Corningstone vies for millionaire status in the Pippin

There will be some Hoosier royalty making an Oaklawn Park appearance Friday when all-time leading Indiana-bred earner Corningstone takes on a sharp Standoutsensation in the $150,000 Pippin Stakes. The race, which is for fillies and mares, will be run over 1 1/16 miles.

Corningstone surpassed Bucchero’s earnings record of $947,936 for Indiana-breds in her last start, when she was second in the Grade 3 Falls City on Nov. 27 at Churchill Downs. The second-place check of $63,050 pushed her career earnings to $974,128, which lifted her to the top of the Indiana-bred charts and positions her for a bid at becoming a millionaire in the Pippin.

Corningstone is seeking to win her second Pippin of the year, as she won last season’s running in January. The race has been moved to a December date this meet. Corningstone could go favored off her Falls City effort, in which she was beaten just two lengths at 27-1 and earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 91.

“It was a great run,” trainer Kenny McPeek said. “We knew it was deeper water than she’s normally taken on, but she stepped up, which is typical of her. She’s been in good form all year. We were proud of that.”

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Corningstone, who races for Payson Stud and RTA Family Trust, had won back-to-back Indiana-bred stakes at Horseshoe Indianapolis leading into the Falls City. She’s part of a field of six for the Pippin, and the versatile mare could be somewhat prominent when she breaks from post 3 under Joseph Bealmear.

Standoutsensation is another who brings versatility to the table in the Pippin. She will start from post 6 under Luis Saez.

“She’s got great tactical speed, so that allows you to be wherever you want to be based on the pace,” trainer Tom Amoss said. “I could see her being close if the pace is light, and I can see her settling off of it a little bit if the pace is really strong.”

Standoutsensation is looking for her fourth straight win. She’s won her last three on the front end in a streak that began in a two-other-than allowance in July at Saratoga. From there, she won an allowance at Churchill Downs and the Turnback the Alarm in her last start Nov. 2 at Aqueduct.

“You know, confidence is such a big part of an athlete’s performance, whether human or equine,” Amoss said. “She’s gotten very confident, and I think it’s showing up in her races.”

Standoutsensation is owned by the partnership of Richard Emmett and Joel Politi.

Others making up the field include In Just My Heels, who was second to Standoutsensation in a September allowance at Churchill; Queen Azteca, winner of the Group 3 U.A.E. Oaks in February at Meydan; and Peignoir and Reagan’s Flame, both of whom could vie for the lead in the Pippin.

The Pippin goes as the eighth on a 10-race card that begins at 12:30 p.m. Central.

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