Classy trio heads Stephen Foster on monster Downs After Dark card

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The horse race should be good, too.

A Churchill Downs throng enthralled with seeing a Triple Crown winner in the flesh and partaking in further nighttime partying also will be treated to a showdown among three of the best handicap horses in North America when the Stephen Foster Handicap is run Saturday night under the lights.

Lea, Commissioner, and Hoppertunity are foremost among the seven older horses in the Grade 1, $500,000 Stephen Foster, the first “Win and You’re In” race of the year for the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland on Oct. 31.

Lea, with his gaudy Beyer Speed Figures and high turn of foot, will be favored in a 1 1/8-mile race that anchors an 11-race Downs After Dark program that starts at 6 p.m. Eastern. Post time is 9:42 for the Foster (race 8), which can be seen live on a two-hour NBCSN broadcast that starts at 8 and will feature American Pharoah in his first public appearance since he completed his historic sweep of the Triple Crown last Saturday.

The Foster long has signaled the unofficial start of the second half of the racing season in North America, and that demarcation is particularly intriguing this year with the handicap division in flux and with the Classic having been targeted as the career-ending goal for American Pharoah.

Lea (pronounced “Lee,” as opposed to “Lee-uhh”), bred and owned by the familiar partnership of Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider, will be making his first start since finishing third behind Prince Bishop and California Chrome in the $10 million Dubai World Cup on March 28. After getting a brief rest, the 6-year-old horse was sent to the tranquil environs of the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga by Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott and shows four workouts in preparing for this.

“He’s come back from Dubai really well,” Claiborne President Walker Hancock said. “We’re pleased with how he’s training. It’s probably never an easy spot when you come back in a race like this, but he’s told us he’s ready to go. We’re expecting a big race out of him.”

Lea will be ridden by Joel Rosario and will carry 120 pounds when starting from post 2. Commissioner (Javier Castellano, 120) will break alongside in post 1, while Hoppertunity (Mike Smith, 121) will break from post 5.

Commissioner, the 2014 Belmont Stakes runner-up for owner-breeder WinStar Farm and trainer Todd Pletcher, has reached peak form, having dominated the Pimlico Special in his last start.

“He’s trained really well right along,” WinStar President Elliott Walden said.

Hoppertunity, unraced for more than four months, was not fully committed to the Foster until last weekend, when he was sent through his latest of six local workouts.

“That convinced me he’s ready,” said Jimmy Barnes, assistant to trainer Bob Baffert.

Beyond the three favorites, the Foster lineup is filled out by Paganol, Noble Bird, Majestic Harbor, and Cat Burglar. Of those, Noble Bird stands the best upset chance after finishing first or second in six of his last seven starts.

This will be the 34th running of the Stephen Foster and the fourth under the lights. Since its purse was boosted dramatically in 1998, when Awesome Again was the winner, the Foster has been won by such standouts as Street Cry (2002), Saint Liam (2005), Curlin (2008), and Blame (2010). The 2014 winner was Moonshine Mullin, a 10-1 shot ridden by Calvin Borel.

The forecast for Saturday calls for a daytime high of 88 and a 50 percent chance of rain. Churchill officials are expecting attendance to threaten the Downs After Dark record of 38,142 set on opening night of the 2011 spring meet.

Key contenders

Lea (Last 3 Beyers: 110-106-114)

* From just 15 career starts, his earnings already stand at nearly $1.9 million – a telling statistic in and of itself – and his lofty Beyers of 114 (2014 Donn Handicap) and 110 (2015 Donn) have made him a darling of speed-figure advocates.

* Numerous layoff lines in his past performances are mostly attributable to minor illnesses, not injury, and his connections are hoping to meet a steady schedule that also might include the Whitney on Aug. 8 at Saratoga in getting him to the Classic.

Commissioner (Last 3 Beyers: 102-109-94)

* Long-winded grinder rebounded from a sixth-place finish Feb. 7 behind Constitution and Lea in the Donn to win the Skip Away on the Florida Derby undercard, which led to his score in the Pimlico Special.

Hoppertunity (Last 3 Beyers: 94-95-104)

* Colt already has a notable history at Churchill, having been scratched as the second choice from the 2014 Kentucky Derby before returning here in November to defeat older horses in the fall counterpart to the Foster, the Grade 1 Clark Handicap.