Edgar Prado

Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Accredit remained perfect on wet tracks as he scored a front-running 1 ¾-length victory under Julien Leparoux to take the 75th running of the $280,500 Churchill Downs Presented by Carewise Health (Grade II) on Saturday afternoon at Churchill Downs.

The Churchill Downs, for 4-year-olds and up, was the first of six graded stakes on the Kentucky Derby 135 card.

Accredit took the lead out of the gate and was pressured in the run down the backside by Hewitts and Joe Talamo through fractions of :22.94 and :45.59. Hewitts drew even at the top of the stretch, but Accredit opened a daylight advantage and had enough left to hold off My Pal Charlie in finishing the seven furlongs on a “sloppy” main track in 1:23.24.

The victory was worth $166,954 and increased Accredit’s career earnings to $427,738 with six victories in 16 starts, including a perfect five-for-five on wet tracks.

Accredit returned payoffs of $10.60, $5.40 and $4. My Pal Charlie, ridden by Garrett Gomez, returned $5.40 and $4 with The Roundhouse, ridden by Edgar Prado, rallying for third another 1 ¼ lengths back to pay $5.40 to show.

Accredit is a 4-year-old Florida-bred son of E Dubai out of the Montbrook mare Pocketbook.

CHURCHILL DOWNS QUOTES

JULIEN LEPAROUX (rider of winner Accredit) – “He loved the ‘off’ track. I guess this worked out to be a perfect day for him. Everything went his way. Every time a horse made a run and I asked him for run, he was there for me. He ran a big race for me. I was waiting for Kodiak Kowboy to make his move but my horse just ran big today.”

MIKE MAKER (trainer of winner Accredit) -- “It’s fabulous to win a race like this on Derby Day and sure were glad it rained. Hopefully we can reverse the story about the claim (Maker and Ramsey originally lost Kentucky Derby 135 starter General Quarters in a $20,000 claiming race). Julien (Leparoux) rode a great race. This horse was four-for-four on off tracks and now five-for-five. Every time he runs, we have to watch the weather forecast. He’s a classy horse and there are plenty of spots for classy sprinters. We’ll look at Calder (Summit of Speed) and Saratoga perhaps.”

GARRETT GOMEZ (rider of second-place finisher My Pal Charlie) – “He ran really good. The leader kind of snuck away turning for home. My horse put in a solid run and he ran his race. It’s sloppy and a lot of horses have trouble getting through it and it’s very hard to see so he was able to run a really good race.” On the track conditions: “It’s still a little wet, a little greasy, but it’s in pretty good shape. It’s got a good bottom and it’s safe and that’s our main concern.

EDGAR PRADO (rider of third-place finisher The Roundhouse) – “He ran good. He was right behind the speed, starting picking them up right around the turn. He finished real well. Unfortunately, the speed held on a lot better than I thought. (The track) is real wet but it’s safe and my horse ran on it very well. I was very happy.”

IEAH Stables, Gary Tolchin and Pegasus Holding Group Stables’ Laragh took the lead shortly out of the gate and never looked back to win the 25th running of the $115,300 Edgewood for 3-year-old fillies over the Matt Winn Turf Course by 1 1/4 lengths over Magical Affair.

Ridden by Edgar Prado, Laragh carved out fractions of :23.57, :48.43 and 1:13.04 while racing on an uncontested lead. Favored Magical Affair, under Julien Leparoux, closed ground late to salvage second with Banker’s Choice finishing another 3 ¼ lengths back in third under Calvin Borel.

Trained by John Terranova, Laragh returned mutuels of $7.40, $3.80 and $3. Magical Affair paid $3.40 and $2.80 with Banker’s Choice returning $4.80 to show in the field of 10.

Laragh, winner of the Grade I Hollywood Starlet last December after a third-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, covered the mile and a sixteenth on a “good” turf course in 1:43.88.

The victory was worth $67,911 and increased Laragh’s career earnings to $581,876 with four wins in eight starts.

EDGEWOOD QUOTES

EDGAR PRADO (rider of winner Laragh):  “She is a very nice filly who has a lot of natural speed. We didn’t want to take her out of her game. We went to the lead and she was nice and relaxed. I was just hoping she would have enough at the end and she did. The main thing with her is to get her to relax. Today she showed us an extra gear and I was very happy to see that.”

JOHN TERRANOVA (trainer of winner Laragh): “This was our first preference and we just entered the race for tomorrow (the Eight Belles) in case something weird happened. We wanted to keep our bases open, but this was the spot we were aiming for and she ran huge today. As long as you don’t fight her, she’ll give you everything she’s got. Edgar (Prado) rode her perfectly. She’s big speed and she can carry it. When I saw the half in :48 it was all over.”

JULIEN LEPAROUX (rider of second-place finisher Magical Affair):  “My horse started off slow, but once we get rolling we made up some nice ground. It was going to be tough to catch the winner but I was happy with her effort and she fought hard to get the place spot.”

Domino Stud of Lexington’s Miss Isella squeezed through a narrow opening along the rail in defeating 1-2 favorite One Caroline by three-quarters of a length  to win the 24th running of the $379,700 Louisville Distaff (Grade II) on Friday afternoon at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Ian Wilkes, Miss Isella gave Borel his fifth victory in the Louisville Distaff.

One Caroline, who had won her first five career starts with two victories at Churchill Downs, shot to the lead out of the gate under Edgar Prado and led the field of six through fractions of :23.96, :47.65 and 1:11.72.

Turning for home One Caroline was challenged on the rail by Miss Isella and Swift Temper on the outside.

The trio raced as a team to the eighth pole when Swift Temper dropped back, leaving One Caroline and Miss Isella to battle it out with the latter drawing clear at the sixteenth pole.

Miss Isella returned mutuels of $19.40, $4.40 and $3.20. One Caroline paid $2.20 and $2.10 in finishing 8 1/4 lengths clear of Swift Temper, who paid $3.40 to show under Garrett Gomez.

Miss Isella, who closed 2008 with a victory in the Grade II Falls City Handicap at Churchill Downs, covered the mile and a sixteenth on a “sloppy” track in 1:42.75.

Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Moss’ Zenyatta, the undefeated 2008 Eclipse Award-winning mare, was scratched from the race by trainer John Shirreffs because of track conditions.

The victory was worth $235,414 and increased Miss Isella’s earnings to $438,157 with her fifth win in 14 starts and fourth at Churchill Downs.

LOUISVILLE DISTAFF QUOTES

CALVIN BOREL (rider of winner Miss Isella) – “I don’t know if (One Caroline) finished the way (Edgar Prado) thought she would or she wasn’t handling the track or whatever, but she went nice and comfortable on the lead. But my filly loves this racetrack. She’s an incredible filly on this track. She’s a totally different filly on this track and any other track. The whole track was fine. I just couldn’t get out of (the inside) with two horses outside of me. He got his filly relaxed two or three (paths) off the fence and I took the opportunity to move on in there and go on.”

IAN WILKES (trainer of winner Miss Isella) – Home-court advantage? “I think so. We have a muddy track and our filly loves the mud. Rusty’s (Arnold) filly ran good. She’s a nice filly.  Let’s give her all credit. She did all the work up front and we had a cozy little trip.”

EDGAR PRADO (rider of second-place finisher One Caroline) – “We were in tight there coming for home, but it wasn’t a case of a foul. I knew he was there and there was just enough room for him to get through. My filly tried hard. She just couldn’t get it done today.”

RUSTY ARNOLD (trainer of second-place finisher One Caroline) – “I don’t know who was doing what, but they were in there pretty tight. It’s horse racing. I’m not surprised the way the race played out. She got out there easy on the lead and was coasting right along. The other filly just ran a big race. Give her credit.”

GARRETT GOMEZ (rider of third-place finisher Swift Temper) – “I had a good trip. I saved all the ground around the first turn and I was in a good spot. She gave it her best. She couldn’t quite get there today.”

J Paul Reddam’s Square Eddie, who started the year near the top of almost anyone’s list of contenders for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I), makes a late return to the road to Churchill Downs when he faces 10 rivals in Keeneland’s $300,000 Coolmore Lexington (GII).

The 1 1/16-mile race on the synthetic Polytrack surface will be the first start for Square Eddie since January.  Twelve 3-year-olds were entered in the Coolmore Lexington, but Team Valor’s Barry Irwin was unhappy with the outside post draw by Hull and said that colt would scratch and run in next week’s Derby Trial (GIII) at Churchill Downs.

The Doug O’Neill-trained Square Eddie won last fall’s Lane’s End Breeders’ Futurity (GI) at Keeneland before he turned in a strong runner-up finish behind eventual 2-year-old champion Midshipman in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (GI) over the Pro-Rid surface at Santa Anita.  Square Eddie opened the year with a runner-up finish to the then-unknown The Pamplemousse in Santa Anita’s San Rafael (GII).

But Square Eddie went to the sidelines with sore left front shin and his chance to run in the Kentucky Derby appeared slim as he was out of training for a month.  But he bounced back quickly and Square Eddie comes into the Coolmore Lexington off a pair of strong six-furlong works at Hollywood Park.

“Three months ago, I would not have been surprised to be here; two months ago, yes,”
said O’Neill.  “His past two works have been exceptional, signaling to us that he is ready to get back at it.”

Edgar Prado will ride Square Eddie, who will carry co-high weight of 123 pounds with El Crespo, winner of the Palm Beach (GIII) on the Gulfstream Park turf.  They are the only graded stakes winners in the field.
O’Neill hopes that Square Eddie will run well enough in his return to racing to earn at trip to Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby in two weeks.

“I would want to see a really good effort and have him come out of it in good shape,” O’Neill said. “Then we would huddle with Team Reddam.”

The field for the Coolmore Lexington, from the rail out, includes: Jeranimo (Brice Blanc, 117 pounds), Omniscient (Robby Albarado, 117), Pitched Perfectly (Alan Garcia, 117), Brave Victory (John Velazquez, 117), His Greatness (Rene Douglas, 117), Masala (Eibar Coa, 117), Conservative (Kent Desormeaux, 117), Square Eddie (Prado, 123), El Crespo (Javier Castellano, 123), Parade Clown (Julien Leparoux, 117), and Advice (Garrett Gomez, 117).

The race will be telecast from 5-6 p.m. (all times EDT) on ESPN2.

OLD FASHIONED UNDERGOES SURGERY, RETIRED FROM RACING – Fox Hill Farm’s Old Fashioned, at one time the early favorite for Kentucky Derby 135, was retired from racing this week after undergoing knee surgery.  

The Larry Jones-trained son of Unbridled’s Song suffered a slab fracture in a runner-up finish to Papa Clem in last Saturday’s Arkansas Derby.  He underwent surgery this week at Rood & Riddle equine hospital near Lexington.   

Old Fashioned won his first four races, a string that included easy wins in the Remsen (GII) and Southwest Stakes (GIII).  He suffered his first loss in a runner-up finish to Win Willy in the Rebel (GIII) at Oaklawn Park, and followed that effort with his run in the Arkansas Derby.
    
I WANT REVENGE WORKS AT CHURCHILL DOWNS – Wood Memorial (GI) winner I Want Revenge, who could be the betting favorite in the May 2 Kentucky Derby, got a feel for the Churchill Downs track on Tuesday when the colt worked an easy four furlongs  for trainer Jeff Mullins.

The son of Stephen Got Even covered the distance in :50 over a muddy surface under 19-year-old jockey Joe Talamo, who flew in from California for the move.

“I think it was pretty much what we wanted,” said Talamo.  “He didn’t really need much coming out of his last race and he’s plenty fit.  He handled it great.  Actually, for all the rain we had I thought it felt pretty good.”

“He just needed to do enough to keep himself safe,” said Mullins.  “He’s been tearing the barn down and we had to do something with him.  If they get to feeling too good, they might get themselves hurt.”

Several Kentucky Derby contenders entered the grounds at Churchill Downs this week, including Thursday’s arrival of Pioneerof the Nile and Chocolate Candy, the 1-2 finishers in the Santa Anita Derby (GI).  Papa Clem made the trip from Oaklawn Park to Churchill Downs on Tuesday.  Other Kentucky Derby contenders at Churchill Downs include Toyota Blue Grass (GI) winner General Quarters; Illinois Derby (GII) winner Musket Man; Wood Memorial (GI) runner-up West Side Bernie; the Dubai-based duo of Regal Ransom and Desert Party, the 1-2 finishers in the $2 million UAE Derby (GII); and Churchill Downs-based Flat Out, winner of the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn.

Before his departure for Kentucky, Zayat Stables’ Pioneerof the Nile turned in an impressive four-furlong work on Wednesday at Santa Anita.  The Bob Baffert-trained son of Empire Maker covered the distance in :46.20 – the fastest of 29 moves at the distance.

“I didn’t think he went that fast,” said Baffert.  “It’s probably the best he’s ever worked.

MAFAAZ CHANGES BARNS, WILL NOT RUN IN DERBY 135 – Mafaaz, winner of the Kentucky Derby Challenge Stakes at Britain’s Kempton Park, will remain in the United States but will not compete in the Kentucky Derby.

The win at Kempton earned Mafaaz a first-ever guaranteed spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate, but his status for the Derby became cloudy after he finished eighth to General Quarters in the Toyota Blue Grass (GI) at Keeneland.  Late in the week the colt was moved from the care of British trainer John Gosden to Kiaran McLaughlin, but his new trainer said Thursday that plans were uncertain for Mafaaz, but the colt would not run in the Kentucky Derby.

The public unveiling of a larger-than-life bronze statue to celebrate the life of 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro will take place at historic Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. on the morning of Sunday, April 26. The announcement comes on the second anniversary of Barbaro’s passing on Jan. 29, 2007.

“Churchill Downs will provide additional details about the public unveiling as they become available, but we wanted to make certain that Barbaro’s worldwide legion of fans were made aware of the ceremony’s date,” said Churchill Downs General Manager Jim Gates. “Churchill Downs is proud to have been chosen as Barbaro’s final resting place and this outstanding memorial is certain to become a popular year-round gathering place for horse lovers throughout the world.”

The statue will become the focal point of Barbaro’s official memorial and burial site at Churchill Downs. It will be placed outside Churchill Downs’ Gate 1 and near the entrance to the Kentucky Derby Museum along with Barbaro’s ashes, which will be interred beneath the bronze. Currently, a bronze marker, featuring Barbaro’s likeness, marks the location of the future memorial site beneath a large magnolia tree.

The April 26 ceremony will take place at the memorial site before live racing begins that day. Churchill Downs’ 2009 Spring Meet opens Saturday, April 25, and the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands is scheduled for Saturday, May 2.

“Gretchen and I are very much looking forward to the public ceremony this April,” said Roy Jackson, who bred, raised and raced Barbaro with his wife Gretchen. “We’re absolutely thrilled that Barbaro will be honored at Churchill Downs with a magnificent statue at the site of his greatest race.”

Production of the bronze statue is nearing its final stages with renowned equine sculptor Alexa King. Her design will showcase Barbaro and jockey Edgar Prado in mid-flight between strides nearing the finish line in the 2006 Kentucky Derby. The statue will be attached to a horizontal bronze rail that will support the 1,500-pound artwork, creating the impression that Barbaro and his rider are suspended in air. It is the first time that an equine statue of this size and scope has been presented in this manner, with all four of the horse’s feet off the ground.

Earlier this year, Gretchen Jackson said of the statue: “Roy and I want to portray Barbaro as we remember him best – a beautiful racehorse and an athlete.”

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 135th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 2, 2009. The track’s 2009 Spring Meet will take place from April 25 through July 5. Churchill Downs is scheduled to host the Breeders’ Cup World Championships for a record seventh time on Nov. 5 and 6, 2010. Information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.churchilldowns.com.

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