Churchill Downs Stakes Recaps and Quotes: Further Ado Rebounds From Derby 11th to Roll in $489,665 Matt Winn; Explora Turns Back On Time Girl to Win $225,000 Leslie's Lady

Jun 07, 2026

Further Ado, who finished a disappointing 11th as the 5-1 favorite in the $5 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade I), rebounded with authority Sunday at Churchill Downs as he rolled to a two-length triumph over longshot Our Moneyman in the 29th running of the $489,665 Matt Winn Stakes (Grade III).

Further Ado, owned by Tammy and Eric P. Gustavson’s Spendthrift Farm and trained by Brad Cox, clocked 1 1/16 miles over a fast track in 1:41.26, which was the second-fastest Matt Winn only behind his sire Gun Runner’s 1:41.12 in 2016.

Irad Ortiz Jr., who chose to ride Renegade while second in the Kentucky Derby, returned to ride Further Ado as he did in five of his first six starts, which included wins in the $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) at 2 and the $1.25 million Blue Grass (GI) in April.

“He broke very well today which is something he didn’t do quite as well in the Derby. He was able to put himself right into the race and he finished up very well with a big run,” said Cox, who also won the Matt Winn in 2021-22 with Fulsome and Cyberknife, respectively.

Sent to post as the 3-5 favorite in the field of eight 3-year-olds, Further Ado broke from post No. 7 and tracked the right hip of early leader Pavlovian through the early stages of the race through splits of :23.69 and :46.69. Midway around the final turn, Further Ado assumed control with three furlongs to run and crossed the six-furlong marker in 1:10.62 as the others chased to keep up. Further Ado was never pressured down the 1,234-foot Churchill Downs stretch and coasted to the two-length triumph – his fourth in eight career starts.

“We broke well today and I was able to get him into a good position just off the lead,” Ortiz Jr. said. “He’s a classy horse and I just tried to keep his attention through the wire. He was pretty straightforward to ride today and finished up well.”

Further Ado returned $3.38, $2.40 and $2.10. Our Moneyman, ridden by Axel Concepcion, returned $8.58 and $4.26 at odds of 14-1. Taptastic, with Jose Ortiz up at 9-1, was another 5 ½ lengths back in third and paid $3.82 to show.

Potente was another 4 ¼ lengths back in fourth and was followed by Corona de Oro, Stop the Car, Pavlovian and Steel Imperium.

The victory was worth $300,630 and improved Further Ado’s earnings to $1,446,958.

“We’ve had this race as a target after the Derby and he came into it training well,” Cox said. “We felt like this was a good steppingstone to try something like the (July 18) Haskell (GI) at Monmouth next.”

Further Ado is out of the Sky Mesa mare Sky Dreamer and was bred in Kentucky by John C. Oxley.

The Matt Winn is named in honor of the famed Churchill Downs president that served as the driving force in the development of the Downs and his beloved Kentucky Derby.

Following dark days on Monday and Tuesday, racing at Churchill Downs is scheduled to resume Wednesday with a nine-race card that begins at 12:45 p.m. ET.

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EXPLORA TURNS BACK ON TIME GIRL TO WIN $225,000 LESLIE’S LADY

Multiple graded stakes winner Explora broke fast from the gate and determinedly turned back a late run by Eight Belles (Grade II) winner On Time Girl to win Sunday’s fifth running of the $225,000 Leslie’s Lady Stakes (Listed) for 3-year-old fillies at Churchill Downs by 1 ¼ lengths.

Ridden by Florent Geroux and conditioned by Bob Baffert, Explora rebounded from a fourth-place finish in the $1.5 million Longines Kentucky Oaks to run seven furlongs over a fast track in a stakes record 1:21.16 and collect her fourth career stakes win for owners Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman. Explora bested Kilwin’s 2025 Leslie’s Lady mark of 1:21.61.

Breaking from post No. 3, Explora broke fastest from the gate in the field of six and dictated the terms through a first quarter mile in :22.72 and a half mile in :45.07 as Brooklyn Blonde pressed from the outside in second and On Time Girl, the 4-5 betting favorite, raced relaxed in the clear in third. Leaving the turn, On Time Girl made a three-wide move to challenge Explora through the upper stretch, but Explora dug down deep and put her rival away inside the final furlong for the hard-fought victory.

“Bob and his team did a great job to get this filly ready today and I just had to be a good passenger,” Geroux said. “Bob thought the cut back in distance would be a good fit for her today and she proved that it was. She broke super alertly for me and I was in a comfortable pace. When she felt (On Time Girl) on her outside she was very game and wouldn’t let her pass by.”

Explora, at odds of even-money, rewarded her backers with payouts of $4.06, $2.36 and $2.10. On Time Girl, ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., returned $2.14 and $2.10. Shilling, with Manny Esquivel up at 48-1, was another five lengths back in third and paid $4.86 to show.

Brooklyn Blonde, A Fine Chardonnay and Have Faith completed the order of finish. Sneaky Good was scratched.

With her victory worth $137,415, Explora boosted her career earnings to $1,259,415 from a record of 5-3-0 in nine starts.

At 2, Explora won the Oak Leaf (GII) and was second in the Del Mar Debutante (GI) and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (GI). This year’s 3-year-old campaign also includes wins in the Santa Ynez (Listed) and Honeybee (GIII) with a runner-up effort in the Las Virgenes (Listed).

“We were really confident she’d run well in the Oaks but she got pressured the entire way,” Baffert said. “They went fast early and she never really got a chance to get a breather.

“I was debating about taking her to (Saratoga) for (last Friday’s) Acorn but we decided to keep her one turn for now. We’ll probably take her to the (Aug. 8) Test Stakes (GI) at Saratoga after this.”

Explora is a daughter of Blame out of the Bernardini mare Collections Choice and was bred in Kentucky by Mesingw Farm LLC.

The Leslie’s Lady honors Fred and Nancy Mitchell’s breed-shaping broodmare who produced 15 foals, of which nine became racehorses and seven were winners, including top sire Into Mischief, four-time champion Beholder and Grade I winner and sire Mendelssohn. The 2016 Broodmare of the Year passed away peacefully at age 26 on Jan. 24, 2025.

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MATT WINN QUOTES

Irad Ortiz Jr., jockey, Further Ado, winner: “We broke well today and I was able to get him into a good position just off the lead. He’s a classy horse and I just tried to keep his attention through the wire. He was pretty straightforward to ride today and finished up well.”

Brad Cox, trainer, Further Ado, winner: “He broke very well today which is something he didn’t do quite as well in the Derby. He was able to put himself right into the race and he finished up very well with a big run. We’ve had this race as a target after the Derby and he came into it training well. We felt like this was a good steppingstone to try something like the (July 18) Haskell (GI) at Monmouth next.”

Bret Calhoun, trainer, Our Moneyman, runner-up: “We’re really proud of how he ran today. He ran a huge effort to be second against a very nice horse.”

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LESLIE’S LADY QUOTES

Florent Geroux, jockey, Explora, winner: “Bob (Baffert) and his team did a great job to get this filly ready today and I just had to be a good passenger. Bob thought the cut back in distance would be a good fit for her today and she proved that it was. She broke super alertly for me and I was in a comfortable pace. When she felt (On Time Girl) on her outside she was very game and wouldn’t let her pass by.”

Bob Baffert, trainer, Explora, winner: “We were really confident she’d run well in the Oaks but she got pressured the entire way. They went fast early and she never really got a chance to get a breather. I was debating about taking her to the Acorn (GI) but we decided to keep her one turn for now. We’ll probably take her to the (Aug. 8) Test Stakes (GI) at Saratoga after this.”

Brad Cox, trainer, On Time Girl, runner-up: “They went fast early and she made a really good run at them. We just ended up being second best this afternoon.”

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