Former Derby contenders, Breeders’ Cup winners and runners with experience from Dubai to Royal Ascot enliven top-shelf racing around the USA on Kentucky Derby weekend.
May 3 (UPI) – Kentucky Derby weekend brings with it the bonus of many other outstanding races around the United States as Churchill Downs bolsters the Derby and Oaks cards and other tracks entice fans to wager on live racing and enjoy the simulcast from Louisville.
Former Derby contenders, Breeders’ Cup winners and horses with experience in Dubai and Royal Ascot are in action from coast to coast. Here’s how it shapes up by division:
Classic
McKinzie, the beaten favorite in his last two starts, and Seeking the Soul, a disappointment in Dubai, seek redemption as the favorites in Friday’s $400,000 Grade II Alysheba at Churchill Downs. McKinzie, a 4-year-old Street Sense colt from Bob Baffert’s bounteous barn, last was seen a nose behind Gift Box in the Grade I Santa Anita Handicap and, before that, 1/2 length back of Battle of Midway in the Grade II San Pasqual. Seeking the Soul, a 6-year-old son of Perfect Soul, was second in the Grade I Pegasus World Cup before finishing a dull eighth in the $10 million Dubai World Cup.
There’s only one last-race winner among the 11 set to go in the Alysheba. That’s Bourbon Resolution, victorious April 13 in the Grade III Ben Ali at Keeneland. He’s 15-1 on the morning line.
In New Mexico, Runaway Ghost and Lookin at Lee are the morning-line favorites among six set for Saturday’s $150,000 Sunland Park Handicap at 9 furlongs. Runaway Ghost, last year’s Grade III Sunland Derby winner, finished 12th in the Grade III Commonwealth at Keeneland April 6 after being blocked at the start from the inside gate. Lookin at Lee finished second in the 2017 Kentucky Derby behind Always Dreaming but has only three wins from 22 starts.
Distaff
Blue Prize was scratched from a race she looked likely to win at Keeneland last month in favor of Friday’s $500,000 Grade I La Troienne at Churchill Downs. The 6-year-old Pure Prize mare certainly fits but at 3-1 on the morning line, she’s not the favorite among 10. That honor goes to Secret Spice, a 4-year-old filly by Discreet Cat who makes her first start outside California after winning the Grade I Beholder Mile in her most recent start.
Also at short odds on the La Troienne morning line are She’s a Julie, winner of the Grade III Bayakoa at Oaklawn Park, and Divine Miss Grey, victorious in the Heavenly Prize at Aqueduct March 10.
In Argentina, Entropia scored a 70-1 upset win in Wednesday’s Group 1 Gran Premio Criadores for fillies and mares at 1 1/4 miles on the dirt, earning an automatic berth in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff this November at Santa Anita.
Entropia, a 3-year-old filly by Mount Nelson, trained by Jorge Meyrelles and ridden by Martin Valle, won her third race from eight career starts, and earned her first Group 1 victory. She gained steadily through the stretch, winning by 1 length over Seas Alabada with City and the Sex third.
“This was an unforgettable moment for me,” said Enrique Piccardo of Stud El Quinton Lobos. “The filly gave us a big effort and Valle was great in the irons. Let’s go for the Distaff now. It is a dream come true for all of us.”
Turf
Bricks and Mortar looks about as solid as his namesake in Saturday’s $1 million Grade I Old Forester Turf Classic at Churchill Downs. The 5-year-old son of Giant’s Causeway has won three in a row since being off for more than a year — a string that includes the Grade I Pegasus World Cup Turf at Gulfstream Park in January and the Grade II Muniz Memorial at Fair Grounds March 23. He does face the second- and third-place finishers from the Muniz, Markitoff and Synchrony, but his overall body of work is more impressive. The others are a mixed bag with Raging Bull, a stablemate in the Chad Brown barn, looking the toughest.
Saturday’s $150,000 Grade III Fort Marcy at Belmont Park attracted some heavyweights among eight entries plus one “main track only” starter. Robert Bruce won last year’s Grade I Arlington Million and ran second behind Channel Maker in the Grade I Turf Classic Invitational at Belmont. Channel Cat won the rich Dueling Grounds Derby at Kentucky Downs. Dr. Edgar and Doctor Mounty are both recent graded stakes winners. Arrocha arrives from Brazil as a multiple Group 1 winner and now is under the care of Chad Brown’s team.
Filly & Mare Turf
Newspaperofrecord, who should have been but wasn’t the 2018 Juvenile Filly Eclipse Award winner, is the 3-5 favorite on the morning line for Friday’s $250,000 Grade III Edgewood for 3-year-old fillies on the Churchill Downs grass. She was undefeated in three starts last season, culminating in her easy win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and has never won by less than 6 lengths. The field does, however, include the Florida Oaks winner, Concrete Rose, and the winner of the Grade III Herecomesthebride, Cambier Parc, so it’s no walk in the park for the Irish-bred favorite.
Six plus two “main track only” rivals are lined up for Saturday’s $200,000 Grade II Sheepshead Bay at 1 3/8 miles over the Belmont Park greensward.
