While there is no Saftote betting or Tellytrack coverage, the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby is the centerpiece of a weekend-long festival of top-shelf racing at Churchill Downs that also features the winners of last year’s Derby and Kentucky Oaks.
Flashback to 2014 – Pretty in Pink
There are graded races for virtually every division and even an early look at potential contenders for next year’s Run for the Roses.
Friday’s $1 million Grade I Kentucky Oaks features among 14 starters Monomoy Girl, winner of the Grade I Ashland at Keeneland, and Midnight Bisou, winner of three straight including the Grade I Santa Anita Oaks. After those, there are plenty of potential surprisers.
Classic
Last year’s Kentucky Derby winner, Always Dreaming, returns to the scene of that triumph for Friday’s $400,000 Grade II Alysheba at 1 1/16 miles on the Churchill Downs main track. The Bodemeister colt has not won in four starts since the Run for the Roses.
Always Dreaming (photo: Kentucky Derby/Coady Photography)
Good Samaritan, winner of the Grade II New Orleans Handicap in his last outing, is the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the Alysheba with Always Dreaming and Hoppertunity both posted at 3-1. Hoppertunity, now 7, returns from a win in the Tokyo City at Santa Anita going 1 1/2 miles
Distaff
Last year’s Kentucky Oaks winner, Abel Tasman, makes her first start since a second-place in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff in Friday’s $350,000 Grade I LaTroienne at Churchill Downs. The Quality Road filly, trained by Bob Baffert, has not been worse than second in 10 starts following a learning experience in her career debut. She’s the even-money favorite and one of two running in the China Horse Club silks. The other, Ivy Bell, has a similar record of mostly exact finishes, albeit a step lower on the class ladder.
Filly & Mare Sprint
Friday’s $200,000 Grade II Eight Belles at Churchill Downs finds a terrific field of seven 3-year-old fillies set to go 7 furlongs. Amy’s Challenge and Mia Mischief are the 5-2 co-favorites. The former is undefeated in three starts around one turn and failed to hold the lead when tried twice to see if she could go longer. Nonetheless, second in the Grade III Honeybee and third in the Grade III Fantasy, both at Oaklawn, are not results to sneeze at. Mia Mischief has three wins and three seconds from six starts and won the Purple Martin at Oaklawn in her last outing by 8 1/4 lengths with a Beyer Speed Figure of 93 — tops in this field.
Also in the Eight Belles are Gas Station Sushi, undefeated in two starts including the Grade III Beaumont at Keeneland in her last start; a pair of recent maiden winners and Salt Bae, who was the distant second in the Purple Martin.
Turf Sprint
Eleven turf sprinters come from as far afield as Germany, British Columbia and Florida to contest Friday’s $200,000 Grade III TwinSpires Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs. The lukewarm favourite in a contentious field is Vision Perfect, a 5-year-old son of Pollard’s Vision who exits a win in the Silks Run at Gulfstream Park. Bucchero was fourth, beaten just 1 length, in last fall’s Breeders’ Cup but hasn’t run back to that effort.
Delectation was a Group 3 winner in England and Germany but one-paced in his only previous U.S. start last October at Keeneland. Restless Rambler has won nine of his last 12. Those were against significantly less talented rivals but he doesn’t know that. Riser makes his first appearance since a fading third in the Grade III British Columbia Derby last September at Hastings.
UPI – Robert Kieckhefer
