Captain Genius brings momentum to sprint co-feature
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Quite a few years ago, the Friday before the Kentucky Derby was the day when locals made it a point to come out to Churchill Downs before all the out-of-towners overran the joint.
But with the Kentucky Oaks having become a spectacle unto itself, it’s now the Thursday before the Derby when thousands of Louisvillians make it out to the track before retreating to their neighborhood barbecues. It was even given a clever label last year: “Thurby.” Get it?
Replete with all the promotional events to accompany such marketing genius, an 11-race Thursday card at Churchill should provide an entertaining lead-in to the Oaks and Derby, with a pair of allowances serving as nominal features.
The first of those (race 9) is the richer of the two. It’s a $54,000, second-level sprint that drew a well-matched field of seven older horses, with Captain Genius a lukewarm favorite for Chicago-based trainer Ingrid Mason.
The second allowance (race 10) is a $52,000, first-level turf route that’s similarly competitive, with Feathered a tepid morning-line choice for Todd Pletcher in a field of nine 3- and 4-year-old fillies.
First post Thursday is 12:45 p.m. Eastern. The Oaks and Derby programs both start at 10:30 a.m.
OPTIONAL CLAIMER (RACE 9)
KEY CONTENDERS
Captain Genius (Last 3 Beyers: 93-85-99)
◗ Claimed by Mason two starts back, this 6-year-old Florida-bred is a win machine, having won three of his last four, five of his last eight, and 10 of 21 overall. One of three in here entered for a $62,500 claiming option (with Guns Loaded and W. B. Smudge), he has a versatile running style that should serve him well here.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 Captain Genius. Trainer Ingrid Mason is 8-0-1-0 over the past five years in dirt sprints at Churchill. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Be a Hero (Last 3 Beyers: 89-90-80)
◗ This lightly raced 5-year-old from the high-percentage barn of Wayne Catalano is just a nose away from being ineligible for this condition after getting caught on the wire in his latest by Guns Loaded.
Guns Loaded (Last 3 Beyers: 90-89-53)
◗ Trained by Chris Hartman, who enjoyed a career-best meet when topping the standings at Oaklawn Park, this 4-year-old has rounded into form while mixing it up with two of his opponents here, Captain Genius and Be a Hero.
Viva Majorca (Last 3 Beyers: 79-75-89)
◗ Blinkers come off a colt who was good enough to be entered last summer in the Grade 1 Travers, with Ian Wilkes having regrouped him with a nice series of Palm Meadows works over the winter.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 3 Viva Majorca. Trainer Ian Wilkes is 22-7-6-4 with a $3.53 ROI over the past two years in dirt sprints at Churchill with Julien Leparoux aboard. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 6 Speightsland. Trainer Mark Casse is 7-0-0-1 over the past five years going turf to dirt and route to sprint. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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