Arnold has them coming and going in Louisville Stakes

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Rusty Arnold is hoping the Grade 3 Louisville Stakes unfolds Saturday with a fast pace.

Or a slow one.

“In the end, they’re a perfect pair to run with each other,” Arnold said of his uncoupled duo of Cellist and Bama Breeze, two older horses in an oversubscribed 85th running of the $200,000 Louisville at 1 1/2 miles on the Churchill Downs turf.

“Cellist will be up in the race – if not on the lead, he’ll be near it,” said the veteran trainer. “If he gets a slow pace, it’ll be really good for him and not good for Bama Breeze. If it’s a fast pace, it’ll work the other way around.”

Cellist, with Julien Leparoux riding from post 13 in the three-turn race, stands to benefit in a big way from a runner-up finish in an April 27 allowance at Keeneland. The Calumet Farm homebred was a stalwart among 3-year-old turf horses last year, competing in a couple of Grade 1 events and earning $332,240.

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“He was really good last year at 3, and we’re just now getting him back on track,” said Arnold. “I like how he’s coming into this.”

Bama Breeze (post 1, Corey Lanerie) loomed boldly into contention in his last race, the Grade 2 Elkhorn going this same 12-furlong distance at Keeneland, eventually settling for fourth.

“It thought it was the best race he’s run,” Arnold said of a 5-year-old gelding with 15 career starts for Ashbrook Farm and BBN Racing. “He made a huge run, and maybe a couple of those other horses were just a little better on that day. He finished up good and came out of it good. This is a big field and he’ll need the trip – he’s one of those horses that has to have a little pace in front of him – but he’s heading into this very well.”

Another Mystery (post 8, Jareth Loveberry), the Elkhorn runner-up, looks like the top threat to both Arnold runners. Based in Chicago with Chris Block, the late-running 6-year-old also figures to need a quick tempo to do his best.

Other considerations include Cavalry Charge (post 2, David Cohen), winner of the Grade 3 Fair Grounds earlier this year for Dallas Stewart; Strong Tide (post 6, Marcelino Pedroza), an effective long-distance specialist for Mike Lauer; Camp Hope (post 9, James Graham), a last-out allowance winner at Keeneland off a five-month layoff for Kenny McPeek; and Shamrocket (post 10, Umberto Rispoli), a two-time stakes winner for Todd Pletcher.

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In all, 15 are entered, but only as many as 14 can start over the new and slightly wider Churchill turf course. Celerity is the lone also-eligible. The listed purse includes $25,000 in Kentucky-bred bonuses for which all but four starters qualify.

The Louisville is carded as the last of 11 races on an excellent Saturday card that also includes four allowances (races 3, 4, 5, and 10). First post is 12:45 p.m. Eastern, with the feature going at 5:58 and the Preakness simulcast following about an hour later. Sunshine and a high of 92 are in the local forecast.

The Louisville had been a handicap since it was first run in 1895, but Churchill eliminated all such races starting in 2019. All starters carry 118 pounds under allowance conditions except Another Mystery at 120.

Rich Strike in the house

Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike arrived early Wednesday afternoon at Churchill from trainer Eric Reed’s base at the Mercury training center in Lexington, Ky., and will train here until leaving May 26 for Belmont Park, where the colt will make his next start in the June 11 Belmont Stakes. Reed said Rich Strike will breeze Saturday or Sunday.