Attachment Rate back in win column, may try the Clark

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Attachment Rate earned an 82 Beyer Speed Figure in a 6 1/4-length victory as the 1-2 favorite in a first-level allowance Thursday over the Churchill slop.

After winning a Gulfstream Park maiden race in mid-February, Attachment Rate had fared respectably without winning in six straight stakes, getting his career-best Beyer (95) in a runner-up finish in the Aug. 9 Ellis Park Derby. He then was 14th of 15 in the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby prior to trying the allowance ranks for the first time Thursday.

Trainer Dale Romans said the Grade 1 Clark on Nov. 27 is “a good possibility” as a next race for the Hard Spun colt.

The win was the third of the day for jockey Joe Talamo, who also won an off-the-turf allowance with Nepal Up, an 18-1 shot trained by Paulo Lobo.

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Following heavy mid-week rain, all Thursday and Friday races were taken off the turf.

◗ Necker Island has not breezed since finishing ninth at 49-1 in the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby but remains with the Chris Hartman stable at Churchill.

“I’ve got him down in the wine cellar,” Hartman joked. “He’s just getting a little break. We’re just looking ahead to having him ready to be a 4-year-old at Oaklawn Park.”

◗ Jockey Declan Cannon will serve a three-day suspension (Nov. 8, 11, 12) for his role in the disqualification of his mount, Blueridge Mountain, from second to third in the third race Wednesday.