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Idiomatic won the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Santa Anita (Ernie Belmonte/Past the Wire)
+ La Troienne attracts Champions Idiomatic and Pretty Mischievous (GI)
+ Classic-Placed Tapit Trice faces nine rivals in Alysheba (GII)
+ Denim and Pearls tops field of 12 for Eight Belles (GII)
+ Breeders’ Cup winner Hard To Justify returns in Edgewood (GII)
+ Modesty attracts well-matched field of 12 (GIII)
+ Ova Charged headlines field of 10 for Unbridled Sidney (GIII)
Kentucky Derby Update
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Eclipse Award winners Idiomatic and Pretty Mischievous headline a field of seven fillies and mares entered Saturday for the 39th running of the $1,000,000 Fasig-Tipton La Troienne (GI) Friday afternoon at Churchill Downs.
The La Troienne is one of seven graded stakes on the Friday program that is headlined by the 150th running of the $1.5 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI).
In addition to the Kentucky Oaks and the La Troienne, other graded stakes are the $750,000 Alysheba (GII), the $600,000 Eight Belles (GII) presented by Sysco, the $600,000 Edgewood (GII) presented by TwinSpires, the $400,000 Modesty (GIII) presented by Derby City Gaming and the $400,000 Unbridled Sidney (GIII) presented by Resolute Racing.
Scheduled for a mile and a sixteenth on the main track, the La Troienne will go as the fifth race with a 12:43 p.m. (all times Eastern) post time on Friday’s 13-race program. First post time Friday is 10:30 a.m.
Juddmonte’s Idiomatic, who won eight of nine starts in 2023 topped by a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (GI), earned the Eclipse Award as the champion older mare of 2023.
A winner of her past five starts, including three Grade Is for trainer Brad Cox, Idiomatic will be making her 2024 debut under Florent Geroux from post 4.
Godolphin’s Pretty Mischievous, a three-time Grade I winner last year including the Kentucky Oaks, earned the Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old filly for trainer Brendan Walsh. Also making her 2024 debut, Pretty Mischievous is three for four at Churchill Downs and will be ridden by Tyler Gaffalione from post 5.
The field for the La Troienne, with riders from the inside, is: Frosty O Toole (David Cohen), Taxed (Cristian Torres), Free Like a Girl (Corey Lanerie), Idiomatic (Geroux), Pretty Mischievous (Gaffalione), Xigera (Julien Leparoux), Dorth Vader (Irad Ortiz Jr.).
Classic-Placed Tapit Trice Faces Nine Rivals In $750,000 Alysheba (GII)
Whisper Hill Farm and Gainesway Stable’s Tapit Trice returns to Churchill Downs where he will face nine foes in the 21st running of the $750,000 Alysheba (GII) for 4-year-olds and up.
Scheduled for a mile and a sixteenth on the main track, the Alysheba will go as the seventh race with a 2:09 p.m. post time.
Trained by Todd Pletcher, Tapit Trice won the Blue Grass Stakes (GI) at Keeneland last spring before finishing seventh in the Kentucky Derby (GI) presented by Woodford Reserve. Following the Derby, Tapit Trice finished third in the Belmont Stakes (GI) as well as third in the Travers (GI).
Tapit Trice will be making his 2024 debut and will be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. from post 7.
Also in the field are BBN Racing’s Trademark and Godolphin’s First Mission, who finished noses apart in last fall’s Clark (GII) here.
Trained by Vicki Oliver, Trademark will be ridden by Joel Rosario from post 10 while First Mission, trained by Brad Cox, will be ridden by Florent Geroux from post 3.
The field for the Alysheba, with riders from the inside, is: Money Supply (Tyler Gaffalione), Steal Sunshine (Paco Lopez), First Mission (Geroux), Call Me Fast (Flavien Prat),Il Miracolo (John Velazquez), Tumbarumba (Luis Saez), Tapit Trice (Ortiz Jr.), T OSaint Denis (JPN) (Ryusei Sakai), Pipeline (Jose Ortiz), Trademark (Rosario).
Denim And Pearls Tops Field Of 12 For $600,000 Eight Belles (GII)
Red, White and Blue Racing’s Denim and Pearls, 9 ¼-length winner of the Beaumont (GII) at Keeneland on April 7, headlines a field of 12 3-year-old fillies for the 69th running of the $600,000 Eight Belles (GII) presented by Sysco.
Scheduled for seven furlongs on the main track, the Eight Belles will go as the ninth race with a 4:04 p.m. post time.
Trained by Brad Cox, who has won this race three times, Denim and Pearls has compiled a record of 5-3-2-0 with the Beaumont victory coming in her graded stakes debut. Flavien Prat, who was aboard for the Beaumont victory, has the mount from post 7.
The field for the Eight Belles, with riders from the inside, is: Impel (Florent Geroux), All things Go (Rocco Bowen), Lady Moscato (Keith Asmussen), Trial (Joel Rosario), Accommodate Eva (Corey Lanerie), Asternia (Manny Esquivel), Denim and Pearls (Prat), Do Gooder (Javier Castellano), Halina’s Forte (Jose Ortiz), Tanya Showers (Irad Ortiz Jr.), My Mane Squeeze (Luis Saez), R Harper Rose (Tyler Gaffalione).
Breeders’ Cup Winner Hard To Justify Returns In Edgewood (GII)
Wise Racing’s Hard to Justify, the undefeated winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (GI) last fall, will make her return to the races Friday when she headlines a field of 14 3-year-old fillies for the 40th running of the $600,000 Edgewood (GII) presented by TwinSpires.
Scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course, the Edgewood will go as the 10th race with a 4:51 p.m. post time.
Trained by Chad Brown, Hard to Justify won all three of her 2023 starts that also included a victory in the Miss Grillo (GII). Flavien Prat, who has been aboard in all three starts, has the call from post 9.
One of the fillies she defeated in the Breeders’ Cup, Rigney Racing’s Buchu, is in the field.
Trained by Phil Bauer, Buchu won her 2024 debut on April 6 at Keeneland by taking the Appalachian (GII). Martin Garcia has the mount from post 4.
The field for the Edgewood, with riders from the inside, is: Pink Polkadots (Tyler Gaffalione), Band of Gold (Brian Hernandez Jr.), Scalable (Frankie Dettori), Buchu (Garcia), Mo Fox Givin (Junior Alvarado), Pounce (Javier Castellano), Maxisuperfly (Abel Cedeillo), Kalispera (IRE) (Joel Rosario), Hard to Justify (Prat), Dynamic Pricing (IRE) (Irad Ortiz Jr.), Way to Be Marie (Florent Geroux), Simply in Front (Luis Saez), Dancing N Dixie (Jose Ortiz), Ragtime Lady (Ben Curtis).
Modesty (GIII) Attracts Well-Matched Field Of 12
Sparkle Blue and Aspen Grove (IRE), the 1-2 finishers in the Hillsborough (GII) at Tampa Bay Downs last month, head a well-matched field of 12 fillies and mares for the 67th running of the $400,000 Modesty (GIII) presented by Derby City Gaming.
Scheduled for 1 1/8 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course, the Modesty will go as the eighth race with a 3:03 p.m. post time.
Catherine Parke and Augustin Stable’s Sparkle Blue led all the way in the Hillsborough and held off Aspen Grove by a half-length. Trained by Graham Motion, Sparkle Blue will be ridden by Jorge Ruiz from post 10.
Glen Hill Farm and Mrs. John Magnier’s Aspen Grove was making her 2024 debut in the Hillsborough for trainer Jack Sisterson, A Group III winner in Ireland in 2022, Aspen Grove won the Belmont Oaks Invitational (GI) in her U.S. debut last summer. Tyler Gaffalione has the mount from post 2.
The field for the Modesty, with riders from the inside, is: Fast as Flight (Jose Ortiz), Aspen Grove (IRE) (Gaffalione), Forever After All (Adam Beschizza), Heavenly Sunday(Florent Geroux), Mouffy (Frankie Dettori), Surprisingly (Flavien Prat), Join the Dance(John Velazquez), Be Your Best (IRE) (Irad Ortiz Jr.), Papilio (IRE) (Javier Castellano), Sparkle Blue (Ruiz), Caroline Street (Joel Rosario), Queens Command (IRE) (Luis Saez),
Ova Charged Headlines Field Of 10 For Unbridled Sidney (GIII)
Brittlyn Stable’s homebred Ova Charged, a daylight winner of her past two grass starts, headlines a field of 10 fillies and mares for the 14th running of the $400,000 Unbridled Sidney (GIII) presented by Resolute Racing.
Scheduled for 5 ½ furlongs on the Matt Winn Turf Course, the Unbridled Sidney will go as the sixth race with a 1:26 p.m. post time.
Trained by Shane Wilson, Ova Charged won the Page Cortez by 12 ½ lengths and prior to that took the Mardi Gras by 5 ¼ lengths with both races coming at Fair Grounds. A winner of 12 of 15 starts, Ova Charged will be ridden by Florent Geroux from post 2.
Top competition to Ova Charged figures to come from Stone Silent and Tony Ann.
Victoriam Farm’s Stone Silent, trained by Brian Lynch, has won her past three starts in five-furlong grass sprints at Gulfstream Park. Junior Alvarado has the mount from post 3.
Anthony Fanticola and A Venneri Racing’s Tony Ann, trained by Phil D’Amato, will be making her 2024 debut after closing out 2023 with a victory in the Franklin (GII) at Keeneland and an eighth-place finish against males in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (GI). Flavien Prat has the mount from post 10.
The field for the Unbridled Sidney, with riders from the inside, is: Run for the Hills (Jose Ortiz), Ova Charged (Geroux), Stone Silent (Alvarado), Charriere (James Graham), Elm Drive (Luis Saez), Miss Speedy (Irad Ortiz Jr.), Medalla Match (Brian Hernandez Jr.), Ag Bullet (Umberto Rispoli), Secret Money (Tyler Gaffalione), Tony Ann (Prat).
