Aurelia's Belle tries grass in Regret Stakes

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Fans have complained throughout the Churchill Downs spring meet about short fields and unappealing racing, and perhaps rightly so. But they should have no beefs Saturday night, when the Grade 3 Regret Stakes is run under the lights.

An outstanding field of 10 3-year-old turf fillies has been assembled for the Regret, a $100,000 race with no clear-cut favorite. Four already are stakes winners, including Aurelia’s Belle, who was among the far-back also-rans behind Untapable six weeks ago in the Kentucky Oaks. Aurelia’s Belle will be making her turf debut when ridden by John Velazquez.

“She might not have belonged in the Oaks, although I do think she’s better than that,” said Wayne Catalano, the trainer of Aurelia’s Belle, the winner of the Grade 3 Bourbonette Oaks in March. “I’ve always thought she might make a nice grass filly, so we’ll see. She’s run against some good fillies all her life, so hopefully she’ll rebound in this spot.”[bc_video_id:327186:]

The opposition of note includes Tepin, the winner of the Grade 3 Princess last fall at Delta Downs; A Little Bit Sassy, the winner of the Edgewood on the Oaks undercard; and Istanford, who defeated male rivals in winning the Grade 3 Arlington Classic three weeks ago.

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Most of the others are in fine form, including V V Goodnight, Personal Diary, Stellaris, Share the Sugar, and Handmade. Kiss Moon also moves to grass after being well beaten in the Oaks.

The Regret, named for the 1915 Kentucky Derby-winning filly, goes as the ninth of 11 races at 10:11 p.m. Eastern.

Well-matched group in Matt Winn

The first of the night’s four stakes also is a Grade 3, $100,000 race at 1 1 1/16 miles for 3-year-olds, albeit for the male gender and on the main track.

It’s the Matt Winn (race 6, 8:30), a well-matched race that appears to have Rise Up and Almost Famous as the dominant speeds and Tapiture and Conquest Titan as dangerous come-from-behinders. All were classics candidates to varying degrees, and Tapiture actually ran in the Kentucky Derby, finishing 15th.

“We’re looking to get his confidence back,” trainer Steve Asmussen said of Tapiture.

Rise Up and Almost Famous both come off easy wins. Trainer Tom Amoss said the clean start for Rise Up in winning the Hilton Memorial eased his concerns about the colt’s gate troubles, while a May 24 romp by Almost Famous means “he’s back,” according to trainer Pat Byrne.

The Winn starts a 50-cent pick four (races 6-9) comprised entirely of graded stakes.

◗ The $100,000 President of the United Arab Emirates Cup, a Grade 1 race for Arabians, goes as race 10 (10:42).

Valiant Boy Sbfar, a winner of six of his last seven starts and a five-length winner of this 1 1/16-mile race last year, will be a solid favorite in a field of seven when returning from a lengthy layoff, with Grilla the chief threat. Local jockeys are named on all but one of the starters.