Churchill notes: Delaunay will start next in Aristides

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Trainer Tom Amoss said Delaunay likely will make his next start in the Grade 3, $100,000 Aristides, a six-furlong race next Saturday, May 31, at Churchill. The 7-year-old gelding, an earner of $917,593, breezed four furlongs Thursday, his first work since finishing fifth in the May 3 Churchill Downs Stakes.

Amoss said he has no particular spots in mind for three other stable stars: Mylute, who worked Wednesday for the second time since finishing fourth in the May 2 Alysheba; Rise Up, who worked Thursday for the fourth time since he won the April 19 Hilton Memorial at Charles Town by 10 3/4 lengths; and Ria Antonia, who finished last in the Preakness last weekend.

◗ While Churchill continues to be plagued by short fields, with strong competition for horses from other regional tracks being a major component in that equation, there is this potentially helpful spot of news: Turf racing at Indiana Grand has been indefinitely delayed, with one by-product being that more grass horses will race here through the end of the spring meet June 29.

Although as of Friday racing officials at Indiana Grand had not released a statement on the status of its turf course nor informed its horsemen as to how long it expects the turf to go unused, one source said it could be early July.

◗ Thursday at Churchill was a productive day for horses who raced this winter at Oaklawn Park in general and for trainer Steve Hobby in particular. Five winners from the last eight races – the first race was for 2-year-old first-time starters – raced at Oaklawn this winter, including back-to-back Hobby winners, Brown Eyed Mary ($6.20) in race 5 and Doubly Distinct ($8.20) in race 6. The others were Divine Thunder ($6.40) in race 4, Rooster Cruiser ($5.60) in race 7, and Saturday Launch ($22.20) in race 9.

◗ Veteran jockey Stewart Elliott will move his tack to Del Mar shortly after the Churchill spring meet ends, agent Nelson Arroyo said this week. Elliott, 49, finished second in the standings at Keeneland in April in his first full meet in Kentucky. He was the focus of the international racing world 10 years ago as the jockey of Smarty Jones, who was unbeaten and awaiting the Belmont Stakes following a record-setting performance in the Preakness.