Course-loving Cash Control tops Cardinal Handicap

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – When it comes to turf stakes at the fall meet, Churchill Downs sure does get its money’s worth. Grade 3 races with mere $100,000 purses tend to draw deep fields, and if that doesn’t exactly elate horsemen, well, at least it’s a good thing for horseplayers.

Case in point: the 43rd running of the Cardinal Handicap, which anchors an entertaining Saturday card on what is supposed to be a frigid afternoon. An accomplished cast of 13 fillies and mares has been assembled for the 1 1/8-mile turf race, and surely the winner will have to run a big one to get the job done.

Cash Control and Kitten’s Roar are co-highweighted in the Cardinal, the 10th of 11 races, with each being assigned 119 pounds. Cash Control may have something of a home-course advantage, having netted two wins from three local efforts, the latest a victory in the Grade 3 Mint Julep in June. She exits a sixth-place finish at Keeneland in the Grade 1 First Lady, won by Photo Call with the great mare Tepin second.

“She’s shown how much she likes this turf,” said Brad Cox, who trains the homebred 5-year-old mare for Bert and Richard Klein. “That last race was crazy-tough, so this should be more to her liking.”

The Cardinal lineup includes numerous fringe contenders, including Maryland shipper Real Smart, who drew the rail post. She, too, comes out of a Grade 1, having finished ninth in the Oct. 1 Rodeo Drive going 1 1/4 miles over the Santa Anita turf.

“She has a good post, and I like the fact she is shortening up and getting some class relief,” trainer Graham Motion said.

Another possibility is Lady Fog Horn, an Indiana-bred who finished second at 20-1 in the Cardinal last year behind Button Down, the 2-1 favorite.

“We’re thinking about waiting to run Thanksgiving Day in the Falls City,” trainer Tony Granitz said. “We also might even run in both, who knows? The filly is fresh and sound right now, so we’re going to consider all our options.”

The Cardinal directly follows the $80,000 Bet On Sunshine (race 9) on a card that starts at 1 p.m. Eastern. The six-furlong Bet On Sunshine drew a field of nine older horses led by Alsvid and Holy Boss.

Two allowances (races 7 and 8) also are on tap, including a $63,000 second-level dirt route featuring the 2016 Preakness runner-up, Cherry Wine.

The Saturday forecast calls for a sharp drop in temperature, with a high in the mid-40s.

KEY CONTENDERS

Cash Control, by Pioneerof the Nile

(Last 3 Beyers: 87-87-96)

◗ Her tactical speed should allow Shaun Bridgmohan to get her in a contending position after they break from post 12.

Kitten’s Roar, by Kitten’s Joy

(Last 3 Beyers: 91-83-82)

◗ Ken and Sarah Ramsey colorbearer earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure last month at Keeneland when making short work of high-end allowance fillies.

Real Smart, by Smart Strike

(Last 3 Beyers: 91-75-91)

◗ Her three-back score in the Grade 3 Robert Dick at Delaware seems a realistic indicator of her potential.

Lady Fog Horn, by Zavata

(Last 3 Beyers: 83-83-86)

◗ If she doesn’t scratch out, she could once again foil some exotics players with her usual gritty effort.

Heath, by Pulpit

(Last 3 Beyers: 85-82-87)

◗ Second to Kitten’s Roar in the Oct. 20 allowance, she’s got the stakes experience and handiness to be a contender here.