Chief Cicatriz powers to victory in Aristides

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Chief Cicatriz got a perfect trip from his outside post in thrashing his rivals Saturday night under the Churchill Downs lights in the 30th running of the Grade 3, $100,000 Aristides, the highlight of an 11-race Downs After Dark card.

Breaking sharply under James Graham, Chief Cicatriz took over midway through the six-furlong race before rolling to a 6 1/4-length triumph over Mr. Crow, finishing in a swift 1:08.44. He returned $6.60 as the favorite in a field of seven older horses, and earned a 110 Beyer Speed Figure.

“We were perfectly drawn on the outside,” Graham said. “We let the speed go in front of him and he settled and got in a nice rhythm. When we turned for home he just poured it on. He was very impressive tonight.”

Chief Cicatriz, bred and owned by Roy Gene Evans, was fifth in the Grade 2 Churchill Downs on the May 5 Kentucky Derby undercard in his prior start. The 5-year-old Kentucky-bred gelding rebounded admirably for 77-year-old trainer Shawn Davis, a former champion saddle bronc rider who is based primarily in the far southwest.

“Tonight we knew we would see what he’s all about,” Davis said. “He was coming into the race in great shape and we saw the real Chief Cicatriz.”

Chief Cicatriz had won four ungraded stakes on his home circuit prior to migrating to Kentucky for his last two starts. He now has won eight of 11 starts and $286,881.

Wilbo was along for third, another 2 3/4 lengths behind Mr. Crow. Then came Awesome Saturday, Shadow Tracer, Heartwood, and Smart Spree.

Long On Value a millionaire

Some 30 minutes later, Long On Value became racing’s latest millionaire when making his first start since being purchased at auction and rolling to victory in the Downs After Dark finale, the $69,711 Mighty Beau.

Ridden by Florent Geroux, Long On Value rallied from last in a field of six in winning by 1 3/4 lengths over Kid Perfect. The 7-year-old Virginia-bred horse returned $5.40 as favorite after finishing five furlongs in 57.31 seconds over a firm turf.

Long On Value was purchased in November at Keeneland by the partnership of Madaket Stables, Ten Strike Racing, and Steve Laymon before being turned over to Brad Cox. The winner’s share of $40,380 pushed his lifetime bankroll to $1,022,073.

“He’d trained extremely well for us,” Cox said. “I thought he was sitting on a big effort like this.”

This was the 46th Downs After Dark card at Churchill, where lights were first used in June 2009. The final night card at the 38-day spring meet is set for June 16, when the Grade 1 Stephen Foster will be one of five stakes. The meet ends June 30.

Single 6 pays $90,226

An unusual partial disbursement of the Single 6 jackpot Saturday night resulted in no winning favorites in the six-race sequence that spanned races 4-9, with each perfect 20-cent ticket returning $90,226.80.

With nearly $700,000 in the growing jackpot following Friday action, Churchill elected to offer a partial “forceout” of $300,000, with the remainder being retained going forward.

The move drew $1,321,120 in new handle Saturday. The winning numbers were 4-3-4-1-4-4, and their respective win odds were 4-1, 13-1, 9-5, 14-1, 5-2, and 9-1.

The carryover into Sunday (races 5-10) is $395,728.