Anneau d'Or joins cast for Ellis Park Derby; King Guillermo settles in at Churchill

Anneau d’Or, a disappointment since finishing a close second last fall in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, has joined the prospective lineup for the $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby on Aug. 9.

Art Collector, winner of the Blue Grass Stakes, figures as a heavy favorite in the 1 1/8-mile Ellis Derby, a 50-20-10-5 qualifier toward the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby. Other probable starters include Dean Martini, Major Fed, and Shared Sense.

The Ellis Derby will anchor the richest card of the meet. Four other stakes, all worth $100,000, also will be run, those being the Audubon Oaks, Groupie Doll, Juvenile, and Debutante. The seven-furlong Audubon Oaks is a 10-4-2-1 qualifier for the Sept. 4 Kentucky Oaks.

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King Guillermo at Churchill

King Guillermo arrived Monday at Churchill Downs in Louisville following an overnight van ride from South Florida as the colt settles in for some five weeks of serious preparation toward the Kentucky Derby.

Victor Martinez, the retired Major League Baseball slugger who owns King Guillermo under his Victoria’s Ranch banner, actually followed the horse van in his own vehicle before staying in town for a couple of days.

Juan C. Avila is the trainer of King Guillermo, the Tampa Bay Derby winner who finished second in a division of the May 2 Arkansas Derby in his latest start. He will be trying to win the Kentucky Derby off a layoff of more than four months.