Carribean Caper looks to stay perfect in Dogwood Stakes

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Fields for the three $275,000 stakes that anchor an 11-race Saturday card at Churchill were drawn Wednesday, with Carribean Caper being foremost among the marquee names when looking to stay unbeaten in the seven-furlong Dogwood Stakes for 3-year-old fillies.

Carribean Caper, with Colby Hernandez back to ride, will be looking for a fifth straight win in the Dogwood, which again has bounced back to listed status after being a Grade 3 from 1998 to 2015 and again in 2020. Trainer Al Stall Jr. has no designs on the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint for the Speightstown filly, given how formidable that Nov. 6 race will be with Gamine and others pointing to it. Stall said the Raven Run on Oct. 23 at Keeneland would be a logical next spot if all goes well Saturday.

The colt-and-gelding counterpart to the Dogwood is the Harrod’s Creek, one of several new stakes at a meet limited to dirt racing because of the ongoing renovation of the turf course. The “E Team” of Emerald Forest and Everett’s Song – both in fine form after winning their last two races – are among the 3-year-olds shipping in from distant venues for a wide-open inaugural.

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King Fury, a distant fifth behind Essential Quality in the Travers at Saratoga in his last start, is among the top contenders in another new race, the Bourbon Trail at 1 3/16 miles. The Ken McPeek trainee won the Lexington at Keeneland and was second in the Ohio Derby before spinning his wheels in his only turf try in the Saratoga Derby, which preceded the Travers.