CHAMPION BRITISH IDIOM TOPS 116 EARLY NOMINATIONS TO $1.25 MILLION LONGINES KENTUCKY OAKS

By Darren Rogers —-

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Monday, Feb. 24, 2020) – Champion 2-year-old filly British Idiom, winner of the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (Grade I), tops the roster of 116 early nominations to the $1.25 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI), North America’s premier race for 3-year-old fillies that will be staged at Churchill Downs on Friday, May 1.

Owned in partnership by Michael Dubb, The Elkstone Group, Madaket Stables and Bethlehem Stables, British Idiom finished second in the $300,000 Rachel Alexandra (GII) on Feb. 15 to fellow Kentucky Oaks nominee Finite. British Idiom became one of the early Kentucky Oaks favorites following her commanding performance in the Oct. 4, $400,000 Alcibiades (GI) at Keeneland. The daughter of Flashback was able to close ground in the late stages of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies to defeat Donna Veloce by a neck.

Other top contenders that were nominated to the Longines Kentucky Oaks include Winchell Thoroughbreds, Thomas J. Reiman, William Dickson and Deborah Easter’s Finite, who currently sits atop the Road to the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard with 70 points; Kaleem Shah, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith’s Donna Veloce, who finished second behind the recently retired filly Bast in the $300,000 Starlet (GI) at Los Alamitos; and Ciaglia Racing, Highland Yard, River Oak Farm and Dominic Savides’ commanding 9 ¼-length winner of the $300,000 Las Virgenes (GII) Venetian Harbor.

Bob Baffert led all trainers with 13 horses nominated to the Kentucky Oaks, including Jane Wiltz and Sarah Kelly’s Las Virgenes runner-up Gingham and Don Alberto Stable’s impressive maiden winner Storie Blue.

Each of the 116 fillies nominated to the Oaks was made eligible by a $200 payment that was due Feb. 15. A complete list of nominations is available at https://www.churchilldowns.com/horsemen/stakes/nominations/.

Fillies not nominated to the Kentucky Oaks can be made eligible through a $1,500 late fee due April 11 or a $25,000 supplemental nomination due at the time of entry. The Oaks field is limited to 14 starters and up to four fillies can be designated as “also-eligible” to start. Eligibility to compete is determined by points amassed during the “Road to the Kentucky Oaks” point series.

Like the May 2 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, the Longines Kentucky Oaks has been run each year without interruption since 1875. The lucrative race is the centerpiece of a spectacular day of racing and entertainment at Churchill Downs that celebrates fashion, food, celebrity and fun with a focus on women’s health issues and outreach.

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PEGASUS WORLD CUP TURF WINNER ZULU ALPHA TOPS 57 OLDER HORSES NOMINATED TO THE $1 MILLION OLD FORESTER BOURBON TURF CLASSIC

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Monday, Feb. 24, 2020) – Michael Hui’s brilliant $80,000 claim Zulu Alpha, who rose to Grade I glory in the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (Grade I), leads 57 older horses that were nominated to compete in the $1 million Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic (GI) on May 2 at Churchill Downs.

The Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic, run at 1 1/8 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course, annually attracts some of the nation’s top turf horses. Previous winners include last year’s Horse of the Year and Champion Turf Male Bricks and Mortar; two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan; and Eclipse Award winners Manila, English Channel, Sky Classic and Paradise Creek. Einstein (BRZ), a Grade I winner on both dirt and turf, won back-to-back renewals in 2008-09.

Zulu Alpha is one of 10 horses trainer Mike Maker nominated to the race. The 7-year-old gelding has earned $1.72 million since Hui claimed him in September 2018 at Churchill Downs. Other accomplished horses Maker nominated to the race include Bloom Racing Stable’s $1 million Belmont Derby (GI) winner Henley’s Joy and Three Diamonds Farm’s $150,000 Sycamore (GII) hero Marzo.

Trainer Chad Brown was victorious in last year’s Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic with the recently retired Bricks and Mortar. The four-time Eclipse Award-winning conditioner nominated nine horses to this year’s race including OXO Equine’s $200,000 Fort Lauderdale (GII) victor Instilled Regard and Peter Brant’s 2018 Hollywood Derby (GI) winner and six-time graded stakes-placed Raging Bull (FR).

The winner of the March 21 Muniz Memorial Classic (GII) at Fair Grounds will be granted an automatic berth to the Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic as well as the Arlington Million (GI).

The winner of the Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic also will be granted an automatic berth to the Arlington Million.

Horses nominated to the Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic were made eligible by a $100 payment that was due Feb. 15. Horses not nominated can qualify through a $1,500 late fee due April 11 or a $20,000 supplemental nomination due at the time of entry on April 28. The race is limited to 14 starters with preference given to winners of graded turf stakes and, after that, highest earnings in stakes races on turf in 2019-20. A complete list of nominations is available at https://www.churchilldowns.com/horsemen/stakes/nominations/.