Churchill Downs Stakes Advances: Kentucky Jockey Club and Golden Rod

By Darren Rogers —-

CHAMPAGNE THIRD ENTICED AMONG PROMISING 2-YEAR-OLDS ENTERED FOR
SATURDAY’S KENTUCKY JOCKEY CLUB ON ‘STARS OF TOMORROW II’ AT CHURCHILL DOWNS

Race Shares Top Billing with $200,000 Golden Rod on Program Devoted to Races for 2-Year-Olds

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2016) – Godolphin LLC’s Enticed, who finished third behind Firenze Fire and eventual Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (Grade I) winner Good Magic in last month’s Champagne (GI) at Belmont Park, is among a promising and ultra-competitive cast of 14 2-year-olds that were entered for Saturday’s 91st running of the $200,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) at Churchill Downs.

The 1 1/16-mile race is the co-headliner on the penultimate day of the 21-date Fall Meet. Billed as “Stars of Tomorrow II,” each of the 12 races is exclusively for 2-year-olds that may have aspirations of trail-blazing their way to next spring’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (GI) and Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI).

The Kentucky Jockey Club – a “Prep Season” race on the “Road to the Kentucky Derby” in which the Top 4 finishers will receive 10-4-2-1 points, respectively – goes as Race 11 at 5:56 p.m. (all times Eastern). First post is 1 p.m. The co-featured $200,000 Golden Rod (GII) for fillies is Race 9 at 4:57 p.m.

Enticed (2-1-0-1—$99,800) landed post 6 in the full-field under regular rider Junior Alvarado. The Kentucky-bred son of Medaglia d’Oro invades from trainer Kiaran McLaughlin’s New York base after finishing 3 ½ lengths back of Firenze Fire, who beat then-maiden Good Magic by a half-length in the one-mile, $500,000 Champagne while clocking 1:35.91. Prior to that, Enticed won his career debut by 1 ¾ lengths in the mud at Saratoga in a six-furlong maiden special weight.

Enticed’s rivals include three other Grade I-placed horses: Valene Farms’ Louisiana-bred maiden Givemeaminit (4-0-1-1—$166,600), who was third in Saratoga’s Hopeful (GI) for trainer Dallas Stewart; Calumet Farm’s Bravazo (4-1-1-1—$138,928), who was second in last month’s Breeders’ Futurity (GI) at Keeneland for four-time Kentucky Jockey Club-winning trainer D. Wayne Lukas; and G M B Racing’s Breeders’ Futurity third Lone Sailor (4-1-1-1—$118,117), trained by Tom Amoss.

Also entered were Lothenbach Stables Inc.’s Gotta Go (3-2-0-0—$80,510), who beat Lone Sailor by a head and Bravazo by 3 ¼ lengths in the $83,001 Street Sense Overnight Stakes over one mile at Churchill Downs on Oct. 29, and a quartet of unbeaten juveniles: Robert J. Baron’s Promises Fulfilled (2-2-0-0—$70,800) WinStar Farm, China Horse Club International Ltd. and SF Racing LLC’s Quip (2-2-0-0—$70,800), Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC’s Reride (2-2-0-0—$68,220) and Cash is King LLC and LC Racing LLC’s Parx invader Diamond King (2-2-0-0—$67,800).

Gotta Go’s trainer Ian Wilkes will attempt to sweep the Street Sense and Kentucky Jockey Club for a second straight year. Last year, he had McCraken, who would go on to win a trio of 3-year-old graded stakes and finish eighth in the Kentucky Derby.

Promises Fulfilled is one of two horses entered by Churchill Downs’ all-time winningest trainer Dale Romans, who seeks his first Kentucky Jockey Club triumph. The other is Frank L. Jones Jr.’s Tiz Mischief (3-1-1-0—$51,200), an Into Mischief colt that won a 1 1/16-mile, first-level allowance at Keeneland on Oct. 7. Robby Albarado, who rode both colts in their recent starts, opted to ride Tiz Mischief.

John C Oxley, Gainesway Farm, Helen C. Alexander and Stuart E. Huston’s Arrival (5-1-0-2—$54,085) was supplemented to the race for $6,000 after breaking his maiden at Churchill Downs by 3 ¾ lengths over 1 1/16 miles on Nov. 8 for two-time Kentucky Jockey Club-winning trainer Mark Casse.

The field is rounded out by Paul Braverman and Timothy Pinch’s Grey (GIII) runner-up Peppered (3-1-1-1—$55,446); Shortleaf Stable Inc.’s High North (3-1-1-0); and Al Baldassari, Dan Lion, Frances Demayo and John Tippmann’s John Tippman (5-1-2-0—$107,510).

The complete Kentucky Jockey Club field from the rail out (with jockeys): Gotta Go (Chris Landeros), Diamond King (Frankie Pennington), John Tippmann (Rayan Gazader), Arrival (Julien Leparoux), Givemeaminit (Brian Hernandez Jr.), Enticed (Junior Alvarado), Promises Fulfilled (Alex Canchari), High North (Corey Lanerie), Reride (Ricardo Santana Jr.), Bravazo (Jon Court), Quip (Florent Geroux), Tiz Mischief (Robby Albarado), Lone Sailor (Channing Hill) and Peppered (Joe Rocco Jr.).

All starters will carry 122 pounds. High North will race with Lasix for the first time.

Saturday’s National Weather Service forecast for Louisville calls for sunny skies and a high near 55.

The Kentucky Jockey Club is named in honor of the holding company that operated Churchill Downs at the time of the race’s inaugural running in 1920. In recent years, the Kentucky Jockey Club produced Kentucky Derby winners in WinStar Farm’s Super Saver, who won both races for trainer Todd Pletcher in 2009 and ’10, and Mike Pegram’s Real Quiet, the runner-up in the 1997 Kentucky Jockey Club who returned to win the Derby for trainer Bob Baffert the following spring.

Inaugurated in 2005, Churchill Downs’ “Stars of Tomorrow” programs have helped launched the careers of numerous graded stakes winners, including more than 50 future Grade I winners led by Super Saver; 2011 Preakness and 2012 Met Mile and Clark Handicap winner Shackleford; 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra; 2012 Breeders’ Cup Classic and 2013 Stephen Foster Handicap hero Fort Larned; 2012 Kentucky Oaks winner Believe You Can; 2013 champion 3-year-old Will Take Charge; 2016 Belmont Stakes winner Creator; and five-time Grade I winner Gun Runner, who won this year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic and is likely to be crowned Horse of the Year.

Two dozen horses that were showcased in last year’s “Stars of Tomorrow” programs went onto future stakes success. The most successful alumni from the 2016 events were led by future Grade I winners Dream Dancing and Sailor’s Valentine.

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UNDEFEATED MONOMOY GIRL TOPS COMPETITIVE FIELD IN GOLDEN ROD

Monomoy Stables and Michael Dubb’s undefeated Monomoy Girl, the impressive 6 ½-length winner of the $82,670 Rags to Riches Overnight Stakes, tops a field of a dozen 2-year-old fillies entered for Saturday’s 74th running of the $200,000 Golden Rod (Grade II) at Churchill Downs.

The 1 1/16-mile race is the co-headliner on the second-to-last of the 21-day Fall Meet. Billed as “Stars of Tomorrow II,” each of the 12 races is exclusively for 2-year-olds.

The Golden Rod – a “Prep Season” race on the “Road to the Kentucky Oaks” in which the Top 4 finishers will receive 10-4-2-1 points, respectively – goes as Race 9 at 4:57 p.m. (all times Eastern). First post is 1 p.m. The co-featured $200,000 Kentucky Jockey (GII), which attracted 14 colts and geldings, is Race 11 at 5:56 p.m.

Monomoy Girl (3-3-0-0—$99,350), trained by Brad Cox, landed post No. 6 under Florent Geroux. The Kentucky-bred daughter of Tapizar is one of three stakes winner in the field.

Prior to winning the Oct. 29 Rags to Riches, Monomoy Girl was victorious in two turf races: a maiden special weight by 3 ¾ lengths on Sept. 5 at Indiana Grand, and a first-level allowance by 1 ¼ lengths on Sept. 28 at Churchill Downs.

Monomoy Girl’s chief rivals include the pair of Eddie Kenneally-trained juveniles: Homewrecker Racing’s Dessert Honeys and Joseph Sutton’s Sultry. Dessert Honeys (4-1-2-0—$158,170), a six-length maiden winner on Nov. 1 at Churchill Downs, was the runner-up in Gulfstream Park’s Sept. 2 Florida Sire Susan’s Girl Stakes and Sept. 30 Florida Sire My Dear Girl Stakes. The daughter of High Cotton drew post No 3 with Channing Hill. Sultry (5-3-0-0—$126,606), a filly by Malibu Moon, was the 1 ¼-length winner of the Spendthrift Juvenile Filly Stallion Stakes on Oct. 29 at Churchill Downs. Sultry drew post 4 with Corey Lanerie aboard.

The race also attracted Ellis Park Debutante winner Kelly’s Humor. Owned by Dawn and Ike Thrash and trained by Cox, Kelly’s Humor (4-2-1-0—$116,910) was most recently fifth in the Oct. 6 Alcibiades Stakes (GI) and the runner-up in the Sept. 16 Pocahontas (GII) – the kickoff for the Road to the Kentucky Oaks.

John Oxley and Gary Barber’s Road To Victory (1-1-0-0—$29,350), a 3 ½-length maiden winner at Woodbine in her lone start, will try dirt for the first time for trainer Mark Casse. Julien Leparoux rides Road to Victory and could tie Hall of Fame jockey Don Brumfield for the most wins in the race. Leparoux previously won the Golden Rod aboard Pure Clan (2007), Kathmanblu (2010) and Carina Mia (2015).

Trainer George “Rusty” Arnold II has a trio of entrants in the Golden Rod: G. Watts Humphrey Jr.’s Jessamine Stakes (GIII) third-place finisher Cash Out (3-1-0-1—$95,490), Calumet Farm’s Rags to Riches third-place finisher Foxtrot Sally (3-1-0-2—$42,513), and Narola Stable’s maiden Ipanema Beach (1-0-1-0—$13,000).

The complete Golden Rod field from the rail out (with jockeys): Caroline the Great (Calvin Borel); Undivided (Alex Canchari); Dessert Honeys (Hill); Sultry (Lanerie); Road to Victory (Leparoux); Monomoy Girl (Geroux); Cash Out (Junior Alvarado); Stronger Than Ever (Robby Albarado); Deadline (Brian Hernandez Jr.); Kelly’s Humor (Ricardo Santana Jr.); Foxtrot Sally (Joe Rocco Jr.); and Ipanema Beach (Chris Landeros).