More Than Looks winning the G3 Manilla July 7 at Belmont. (Susie Raisher)
Milestone Watch: Lanerie Needs Two Wins For 5,000 Career Victories
Darren Rogers/Churchill Downs
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Victory Racing Partners’ Grade III winner More Than Looks leads a field of 10 3-year-olds that entered Saturday’s 43rd running of the $200,000 Jefferson Cup at Churchill Downs.
Run at one mile on turf, the Jefferson Cup will go as Race 8 of 11 at 4:22 p.m. (all times Eastern). Along with the Jefferson Cup, the Saturday card from Churchill Downs also will include the $500,000 Lukas Classic (GII) and $400,000 Ack Ack (GIII).
More Than Looks, a lightly raced son of More Than Ready, is set to make his seventh career start in the Jefferson Cup. Trained by Cherie DeVaux, More Than Looks won the Manila (GIII) two starts ago and, last time out, closed from seven lengths off the early pace to finish third to Carl Spackler and Appraise in the Hall of Fame (GII) at Saratoga. Jockey Cristian Torres will have the call in the Jefferson Cup from post No. 7.
Top turf trainer Mike Maker entered a trio of horses: Paradise Farm Corp., David Staudacher, Skychai Racing and Angelo Carlesimo’s Palisides Turf winner Gaslight Dancer; Freddie Lewis Jr.’s Gun Runner third-place finisher Smokey Mandate; and Watters Edge’s stakes-placed Worthington.
Here is the complete Jefferson Cup field
1 Ocean Pointe (Joe Ramos, Richard Estvanko)
2 Tiverton (GB) (Declan Cannon, Connor Murphy)
3 Worthington (Julien Leparoux, Maker)
4 Noises Off (Tyler Gaffalione, Paulo Lobo)
5 Midnight West (Orlando Mojica, Tomas Medina)
6 Smokey Mandate (James Graham, Maker)
7 More Than Looks (Torres, DeVaux)
8 Desert Duke (Florent Geroux, Chris Hartman)
9 Ocean Vision (Rey Gutierrez, Gustavo Delgado)
10 Endpoint (Gerardo Corrales, Lobo)
11 Gaslight Dancer (Jaime Torres, Maker)
Fans can wager on all the action from Churchill Downs on www.TwinSpires.com, the official wagering provider of Churchill Downs Incorporated. The Jefferson Cup, along with every race from Churchill Downs, will be broadcast on FanDuel TV or the FanDuel TV+ app.
Milestone Watch: Lanerie Needs Two Wins For 5,000 Career Victories
Veteran rider Corey Lanerie was named on 11 horses Saturday-Sunday at Churchill Downs and needs just two victories to become the 38th jockey in North America to win 5,000 races.
Here are the races Lanerie had entries:
Sunday: Race 1 (Forever Cool); Race 2 (Time to Meddle); Race 3 (Ready for Change); Race 4 (Azteca Star); Race 6 (Uno Mas Bourbon); Race 8 (Cobalamin); Race 9 (Ten Days Later)
Churchill Downs – 9/27/2023
| Race | Race Type | Breed | Purse | Surface | Horse | Trainer |
| 1 | Claiming | TB | $50,000 | Dirt | Vale | Grant Forster |
| 4 | Maiden Claiming | TB | $42,000 | Dirt | Isa Lei | Eddie Kenneally |
| 8 | Allowance Optional Claiming | TB | $134,000 | Turf | No Nay Hudson (IRE) | Wesley Ward |
Churchill Downs – 9/28/2023
| Race | Race Type | Breed | Purse | Surface | Horse | Trainer |
| 4 | Maiden Special Weight | TB | $120,000 | Turf | Golden Storm | Doug O’Neill |
| 7 | Allowance Optional Claiming | TB | $148,000 | Dirt | King Fury | Kenneth McPeek |
Churchill Downs – 9/29/2023
| Race | Race Type | Breed | Purse | Surface | Horse | Trainer |
| 5 | Claiming | TB | $68,000 | Dirt | Flags Up | James Baker |
| 7 | Claiming | TB | $68,000 | Dirt | Street Jam | Ian Wilkes |
| 10 | Maiden Special Weight | TB | $92,000 | Dirt | Anthonian | Randy Morse |
Churchill Downs – 9/30/2023
| Race | Race Type | Breed | Purse | Surface | Horse | Trainer |
| 10 | Lukas Classic Stakes (Gr. 2) | TB | $500,000 | Dirt | Five Star General | Grant Forster |
DOWN THE STRETCH
Racing resumed Saturday at Churchill Downs with a first post of 6 p.m. for “Downs After Dark.” There was a $90,813 carryover in the 20-cent Derby City 6 that began in Race 4. …
Congratulations to Deepone who kicked off the European Road to the Kentucky Derby with a victory in the Beresford Stakes at the Curragh Racecourse. Deepone, trained by Paddy Twomey, defeated a quartet of Aidan O’Brien-trained runners and earned 10 points on the European Road to the Kentucky Derby. …
For more information about Churchill Downs and the September Meet, visit www.ChurchillDowns.com.
