FIRST SATURDAY IN MAY – Flash back to a year ago and many Churchill Downs racing fans will easily recall an impressive racing debut by Robert LaPenta’s Dialed In, who overcame a poor start and significant traffic woes to win his first outing and immediately established himself as a horse to watch on the road to the 2011 Kentucky Derby.

Dialed In lived up to his strong early reviews and entered the starting gate as the betting favorite for Derby 137, but he finished eighth behind Team Valor International’s victorious Animal Kingdom.

So it should be no surprise that there was a tinge of déjà vu in the air during Friday’s “Downs After Dark” racing card when the Zito-trained Casual Trick carried LaPenta’s racing colors to an emphatic 2 ½-length win under jockey Jesus Castanon in a one-mile maiden race for juveniles.  It was the second career start for Casual Trick, who finished fifth after pressing the pace in his six-furlong debut at Saratoga on Aug. 27.

With two wins in the Kentucky Derby to his credit, Zito’s mind never wanders far from thoughts of Churchill Downs and the first Saturday in May.  So it was easy for the New York-born Hall of Fame trainer to connect the early fortunes of Dialed In and Casual Trick after the latter’s stylish win on Nov. 18.

“He was doing really well and we were looking for a shorter race, but the mile race came up and we decided to go in there,” Zito said.  “He ran a really good race and the fact that he won at a mile kind of puts us ahead of where we might have been with him.”

Casual Trick has a pedigree that suggests the Kentucky Derby could be right down the bay ridgling’s alley.  He’s by 2006 Preakness winner Bernardini out of Casual Look, a Red Ransom mare who took the 2003 renewal of Britain’s Group I Vodaphone Epsom Oaks for breeder William S. Farish.  Casual Look’s victory for the master of Kentucky’s Lane’s End Farm in the 1 ½-mile race for 3-year-old fillies came during Farish’s service in London as U.S. Ambassador to England.

“Bernardini is one of the hottest sires out there, and being out of one of Mr. Farish’s mares, you know there’s quality there,” Zito said.  “We like to bring our horses to Churchill Downs in the fall and it’s worked well for us.  Dialed In is a good example of why we like to come here.”

Dialed In’s Nov. 12 debut last year was the only race of his 2-year-old season.  He launched his 3-year-old campaign with a stretch-running victory in the Jan. 11 Holy Bull (GIII) at Gulfstream Park, and later won the Florida Derby (GI) over that track.  The son of Mineshaft went to the sidelines with an injury after a fourth-place finish to behind Shackleford and Animal Kingdom in the Preakness (GI).

Zito said Casual Trick would probably have a racing timetable similar to his campaign with Dialed In, with a first outing against winners likely sometime in January at Gulfstream.

Another Kentucky Derby hope for Zito could emerge in Saturday’s $150,000-added Kentucky Jockey Club (GII), the co-feature on the Nov. 26 Stars of Tomorrow II program devoted exclusively to 2-year-olds.  He plans to saddle Tracy Farmer’s homebred Saint Honore in the 1 1/16-mile Kentucky Jockey Club.

A son of Farmer’s Sun King, who finished 15^th to Giacomo as one of five Zito-trained runners in the 2005 Kentucky Derby, Saint Honore rallied to score a narrow maiden victory on Oct. 10 at Belmont Park.  Saint Honore’s win came at the Kentucky Jockey Club distance in the third start of his young career.

MCGEE HOPES FOR BIG WEDNESDAY AS HE NEARS 300 HOMETOWN WINS – Louisville-native Paul McGee has saddled 295 winners at Churchill Downs and could make substantial progress in his bid to reach a personal milestone of 300 wins at his hometown track when he saddles a strong group of starters beneath the historic Twin Spires on Wednesday.

McGee has six horses entered in five Wednesday races, including heavy hitters Infrattini, Worldly and Dubious Miss.  All have turned in strong performances at Churchill Downs during their careers.

Z Thoroughbreds LLC’s Infrattini could be McGee’s strongest chance on Wednesday.  The runner-up to Scotus in Churchill Downs’ Matt Winn (GIII), Infrattini enters a 1 1/16-mile allowance race on the main track off a fifth-place finish to Redeemed in the $400,000 Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park.  The 3-year-old son of Include is the 3-5 favorite in Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia’s morning line for the race.

“He’s a nice horse and he’s doing well,” McGee said. “After the Matt Winn, I sat on him for six weeks and then ran him in the West Virginia Derby (GII), and then waited again and ran in the Oklahoma Derby. There’s no reason for giving him a lot of time in-between races other than that we’ve just tried to pick our spots with him.”

Infrattini will break from post four under Corey Lanerie in Wednesday’s seventh race.

Two races later, McGee will saddle Jay Em Ess Stable’s Worldly for Wednesday’s featured ninth, a one-mile allowance race on the Matt Winn Turf Course. Worldly, a 4-year-old son of A.P. Indy and full-brother to multiple graded-stakes winner Suave, will be making his first start on turf since running second in an allowance on the Matt Winn Turf Course in May of 2010.  Worldly comes into Wednesday’s race off a disappointing ninth-place finish behind Headache in last month’s Hawthorne Gold Cup (GII) and a third-place run before that in the $100,000 Governor’s Cup at Remington Park.

“I was at the mercy of the condition book,” McGee said. “He’s still eligible for three other-than (allowances) and coming off his last two defeats I wanted to put him back in the allowance ranks to give him some confidence. The only three other-than on dirt (at Churchill Downs) is a one-turn mile and I don’t think that fits him. Also, he’s run well on the grass.”

If the race should be taken off the Matt Winn Turf Course, McGee would have another starter in the race with Dubious Miss, who is entered for the main track only. A 7-year-old gelded son of E Dubai, Dubious Miss has won eight races during a career that includes four wins on the main track beneath the Twin Spires.

“If the race comes off (the turf) then I would run both of them,” McGee said.

McGee’s other entries Wednesday include Pandering (Race 1, 4-1 morning-line), Even Forest (Race 6, 6-1) and High Quality (Race 8, 4-1).

The 49-year-old trainer, who does not have any horses entered Sunday, is confident in his entries on Wednesday and can see a 300^th win beneath the Twin Spires coming rather soon.

“I’ve got a good shot to do it before the meet ends,” McGee said. “We have about ten horses left to run and they all have a chance to win.”

WHO’S HOT – The hottest jockey over the last five racing days (Nov. 12-18) is Julien Leparoux (8-for-23). Dale Romans (4-for-11) and Ken McPeek (4-for-12) are the hottest trainers over the same period. No owner has more than one win in the last five racing days.

WORKTAB – John Oxley’s Golden History breezed four furlongs in :47.80 on a “good” Churchill Downs main track Sunday morning for trainer Mark Casse. The work was the sixth fastest of 38 at the distance. Golden History, fifth in the Pocahontas (GII) in her most recent start, is being pointed to Saturday’s Golden Rod (GII) at Churchill Downs. …

Pattons Creek Farm’s Will’s Wildcat, winner of the Jimmy V “Don’t Give Up…Don’t Ever Give Up!” at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4, breezed five furlongs in 1:00.80 for trainer Jimmy Baker. It was the seventh fastest work of 32 at the distance. …

Team Block’s Never Retreat, winner of the First Lady (GI) at Keeneland in her most recent start, breezed four furlongs in :48.20, the ninth-fastest half-mile breeze of the morning. Never Retreat will make her next start in Friday’s Matriarch (GI) at Hollywood Park.

The 137^th running of the Grade I, $500,000-added Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare, a race that shares its long history with the $2 million Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) and the $1 million Kentucky Oaks (GI), and a pair of “Stars of Tomorrow” programs devoted exclusively to races for 2-year-olds head a schedule of 14 stakes events with total purses of more than $2.1 million that will be featured in the 21-day Fall Meet at Churchill Downs.

The Oct. 30-Nov. 27 fall racing session includes the record eighth visit by the Breeders’ Cup World Championships to the home of the Kentucky Derby on Nov. 4-5.  The return of the Breeders’ Cup will mark the first time that the event has been held at Churchill Downs in back-to-back years and will be its second stop as at the Louisville track in its two-day format.  Last year’s Breeders’ Cup attracted record two-day total attendance of 114,353 and record total wagering.  The 2010 renewal was highlighted by a narrow victory by Adele Dilschneider and Claiborne Farm’s homebred Blame, the winner of Churchill Downs’ 2009 Clark Handicap, over Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Moss’ previously unbeaten Horse of the Year Zenyatta in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI).

The Clark, a 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds and up, will return in its traditional day-after-Thanksgiving spot on Friday, Nov. 25.  Last year’s renewal featured a stirring stretch battle between the Virginia H. Tarra Trust’s Giant Oak over Morton Fink’s Successful Dan, who appeared to score a narrow victory but was disqualified and placed third after stewards ruled he had interfered with another rival.  Like the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks, the Clark Handicap, named to honor Churchill Downs founder Meriwether Lewis Clark, has been run annually without interruption since the first meet of the historic track, originally known as the Louisville Jockey Club, in May of 1875.

Churchill Downs’ 2011 Fall Meet schedule is nearly identical to the last year’s version in terms of races and purses.  Aside from the shuffling of positions on the schedule for some events, the only significant change in the schedule from 2010 is a $25,000 increase in the purse for the Falls City Handicap (GII), a 1 1/8-mile race for fillies and mares ages 3 and up that will carry a value of $175,000-added for its 96th renewal on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 24.  The boost to the Falls City purse will lift total purses for the meet’s 14 stakes races to $2.12 million.

The Fall Meet will open on Sunday, Oct. 30 with the first of its pair of “Stars of Tomorrow” racing programs made up exclusively of races for 2-year-olds.  “Stars of Tomorrow I” will be highlighted by the 43^rd running of the $150,000 Pocahontas Stakes (GII) for fillies and the 30^th running of $100,000 Iroquois (GIII), both of which will be run at a mile on the main track. 

The juveniles-only “Stars of Tomorrow II” card is set for Saturday, Nov. 26, the next-to-last day of the meet, and the day will be topped again by the $150,000-added Golden Rod (GII) for fillies, the $150,000-added Kentucky Jockey Club (GII).  The 1 1/16-mile races are early preps for the 2012 renewals of Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby, which will be run, respectively, on Friday, May 4 and Saturday, May 5.  Along with earning the first-place purse, the winner of the 85^th running of the Kentucky Jockey Club will automatically be nominated to the 2012 Kentucky Derby and the $200,000-added The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial (GIII).  The winner of the 68^th Golden Rod will earn automatic nominations to the 2012 renewals of the Kentucky Oaks and the $100,000-added Eight Belles (GIII), a seven-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies that will be run on Kentucky Oaks Day.

Each of the Breeders’ Cup programs on Friday, Nov. 4 and Saturday, Nov. 5 will include a pair of additional stakes races.  On the Friday Breeders’ Cup schedule are the $100,000-added Ack Ack Handicap (GIII) for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles and the $85,000-added Jimmy V overnight stakes for 3-year-olds at six furlongs.  The Saturday Breeders’ Cup program will include the $150,000-added Chilukki (GII) for fillies and mares ages 3 and up at a mile and the $85,000 Dream Supreme, an overnight stakes race for 3-year-old fillies at six furlongs.

BLOCK HOPES TO COMPLETE FALLS CITY-CLARK DOUBLE WITH GIANT OAK – The most recent time a trainer has swept the Falls City Handicap (Grade II) and the Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GI) the same year was in 2005 when Todd Pletcher won the former with Indian Vale and the latter with Magna Graduate.

Dundalk 5, LLC’s Dundalk Dust put Chris Block in position to match the feat with her three-length victory in Thursday’s Falls City under Shaun Bridgmohan. This afternoon, Block bid for the Clark when he sends out Giant Oak for the Virginia H. Tarra Trust.

The Falls City was the first graded stakes try against older fillies and mares for Dundalk Dust and Block’s expectations were not extremely high.

“I was hoping she would run one, two or three in a Grade II, take another step forward and increase her value,” Block said. “She did all of that. She will head to Ocala for the winter and we will plan for next spring.”

Dundalk Dust now has won on grass, Polytrack and dirt.

“She appears to be useful on all three surfaces, but she seems to be better on dirt … or mud,” Block said.

Meanwhile, Giant Oak enters today’s 136th running of the $500,000-added Clark Handicap off a fourth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Marathon (GIII) here on Nov. 5.

“The plan was to wheel him back in the Clark if he came out of the Breeders’ Cup good, which he did,” Block said. “I expect he will run a very good race, which he seems to do here at Churchill Downs.”

The Clark will be Giant Oak’s 21st consecutive stakes start, 18 of those in graded races. Only Brass Hat, making his 24th consecutive stakes start, has a longer streak among Clark entrants.

Giant Oak has yet to break through with a graded stakes victory even though he has five runner-up finishes and two third-place showings. In races at Churchill Downs prior to the Breeders’ Cup, Giant Oak had finished second in the 2008 Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) beaten a neck, fourth in last year’s Clark, beaten 1 ¼ lengths by Blame and fourth in this year’s Stephen Foster (GI), 4 ½ lengths behind Blame.

Despite the close calls, Block remains a big booster of Giant Oak.

“Maybe for some other people not close to the horse, he might be a disappointment, but not to me,” Block said. “He always runs to the best of his ability. In the races he has run, he has to give up ground to make his run. It is tough to do that running against that kind of company. He can’t be stuck inside and in traffic because he can’t quicken fast enough.”

Bridgmohan, who rode Dundalk Dust to victory Thursday, has the call on Giant Oak this afternoon. Bridgmohan also teamed with Block to win the Cardinal Handicap (GIII) on Nov. 7 with Askbut I Won’ttell.

The last rider to complete a Falls City-Clark double in the same year was John Velazquez in 2005 on the above-mentioned Pletcher-trained duo.

ONE DAN DOWN, ONE TO GO FOR LOPRESTI – Trainer Charles Lopresti will be going for a double of his own also in the Clark Handicap when he sends out morning line favorite Successful Dan for owner Morton Fink.

On Thursday, Successful Dan’s younger half-brother, Wise Dan won an optional claiming test as the 7-10 favorite over a sealed sloppy track.

“He had won on an off track there on Derby Day, but I think the track yesterday was worse than on Derby Day and I was a little bit worried,” Lopresti said Friday morning from Keeneland. “He got around there safe and I don’t think two turns is going to be a problem with him. He is going to get the winter off like all of my horses.”

A 3-year-old gelded son of Wiseman’s Ferry, Wise Dan had finished sixth, beaten only 2 ¼ lengths in the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Sprint (GI) in his previous start and prior to that had won the Phoenix (GIII) at Keeneland.

Lopresti is hoping for a better track this afternoon for the 4-year-old Successful Dan, even though Wise Dan is now two-for-two on off tracks.

“They are two different horses,” Lopresti said. “I worry about (Successful Dan) because he has never run on an off track. Plus, he was off 14 months with a suspensory, so the track will have to be awfully good this afternoon to run.”

RIDEOFTHECHAPTER COULD GIVE TRAINER EARLY BABY GIFT – So, what to get a first-time mother with a baby girl on the way in about three weeks?

How about a Grade II stakes victory?

“That would be a good gift,” said Helen Pitts-Blasi, who will send out Old School Racing’s Prideofthechapter in Saturday’s 84th running of the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes.

Idle since winning an allowance race at Hoosier Park on Aug. 26, Prideofthechapter will break from the rail under Rosemary Homeister Jr. Prideofthechapter is listed at 20-1 on the morning line.

“We thought about running at Mountaineer, but decided not to go,” said Pitts-Blasi, wife of Churchill Downs outrider Greg Blasi. “Then we were going to run in an allowance race here but that didn’t fill.”

A son of Strong Hope, Prideofthechapter shows a steady stream of works since mid-October for the Kentucky Jockey Club.

“He has been training well and we are going to take a shot,” Pitts-Blasi said. “The two turns, that’s the question for him.”

BARN TALK – Mike Rutherford and Terry Green’s High Quail, runner-up in Thursday’s Falls City Handicap, will be heading to the Fair Grounds in New Orleans on Monday according to Dennis “Peaches” Geier, assistant to trainer Bret Calhoun. “She came out of the race fine,” Geier said of the 4-year-old filly who was making her stakes debut. “She ran well and I thought for a while she was going to win. (Jockey) Garrett (Gomez) did a good job of slowing the pace down. She has run four good races for us now since we got her (this year).” …

Black Sheep Racing’s China became the first two-time winner of the meet when he won Thursday’s eighth race with Robby Albarado aboard. China’s initial victory here came on Nov. 5 in a first level allowance sprint. The second two-time winner of the meet came in the very next race when Penny Lauer’s Rigamaro was elevated to the top spot via disqualification. Rigamaro had broken her maiden here on Nov. 10. …
Julien Leparoux increased his lead to five (25-20) over Robby Albarado with three racing days left by riding two winners on Thursday. Leparoux is named on eight mounts Friday; Albarado on 10.

Steve Asmussen maintains a 13-8 edge on Todd Pletcher in the race for leading trainer and the best Pletcher can do is tie Asmussen if his last five starters win and Asmussen is blanked on his final 14 entrants of the meet. The only other trainers who could overtake Asmussen with a scalding hot final three days are Ken McPeek and Dale Romans. McPeek, who has six victories, has 10 entrants the final three days while Romans, who has four wins thus far, has 17 entrants the final three days.

Dundalk 5, LLC’s Dundalk Dust, the only 3-year-old in the field, rallied from last place to win the 95th running of the $161,250 Falls City Handicap (GII) for fillies and mares by three lengths over High Quail on Thanksgiving Day at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Chris Block and ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan, Dundalk Dust trailed the field of six as High Quail and Garrett Gomez led the field through fractions of :25.17, :49.38 and 1:13.89 over a sloppy track with favored Distinctive Dixie in closest pursuit.

Turning for home, High Quail fended off one bid from Distinctive Dixie and then Ravi’s Song while Bridgmohan was swinging Dundalk Dust four wide and to the outside of Ravi’s Song. Dundalk Dust easily drew clear to record her fifth victory in seven starts and complete the distance in 1:53.37.

The victory was the second this meet for the Block-Bridgmohan duo, who teamed to win the Cardinal Handicap (GIII) on Nov. 7 with Askbut I Won’ttell.

Dundalk Dust is an Illinois-bred daughter of Military out of the Beau Genius mare Plus Beau. The victory was worth $98,975 and increased Dundalk Dust’s earnings to $237,105.

Dundalk Dust, who carried 115 pounds, returned $14.80, $7.80 and $4.40. High Quail, also carrying 115 pounds, returned $8 and $3.60 in finishing 1 ½ lengths in front of Striking Dancer, who paid $2.80 to show under Julien Leparoux while carrying 117 pounds. Ravi’s Song finished fourth, another 1 ¼ lengths back and was followed by Third Dawn and Distinctive Dixie.

Racing resumes Friday with a 12-race program beginning at 12:40 p.m. (all times Eastern). Highlighting the card is the 136th running of the $500,000-added Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GI) that drew a field of 11. Post time for the Clark, the 11th race on the program, is 5:42 p.m. There’s a three-day carryover in the Pick 6, which covers races 7-12, of $13,811.

FALLS CITY HANDICAP QUOTES

Shaun Bridgmohan (jockey, Dundalk Dust, winner): “I had a nice trip, She’s a neat filly to ride. She’s got a big stride to her and about the half-mile pole she switched leads and jumped in the bridle a little bit. All I had to do was pick her a spot and once I did she accelerated nicely. She was going along comfortably and then she jumped in the bridle and by then she knew what was going on. She ran home pretty good. I didn’t know what to expect. I have never ridden her and didn’t know much about her. Chris (Block, trainer) told me just let her get comfortable, let her then be happy and then find her somewhere to run at the end which worked out.”

Chris Block (trainer, Dundalk Dust, winner): “I felt like this filly would run real good until the rain came through, but she handles every surface we’ve given her. Her last work over the track (5 furlongs in 1:00 on Nov. 19) showed she was entering the race ready to go. I was a little concerned with her in the first turn because she dropped back and I thought she wasn’t handling the track, but you could see in the far turn she gathered momentum and I felt real good from that point on. We have been very fortunate this year at Churchill Downs; we’ve had the right horses for the right spots.”

Garrett Gomez (jockey, High Quail, second): “She ran good. She ran her last couple races toward the front end and I didn’t really send her, I just let her do what she wanted to early and she found herself on the lead. She galloped around real nice and she stayed on well. Just a better horse ran by her today.”

Dennis “Peaches” Geier (assistant trainer, High Quail, second): “This filly ran with her heart and ran great. She made the lead and Garrett (Gomez) slowed her down and rode her perfect, she just got out-kicked at the wire. She tried hard for her first time with these kind of horses and she ran a big race. This was a good effort for her.”

Robby Albarado (jockey, Distinctive Dixie, sixth as the slight 2-1 favorite): “I’m disappointed we didn’t win. She ran a huge race a few weeks ago. We will just have to evaluate her and see, but she felt great physically underneath me, she was in a great spot.”

NOTE: The last time the Falls City Handicap was contested over a “sloppy” main track was 2003 when Lead Story prevailed by 6 ½ lengths under Calvin Borel.

THE “DUKE” HOPES TO FOLLOW IN BIG DRAMA’S FOOTSTEPS – After Duke of Mischief finished second in the Carl G. Rose Classic Handicap at Calder on Nov. 13, trainer David Fawkes did not really expect to be on the road any time soon with the 4-year-old colt.

“He didn’t do much running that day,” Fawkes said Tuesday morning after getting Duke of Mischief settled in Barn 45 for a run in Friday’s $500,000-added Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GI). “The other horse (Birdrun) got away from him and (jockey Eibar) Coa wrapped up on him. He was going to go on the shelf for a while, but I thought he had one more in him so we’ll give it a shot.”

The trip to Louisville was the second of the month for Fawkes, who brought Harold L. Queen’s Big Drama here to capture the $2 million Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Sprint (GI) on Nov. 6.

“I hauled him back myself and it sure made the drive a lot easier,” Fawkes said of his first Breeders’ Cup victory. “When we got back, they had a big sign for him at the barn.”

This is Duke of Mischief’s second trip to Churchill Downs this year, having made a June trip in which he finished eighth behind Blame in the Stephen Foster Handicap (GI).

“He was trapped inside the whole race and he doesn’t like to be down inside like that,” Fawkes said. “You look at his races and the best ones are when he can loop around four- or five-wide. We are hoping for a better trip this time.”

Duke of Mischief, who is owned by Alex and JoAnn Lieblong, breeder Marilyn McMaster and Fawkes Racing Inc., will be ridden by Coa on Friday and carry 116 pounds. Duke of Mischief will break from post position 11.

As for Big Drama, Fawkes said the 4-year-old colt owned by Harold Queen is “doing really good. We are pointing for the (Jan. 29) Sunshine Millions and then hopefully the Golden Shaheen (March 26 in Dubai).”

PATIENCE PAYS OFF FOR DOLLASES WITH DISTINCTIVE DIXIE – It took Distinctive Dixie seven tries to break her maiden and it took eight attempts in stakes company to enjoy her initial success at that level of competition, but it appears now that the 5-year-old daughter of 2000 Kentucky Derby (GI) winner Fusaichi Pegasus is hitting her best stride.

She is getting better with age,” said Cincy Dollase, wife of trainer Wally Dollase. “We knew that going in. The Fusaichi Pegasuses get better as they get older and with them it is mostly mental.”

Distinctive Dixie, who will carry high weight of 120 pounds in Thursday afternoon’s Falls City Handicap (GII), is coming off a 1 ½-length score in the Chilukki (GII) in her most recent start. Robby Albarado, who was aboard for the Chilukki victory, will be aboard again Thursday.

Even though she is a 5-year-old, the plan is to race a full season in 2011 with Distinctive Dixie, who is owned by the Robert and Beverly Lewis Trust.

“Plan A is to race next year,” Dollase said. “The horses come first with the Lewises and they like to see their horses perform.”

Beverly Lewis will be watching from California on Thursday with a family gathering planned at Newport Beach. What she may see if an off track for her mare, who has compiled a record of 5-6-3 in 18 races with earnings of $383,154.

“She has trained well on the mud,” Dollase said of Distinctive Dixie, who shows a runner-up finish on a track labeled as “wet-fast” in the Bayakoa this spring at Oaklawn Park. “But everybody has to run on the same track. I just hope it dries out and it is a nice day.”

CASH REFUND TO MAKE TURF DEBUT THURSDAY, WEATHER PERMITTING – It has been nearly three weeks since the Breeders’ Cup World Championships were run here and horses that ran in that memorable two-day event are beginning to make their initial starts back.

One of those is Richard, Bertram and Elaine Klein’s Cash Refund, who finished eighth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. Cash Refund is entered in Thursday’s fifth race, a five-furlong allowance sprint on the Matt Winn Turf Course.

“It looks like he might have to run in the mud,” trainer Steve Margolis said with a nod toward a forecast that indicated rain in the Louisville area through Thursday night.

Cash Refund would be taking his grass debut if the race stays on the turf.

“We worked him on it over at Keeneland before the Breeders’ Cup and he worked well,” Margolis said. “He came out of the Breeders’ Cup fine and he is doing well. I talked it over with Richard and he said as long as he is doing well to take a shot.”

BARN TALK – With five racing days left in the 21-day Fall Meet, two of the three human races appear to be safely locked up. Owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey have had six winners, four more than a host of other owners. The Ramseys own a record 16 leading owner titles. Steve Asmussen has saddled 12 winners this meet, five more than his closest pursuer, Todd Pletcher. Asmussen is seeking his fourth consecutive leading trainer title, fifth Fall Meet title and ninth title overall.

That leaves the chase for leading rider that has come down to a two-man battle between Julien Leparoux and Robby Albarado. Leparoux holds a 22-18 advantage and is named on 29 mounts the next three days while Albarado is named on 27. Leparoux, who won leading Fall Meet riding titles outright in 2007 and 2008 and shared the title last fall with Calvin Borel, also has three spring titles on his resume. Albarado, who was leading rider during the 2008 Spring Meet, never has won a fall riding title. …

Leparoux continues his march up the all-time win list at Churchill Downs. His 22 victories at the current meet have elevated his total to 444, which is 12th all time. In his immediate sights at No. 11 is Mike McDowell (452). No. 10 on the all-time list is Patrick Johnson (465).  Kent Desormeaux, whose 10 victories are good for a tie for fourth in the rider standings, has 99 career wins at Churchill Downs. …    

Asmussen’s 12 victories put him at 390 all time at Churchill Downs, fifth best. The only trainers ahead of Asmussen are Bill Mott (639), Dale Romans (511), D. Wayne Lukas (477) and Bernie Flint (425). Tom Amoss, who is seventh all time here with 332 victories, has a chance to catch Jack Van Berg (335) for the sixth spot before the meet closes Sunday. …

There has not been a two-time winner this meet, which enters its 17th day today. Nine previous winners have tried for the second victory, but none has succeeded with three runner-ups and four third-place finishers. On today’s card, Strong Clue in the second and Party Lang in the fourth will bid for their second victory of the month beneath the Twin Spires. …

Because of the early 11:30 a.m. post time on Thanksgiving, training will be conducted from 6-8 a.m. on Thursday. …

Retiring Churchill Downs stall superintendent Mike Hargrave recorded his first hole-in-one on Monday at Seneca Golf Course. Hargrave aced the 183-yard 13th using a 7-wood.

John and Glen Sikura’s Serenading drew away from Morena (Per) in midstretch to win the 94th running of the $160,950 Falls City Handicap (Grade II) by three lengths at Churchill Downs.

    Ridden by Julien Leparoux for trainer Josie Carroll, Serenading ran the 1 1/8 miles over a fast main track in a light drizzle in 1:50.66. The victory was worth $99,789 and increased Serenading’s earnings to $538,754 with a record of 18-6-7-2.

    Best Lass led the field through fractions of :24.46, :48.60 and 1:13.02 with Serenading tracking in second followed by Morena and heavily favored Unbridled Belle.

At the midpoint of the far turn, Serenading, Morena and Unbridled Belle rushed past Best Lass and hit the top of the stretch as a team. Unbridled Belle, ridden by Ramon Dominguez, was the first to check out of the duel and then Serenading began to kick clear at the eighth pole to secure the victory.

Serenading returned $11.60 and $6.80 and Morena, ridden by Miguel Mena, paid $12 to place in finishing 2 ½ lengths ahead of Unbridled Belle. It was another nine lengths back to Best Lass with Copper State finishing fifth. There was no show wagering as the field was reduced to five with the Thursday morning scratch of Swift Temper.

    Serenading is a 5-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of A.P. Indy and her victory was the first for Carroll at Churchill Downs.

    Holiday weekend racing resumes Friday with a 12-race card beginning at 11:30 a.m. (all times ET). The highlight of the card will be the 135th running of the $400,000-added Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare that drew a full field of 14 horses. The Clark will go as the day’s 11th race with an approximate post time of 4:29 p.m.

    The 21-day Fall Meet concludes Saturday with the 12-race “Stars of Tomorrow II” card exclusively for 2-year-olds. First post time is 11:30 a.m.

POST-RACE QUOTES – THE FALLS CITY HANDICAP

JULIEN LEPAROUX, jockey of SERENADING, winner: “My mare broke very well so I took the shot to go to the lead and get the jump on her (Unbridled Belle). I was planning on being behind her at the top of the stretch and trying to run her down. She must not have broken very well. When I was at the top of the stretch she (Serenading) really had a great turn of foot. She turned away the others and made it very easy for me. She really seemed to take to the dirt very well.”

JOSIE CARROLL, trainer of SERANADING, winner (via telephone from Canada): “She’s a lovely, lovely mare. You know I had a lot of confidence that she’d run well on dirt. She had one dirt start in her life at Fair Grounds and she put forth a big performance that day.
“As far as the race today, I thought he (Julien Leparoux) was sitting nicely off [Best Lass] when they broke. I was little worried when she went for the lead because I know she likes to stalk but she looked so comfortable there. She just looked comfortable all throughout the race. When he asked her and she kicked on like that I thought she’d be really hard to beat.”
Q: Was this the final race of her career? “It was until today. I’ll have to sit down with (co-owner) John (Sikura). Prior to the race, we thought she did everything she needed to do for him. She’s been a great mare. But he said if she proved herself capable of winning Grade IIs or better then perhaps we’d keep her going. So I’ll sit down with him and make sure everything is good after the race and see what happens next.”

MIGUEL MENA, jockey on MORENA, runner-up: “She ran really good.  I made an early move because of the pressure from the 5-horse (Unbridled Belle) at the three-eighths pole.  But my filly gave me everything.  She ran hard.  I just didn’t want to move that soon, but Ramon (Dominguez) just came up to me and made us go on.”

RAMON DOMINGUEZ, jockey on UNBRIDLED BELLE, third as the favorite: “She broke a little on the awkward side, and after that I just had to kind of settle and stalk from the outside.  She didn’t have her usual punch down the lane today.”
Q: They were going pretty slow, but you had to expect that … “I was hoping to be on the lead or controlling the pace, but when she broke like that I had to go to ‘Plan B.’ It wasn’t ideal.”

- 30 -

Team Valor International’s Unbridled Belle and Mark Stanley’s Swift Temper, each a Grade I stakes winner in her career, will carry top weight of 122 pounds and concede 6-8 pounds when they take on four rival fillies and mares in Thursday’s 94th running of the $150,000-added Falls City Handicap (Grade II) at Churchill Downs.

The 1 1/8-mile Falls City will go as the 11th race on the 12-race Thanksgiving Day card that begins at 11:30 a.m. (all times ET). Post time for the Falls City is approximately 4:24 p.m.

Unbridled Belle has finished behind Swift Temper on three occasions this year, but the daughter of Broken Vow enters the Falls City off a 4-length victory in the Turnback the Alarm Handicap (GIII) at Aqueduct on Oct. 31 and has been installed as the 7-5 morning line favorite by Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia. Winner of the Grade I Beldame in 2007, Unbridled Belle is trained by Todd Pletcher who won the 2005 Falls City with Indian Vale.

Ramon Dominguez, who has ridden Unbridled Belle to five graded-stakes victories and six of her eight career victories, will ride Thursday and break from post position five.

he highlights of 2009 for Swift Temper have been a 1 ¾-length score in the Grade I Ruffian at Belmont Park and a front-running victory in the Delaware Handicap (GII). Trained by Dale Romans who won the 2004 Falls City with Halory Leigh, Swift Temper is the second choice in the morning line 5-2. The 5-year-old daughter of Giant’s Causeway ran fourth in last year’s Falls City and this year was third in the Louisville Distaff (GII) and second in the Fleur De Lis (GII).

Alan Garcia, who rode Swift Temper in both the Ruffian and Delaware Handicap, has the riding assignment Thursday and will exit post position four.

The field for the Falls City, from the rail out, is as follows: Best Lass (K. Desormeaux, 114 pounds, 10-1), Morena (Per) (S. Bridgmohan, 115, 6-1), Copper State (R. Albarado, 116, 7-2), Swift Temper (A. Garcia, 122, 5-2), Unbridled Belle (R. Dominguez, 122, 7-5) and Serenading (J. Leparoux, 116, 8-1).