Correas hoping to double up in back-to-back co-features
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Under different circumstances, trainer Ignacio Correas might stroll into Churchill Downs on Friday afternoon filled with confidence in his two runners on a nine-race card.
But with so many high-profile stables based in Kentucky this spring, many of the richer races at the Churchill spring meet have come up extraordinarily deep – so Correas is counting on a bit of racing luck to further the chances of Empress Eleanor and Therideofalifetime in back-to-back allowances that highlight a program that starts at 12:45 p.m. Eastern.
“All those races have been so tough lately,” Correas said earlier this week from his Keeneland base. “You think you have a horse to win, and it gets beat three lengths or so and you run fifth or sixth. You not only have to run great, but you need some luck, too. They’re brutal right now.”
The label applies to both Friday co-features.
Race 7 is a $104,000, second-level turf route that drew an oversubscribed lineup of fillies and mares. Assuming a forecast for continuing dry weather holds through Friday and on into the weekend, only as many as 10 will start, with eight more having to scratch.
Empress Eleanor (post 5, James Graham) and Enjoyitwhilewecan (post 10, Ricardo Santana Jr.), who dead-heated for win in a first-level turf race last month at Keeneland, are among a well-matched field that also includes Family Way and Flabbergasted as major players.
Empress Eleanor, said Correas, “is a very good filly. She doesn’t like to run very often, so every time that she’s fresh, she comes up with a good performance. No doubt this is a big step up in class, but she is training very well. If she runs the way she did at Keeneland, she’s going to have a shot.”
Race 8 is a $102,000, first-level dirt sprint for 3-year-olds. Mr Sippi and Happymac are among the likely favorites in a field of 10, having earned big Beyer Speed Figures – 86 and 88, respectively – in last-out maiden-special romps, but Correas believes Therideofalifetime (post 10, Graham) will fare far better than when he was virtually eased in his seasonal debut five Fridays ago at Keeneland.
“When he rushed up down the backstretch, he grabbed his heels and took a shoe off,” Correas said. “That’s why he was eased. He grabbed both of his quarters and was pretty sore for a few days. It was a bad experience coming back.”
Therideofalifetime flashed brilliance at 2, earning himself a couple of stakes berths, so Correas hopes a smoother journey from the outer post will unfold Friday.
“The idea is to go back to stalking the pace, or that’s the hope,” he said.
Listed purses for all non-claiming/starter races at Churchill include sizable supplements restricted to registered Kentucky-breds. For example, the race 7 bonuses total $39,200 and the race 8 bonuses total $38,200.
◗ Correas said the Argentine import Fantasioso, a decent seventh in the Grade 3 Louisville on Saturday, is being considered for the $400,000 Belmont Gold Cup, a two-mile turf race on June 4, the eve of the Belmont Stakes.