Absolutely Aiden's form gets boost entering Good Lord Stakes

Shortly after entries were released Thursday afternoon for Sunday’s Good Lord Stakes at Ellis Park, the recent form of Absolutely Aiden assumed an even better look than it already had.

That’s when Admiral Lynch won a high-end allowance at Saratoga, further flattering the form of Absolutely Aiden, who had defeated Admiral Lynch in what is quickly becoming a key allowance held during the final week of the Churchill Downs spring meet.

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Duly bolstered by that development, Absolutely Aiden figures among the top contenders in the $50,000 Good Lord. Based at Churchill with his trainer and co-owner, Wes Hawley, Absolutely Aiden will break from post 2 with Chris Landeros back aboard, and he faces nine other older horses in the 6 1/2-furlong fixture.

Absolutely Aiden is the 3-1 second choice on the Ellis morning line, just behind Manny Wah (5-2), who also will ship in from Churchill. Manny Wah will have Corey Lanerie aboard in post 3.

Manny Wah, a 4-year-old Will Take Charge colt trained by Wayne Catalano, finished third in each of his last two starts, the Count Fleet at Oaklawn Park and the Aristides at Churchill.

Absolutely Aiden, a 4-year-old Stay Thirsty colt, has won 3 of 6 starts, all in allowance company, since Hawley claimed him last fall at Churchill for $40,000. The speedy chestnut will be making his stakes debut Sunday after earning a career-high 94 Beyer Speed Figure when leading throughout to defeat Admiral Lynch by 1 1/4 lengths in the June 25 race at Churchill.

Fringe players in an interesting lineup include the respective third- and fourth-place finishers in the key June 25 race. Those are He Hate Me (post 6, Martin Garcia), who now makes his first start for new connections following a private purchase, and Mucho (post 8, Julien Leparoux), a Bill Mott-trained 4-year-old who earned a 95 Beyer two starts back.

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Rounding out the cast are Gray Attempt, Nifty, Home Base, Smart Time, Keepin It Classy, and Seven Trumpets. Of those, maybe Seven Trumpets (post 10, Joe Talamo) is the best longshot risk, having earned a field-high 99 Beyer in a Churchill allowance last fall.

The Good Lord, named for a gelding who in 84 starts earned more than $800,000, almost all of it for the late Forrest Kaelin, is carded as the eighth of nine races on a Sunday program that starts at 12:50 p.m. Central. A pair of turf allowances (races 3 and 5) serve as secondary features.

Sunshine and a high near 90 are in the Sunday forecast for the Henderson, Ky., area. Spectators are permitted to attend the races, but only by ordering tickets in advance through ellisparkracing.com.

After Sunday, Ellis goes dark for four days before another three-day weekend resumes Friday. The two biggest dates of the 25-day Runhappy meet are set for the next two Sundays – five Kentucky Downs Preview stakes on Aug. 2, followed by the $200,000 Ellis Park Derby and four other stakes on Aug. 9.