Bango takes on Sibelius, Gunite in attempt to tie record
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Bango, a 10-time winner at Churchill Downs, will attempt to tie the mark as the winningest horse in this track’s recorded history in Saturday’s $225,000 Aristides Stakes. Standing in his way will be Grade/Group 1 winners Sibelius and Gunite, both coming off strong performances in the Middle East.
Those three highlight a small but compelling field of five in the Aristides, a six-furlong sprint for older horses that is one of two dirt stakes on the undercard of the Grade 3, $225,000 Blame on Stephen Foster Preview Day. The other dirt stakes is the Grade 3, $225,000 Shawnee for fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles.
Bango, a 6-year-old homebred for the Tamaroak Stable of Fred and Debbie Schwartz, most recently won the St. Matthews Overnight Stakes by five lengths the first week of May at Churchill, setting him up for a defense of the Aristides, a race he has won the past two years.
“He’s all man. He’s not mean, but he’s always a good-feeling horse,” trainer Greg Foley said. “I actually raced this horse’s mother. It’s always special when you have a horse from the Schwartzes' breeding program. He’s a testament to their dedication to this sport.”
Bango, a winner of 12 of 30 career starts, also is a stakes winner at Ellis Park and Turfway Park in Kentucky, but the majority of his success has come at Churchill. In addition to this year’s St. Matthews and the last two editions of the Aristides, Bango has won the 2021 Kelly’s Landing, the 2022 Bet On Sunshine, a maiden special weight in 2019, and four allowance/optional-claiming races at Churchill.
“His record really speaks for itself,” said Foley, a Churchill Downs-based native of nearby Oldham County. “He loves it at Churchill maybe just as much as I do. We’ve had our sights set on the record and it would be a really special accomplishment for all of us.”
According to Churchill statistics, Ready’s Rocket holds the modern-day record as the winningest horse here, with 11 wins, all at the claiming or starter-allowance level, from 2005-12.
Sibelius, second to Bango in the Bet On Sunshine last November, has since won three straight for Jeremiah O’Dwyer. After taking the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector and the Pelican in Florida, he won the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen on March 25 at Meydan, edging defending winner Switzerland by a nose.
Gunite won the Grade 1 Hopeful as a juvenile for Steve Asmussen. His six stakes wins also include the Maxfield and Harrods Creek, both at seven furlongs, last year at Churchill, where he has never been off the board. More recently, the colt campaigned in the Middle East, finishing second in the Group 3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint to champion Elite Power. He was beaten a half-length when third in the Golden Shaheen last time out.
Graded stakes winner Tejano Twist was third to Cody’s Wish in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs on the Kentucky Derby undercard. Strava, who is coming off a dead-heat win in his season debut, completes the field.
Shawnee
The Shawnee hinges on whether Pauline’s Pearl can return to her best form, or whether those who have run better recently have the upper hand.
Pauline’s Pearl, trained by Asmussen, won the Grade 1 La Troienne in May 2022 at Churchill, defeating Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil. Pauline’s Pearl went on to finish fourth in the 2022 Shawnee, then third to Shedaresthedevil in the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis.
Pauline’s Pearl got an extended break and returned well to win the Grade 3 Houston Ladies Classic. But since then, she has finished seventh in the Grade 1 Beholder Mile in California and sixth in her La Troienne defense.
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Frost Point has won three straight, including the Grade 3 Doubledogdare at Keeneland, for Bill Mott. In that race, she overhauled the front-running Hidden Connection by three-quarters of a length. She should have horses to target again in the Shawnee.
Hidden Connection, a graded stakes winner in 2021, should have company up front from Idiomatic. The latter won three straight routes, including the Latonia Stakes, on Turfway’s Tapeta before finishing second in the Grade 2 Ruffian going a one-turn mile at Belmont Park.
Travel Column, winner of the 2021 Fair Grounds Oaks, also would like to be forwardly placed as she seeks her first win since almost a year. The mare led early in the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff in May before fading to sixth.
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