Maxfield, Letruska Made 4-5 Morning Line Favorites for Saturday’s Closing Day Stakes

By Darren Rogers —-

Coady Photography

MULTIPLE GRADED STAKES WINNERS MAXFIELD, LETRUSKA MADE 4-5 MONRING LINE FAVORITES IN SATURDAY’S GRADE II, $600,000 STEPHEN FOSTER, $300,000 FLEUR DE LIS

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Thursday, June 24, 2021) – Racing’s stars are set to converge Saturday on Stephen Foster Day at Churchill Downs where one of the nation’s top older horses Maxfield will headline the $600,000 Stephen Foster (Grade II) and St. George Stable’s multiple Grade I winner Letruska tops the $300,000 Fleur de Lis (GII). Both horses were made the 4-5 morning line favorites in their respective races by veteran odds maker Mike Battaglia.

Saturday’s first race is 12:45 p.m. (all times Eastern) and the Stephen Foster will go as Race 11 with a post time of 5:59 p.m. The Fleur de Lis is carded as Race 5 at 2:45 p.m. The supporting stakes on the card are the $300,000 Wise Dan (GII), $150,000 Bashford Manor (GIII), $150,000 Debutante (Listed), $150,000 Tepin and $150,000 War Chant.

The 1 1/8-mile Stephen Foster and Fleur de Lis are Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” events for the $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) and $2 million Longines Distaff, respectively. The winners will receive an all entry fees paid berth to the season ending championship event on Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

Among the competitors to Godolphin’s Maxfield in the Stephen Foster is Tom Durant’s five-time graded stakes winner Silver Dust who is listed at 6-1 on the morning line odds. Trained by Bret Calhoun, Silver Dust was the half-length winner of the $150,000 Ben Ali (GIII) at Keeneland. The 7-year-old son of Tapit was attempting to prep for the Foster in the $150,000 Blame at Churchill Downs on May 29 but was scratched after acting up in the starting gate.

“He’s never been the best horse in the gate,” Calhoun said. “Maxfield is a really nice horse and it’s a tough race. (Silver Dust) has been training really well and we’re going to be ready Saturday.”

Since the Blame, Silver Dust returned to the work tab three times for Calhoun. Silver Dust finished third in last year’s Stephen Foster behind Tom’s d’Etat and By My Standards. Jockey Adam Beschizza, who has been aboard Silver Dust for his previous six starts, has the call form post 5.

Also entered in the field is The Estate of James Coleman Jr.’s Chess Chief who finished third to Maxfield in the Alysheba. Trainer Dallas Stewart will be hoping for redemption in the Stephen Foster.

“I think he’s going to love the extra distance,” Stewart said. “We’ve got a great rider in John Velazquez and we’re ready to make a run at him.”

Chess Chief will break from the rail at morning line odds of 12-1

The complete field from the rail out (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds): Chess Chief (Velazquez, Stewart, 12-1); Empty Tomb (Ricardo Santana Jr., Mike Maker, 30-1); Necker Island (Mitchell Murrill, Chris Hartman, 15-1); Sprawl (Brian Hernandez Jr., Tommy Drury Jr., 10-1); Silver Dust (Beschizza, Calhoun, 6-1); Warrior’s Charge (Florent Geroux, Brad Cox, 6-1); South Bend (Tyler Gaffalione, Bill Mott, 12-1); and Maxfield (Ortiz, Walsh, 4-5); and Visitant (James Graham, Bill Morey, 6-1).

In the Fleur de Lis, multiple Grade I winner Letruska will attempt to record her second victory in 21 days after winning the Ogden Phipps (GI) at Belmont Park. The Fausto Guitierrez-trained mare galloped alongside the pony Thursday morning and schooled in the paddock at Churchill Downs.

Another Fleur de Lis contender to arrive at Churchill Downs was Alpha Delta Stables’ Belmont Park-based Grade II winner Point of Honor. Trained by Shug McGaughey, Point of Honor galloped about 1 ½ miles early Thursday morning and schooled in the paddock around 10:15 a.m. She’ll be ridden in Saturday’s race by Javier Castellano from the rail.

The complete field for the Fleur de Lis from the rail out (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds): Point of Honor (Castellano, McGaughey, 6-1); Antoinette (Florent Geroux, Bill Mott, 20-1); Vault (Tyler Gaffalione, Brad Cox, 10-1); Envoutante (Brian Hernandez Jr., Kenny McPeek, 2-1); Spice Is Nice (John Velazquez, Todd Pletcher, 8-1); and Letruska (Ortiz, Gutierrez, 4-5).

Tickets are available for Saturday’s closing day program online at www.churchilldowns.com/tickets. Admission gates will open at 11:30 a.m. and “Churchill Downs Today” will air at 11:45 a.m. throughout the racetrack and on www.TwinSpires.com, the official online wagering provider of Churchill Downs Incorporated.

Saturday’s program also will air on “America’s Day at the Races” on Fox Sports 2 from 12:30-6:30 p.m.

MANDATORY CLOSING DAY PAYOUT FOR DERBY CITY 6 – A lucrative total Derby City 6 pool could await bettors Saturday for closing day of Churchill Downs’ 38-day Spring Meet. There’s a $150,160 jackpot carryover on Thursday (Races 3-8) after multiple tickets hit Sunday’s six-race sequence for the 14th straight race day. The pool will be rewarding Saturday if there’s not a single winning ticket Thursday or Friday.

The Derby City 6 jackpot pool only is paid if there is a single winning ticket. When multiple tickets contain six winners 90 percent of that day’s pool is paid out and 10 percent is added to the jackpot carryover.

Because Saturday is closing day, there will be a mandatory Derby City 6 payout with all monies distributed to ticket holders with the most winners in the six-race series. Saturday’s all-stakes Derby City 6, which only costs 20 cents per combination, will cover Races 7-12 starting at approximately 3:50 p.m. (all times Eastern).

Saturday’s closing day sequence features 61 entered horses for an average of 10.2 entries per race:

· Race 7: $150,000 War Chant, 3-year-olds, one mile on turf, eight entries

· Race 8: $150,000 Debutante (Listed), 2-year-old fillies, six furlongs, 10 entries

· Race 9: $150,000 Bashford Manor (Grade III), 2-year-olds, six furlongs, 11 entries

· Race 10: $300,000 Wise Dan (Grade II), 4-year-olds and up, 1 1/16 miles on turf, 10 entries

· Race 11: $600,000 Stephen Foster (Grade II), 4-year-olds and up, 1 1/8 miles, nine entries

· Race 12: $150,000 Tepin, 3-year-old fillies, one mile on turf, 13 entries

Takeout on the Derby City 6 is just 15 percent, which is one of the lowest multi-race wager takeout rates in American racing.

The last time the jackpot was paid was Saturday, May 29 – Stephen Foster Preview Day – when Churchill Downs had a mandatory force-out of the jackpot with a $150,655 carryover. That day’s pool was $1,236,502 and all-sources handle on the 11-race program eclipsed $14 million.

Fans can wager on the Derby City 6 on track at Churchill Downs; www.TwinSpires.com, the track’s official online wagering platform; other online wagering outlets; and select satellite betting centers throughout North America.

Saturday’s 12-race closing day card featuring seven stakes events starts at 12:45 p.m.

CASSE HOPES JUVENILES GLACIAL, ONTHEONESANDTWOS CAN RECORD FIRST STAKES VICTORIES SATURDAY – Trainer Norm Casse’s talented 2-year-old duo of maiden winners Glacial and Ontheonesandtwos will compete against stakes company for the first time in Saturday afternoon’s $150,000 Bashford Manor (Grade III) and $150,000 Debutante (Listed), respectively, at Churchill Downs.

“We have some really nice 2-year-olds in our barn and these are two of them,” Casse said.

Glacial won his first-career start under jockey Joe Talamo. The son of Frosted completed 5 ½ furlongs in 1:04.99 and earned an 80 Brisnet Speed Rating. The gray colt will break from post No. 4 under Talamo as the 3-1 morning line favorite.

“Glacial’s gate works really excited us,” Casse said. “He’s quick from the gate and professional. I really like this horse. Compared to Ontheonesandtwos and (first-out maiden winner) Pretty Birdie, his numbers won’t come back as strong. I think he probably ran the better race in his debut of the three. He got away from the gate poorly, rushed up on the rail and put away a horse that has run twice. And he did all of that comfortably and came back to the barn as if he’s never raced. The main thing is I’m excited to see how he runs back. I didn’t train them as hard going into their first race so I’d have to think they move forward going into their second race.”

In the Debutante, Ontheonesandtwos enters the race as the 5-2 morning line favorite with jockey Florent Geroux in the saddle. The Jimmy Creed filly cruised to a 1 ¾-length debut victory on May 13 at Churchill Downs at odds of 6-1.

“Ontheonesandtwos has worked three times since she’s won,” Casse said. “She’s a little bit different than Glacial. She’s really forward and aggressive in her gallops. She’s a sweetheart in the barn but on the racetrack she’s down to business.”

The Debutante, run at six furlongs for 2-year-old fillies, will go as Race 8 at 4:22 p.m. while its counterpart, the Bashford Manor, will go as Race 9 at 4:55 p.m.

The complete field for the Debutante from the rail out (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds): Wicked Halo (Jose Jose Ortiz, Steve Asmussen, 4-1); Cartel Queen (Colby Hernandez, Tom Amoss, 6-1); Tizplenty (Ricardo Santana Jr., Steve Asmussen, 4-1); Classiness (Gabriel Saez, Jason Barkley, 20-1); Catchusifyoucan (Adam Beschizza, Bret Calhoun, 10-1); Mollie Kate (James Graham, John Ennis, 8-1); Behave Virginia (Brian Hernandez Jr., Kenny McPeek, 9-2); Ontheonesandtwos (Geroux, Casse, 5-2); Compressed Energy (Fernando De La Cruz, Genaro Garcia, 30-1); and Mi Estrella (Marceleno Pedroza, Garcia, 30-1).

The field for the Bashford Manor from the rail out (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds): Vodka N Water (Jose Ortiz, Steve Asmussen, 6-1); Landsdowne (Jon, Dallas Stewart, 7-2); Tapped Off (Drayden Van Dyke, Darrin Williams, 12-1); Glacial (Talamo, Casse, 3-1); Whatstheconnection (Marcelino Pedroza, John Ennis, 20-1); Knocker Down (Cindy Murphy, Travis Murphy, 20-1); Whislewhileyoumow (Gabriel Saez, Jon Arnett, 30-1); Double Thunder (John Velazquez, Todd Pletcher, 4-1); Red Run (Ricardo Santana Jr., Steve Asmussen, 4-1); Rising Outlaw (Rafael Bejarano, Jimmy Chapman, 30-1); and Shesgotattitude (James Graham, John Ennis, 20-1).

CROSS COUNTRY PICK 5 – On Saturday, Churchill Downs will partner with the New York Racing Association and Thistledown for an all-stakes cross-country Pick 5 wager.

The 50-cent bet, with a low 15-percent takeout, will be hosted by NYRA and feature the following races:

– Leg A: Churchill Downs, Race 9, $150,000 Bashford Manor (GIII) (4:55 p.m.)

– Leg B: Thistledown, Race 9, $500,000 Ohio Derby (GIII) (5:04 p.m.)

– Leg C: Belmont Park, Race 9, $100,000 Wild Applause (5:12 p.m.)

– Leg D: Churchill, Race 10, $300,000 Wise Dan (GII) (5:26 p.m.)

– Leg E: Churchill, Race 11, $600,000 Stephen Foster (GII) (5:26 p.m.)

Wagering will be available on ADWs across the country including www.TwinSpires.com.

DOWN THE STRETCH – Racing continued Thursday at Churchill Downs for Twilight Thursday presented by Blue Moon. Fans were able to enjoy $1 Blue Moon and domestic draft beer, local food truck fare and live music from Scott T. Smith. … Grade II winner Art Collector was made the 7-5 morning line favorite in Friday’s $110,000 Kelly’s Landing Overnight Stakes. The classy 4-year-old colt galloped about 1 ½ miles Thursday at 7:45 a.m. as trainer Tommy Drury Jr. watched from the trainer’s stand. … Juddmonte’s multiple stakes winning homebred Set Piece (GB) was tabbled as the 8-5 morning line favorite in Saturday’s $300,000 Wise Dan (GII). … Terry Hamilton, Brian Lynch and Gary Barber’s turf specialist Tobys Heart schooled Thursday morning in the paddock prior to her start in Saturday’s $150,000 Tepin as the 4-1 morning line favorite. … Steve Landers Racing’s Royal Prince was tabbed as the 3-1 favorite in the $150,000 War Chant. … “Inside Churchill Downs” will air Friday at 6 p.m. on ESPN 680/105.7. Those outside the Louisville area can listen live on www.espnlouisville.com. … Thursday morning was the final day of Buff Bradley’s training career. Several of his former horses have been transferred to other trainers such as Al Stall Jr. and Ian Wilkes. … Trainer Eddie Kenneally entered Thursday with 999 career wins and had Woke Up to Aces entered in Race 6. … Tyler Gaffalione is en route to his fifth Churchill Downs riding title and fourth straight with a 43-28 lead over Ricardo Santana Jr. entering Thursday’s action. … There was a three-way tie with 17 wins atop the trainer standings between three-time local champion Brad Cox, seven-time leader Mike Maker and Brendan Walsh, who seeks his first Churchill Downs title. Record 24-time leader Steve Asmussen sat just behind at 15 wins, and began Thursday with 9,389 career victories, just 56 shy of the sport’s all-time leading trainer Dale Baird’s targeted mark of 9,445. … Kirk Wycoff’s Three Diamonds Farm entered the final three days of the meet with a 6-5 advantage over Fahad bin Khalid’s Juddmonte.