Carribean Caper heads lineup for Dogwood

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Carribean Caper will be putting her unbeaten record on the line as the favorite in the Dogwood Stakes, one of three $275,000 stakes here Saturday.

Trained by Al Stall Jr., Carribean Caper has won her four prior starts by a combined 18 lengths, including a one-length score over Magic Quest in her last race, the Aug. 15 Audubon Oaks at Ellis Park. Magic Quest was among the 3-year-old fillies expected to oppose her in the seven-furlong Dogwood. All entries for an 11-race Saturday card were to be drawn Wednesday.

The two other stakes – both of them new and serving as replacements for more traditional turf stakes being skipped over at this dirt-only meet – are the $275,000 Harrods Creek and $275,000 Bourbon Trail, both for 3-year-olds. A well-matched group is taking shape for the seven-furlong Harrods Creek, while King Fury is among the leading prospects for the 1 3/16-mile Bourbon Trail.

◗ Early speed came in very handy during the first three cards of this 12-day September meet, although that wasn’t the case Sunday, when late-runners fared much better. Daily Racing Form charts show 21 of the first 29 races were won by horses who were first or second at the second call of their races, as opposed to just three of 10 on Sunday.

◗ Tyler Gaffalione, who has been the leading rider at each of the last four Churchill meets, dating to the 2020 spring meet, has the early lead atop the September meet standings with six wins, followed closely by Florent Geroux (5), Rafael Bejarano (4), and Joe Talamo (4).