Anchorage, Maxfield draw short fields
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It seemed like a good idea at the time, and the loss of the turf course sure didn’t help. Bottom line, however, is that a pair of overnight stakes being run Sunday at Churchill Downs both drew small fields for their inaugural runnings.
Both the Anchorage and Maxfield stakes are unveiled as part of a 10-race Sunday card that starts at 12:45 p.m. Eastern. The Anchorage initially was meant for turf, but with all grass racing canceled since June 11, only five fillies and mares are entered in the one-mile race. The Maxfield, scheduled all along for dirt, was only slightly more popular, with six 3-year-olds going seven furlongs.
Both races offer maximum purses of $160,000, including $65,000 in bonuses restricted to registered Kentucky-breds. Between the two, all but The Mary Rose and Roc’s Princess in the Anchorage are eligible for those extra funds.
A 40 percent rain chance and highs around 90 are forecast for the penultimate program of a 42-day spring meet that ends Monday. A competitive seven-furlong allowance with a $134,000 purse helps round out the day as race 9.
Anchorage (race 3)
The Mary Rose, a 5-year-old Arkansas-bred, figures as a solid favorite racing for the equivalent of a $95,000 purse. She picks up Tyler Gaffalione, easily the leading jockey at the meet. Trained by John Ortiz, the Shortleaf Stable homebred earned a 93 Beyer Speed Figure in a two-back victory in statebred company at Oaklawn Park, then followed it up with a creditable third-place finish in a June 12 allowance route at Churchill.
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The Mary Rose will break from post 1 and likely have Li’l Tootsie and Sylvia Q contesting the early pace with her. Li’l Tootsie stretches out from shorter races, while Sylvia Q surely stands to benefit from a June 25 race that marked her first start in more than 13 months.
Will’s Secret presents a potential late threat, although the 4-year-old doesn’t seem to be the same filly who won the Martha Washington and Honeybee at Oaklawn in early 2021. She is among the horses that owner Willis Horton recently transferred into the care of trainer D. Wayne Lukas.
Maxfield (race 8)
My Prankster was a creditable third behind the highly regarded Jack Christopher in the Pat Day Mile on the May 7 Kentucky Derby card, and that should be enough to make him favored breaking from post 2 under Rafael Bejarano. Winner of the Grade 3 Swale at Gulfstream Park in February, the Todd Pletcher-trained colt has posted Beyer Speed Figures of 88 or higher in four of his seven races and comes well prepped here after having been sent through five workouts since his last start.
Gunite, winner of the Grade 1 Hopeful last summer for Steve Asmussen, is among the chief opposition. He is looking to build on a June 3 comeback that found him a distant second behind Conagher, a leader in the 3-year-old sprint niche.