Damon's Mound will stretch out in Iroquois Stakes

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Damon’s Mound, one of the most promising 2-year-old colts in the eastern half of the U.S., will put his glitzy record on the line Saturday as a heavy favorite among a field of nine in the Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs.

Trainer Michelle Lovell said Wednesday that Damon’s Mound “is doing super. He’s ready for his stretch-out.”

Damon’s Mound, whose two starts resulted in a 12 1/2-length maiden win at Churchill and a 3 1/4-length triumph in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special, recently returned to Churchill after spending most of the last two months at Colonial Downs, where the Girvin colt breezed twice since the Aug. 13 Special, the latest coming Sept. 7.

Lovell said she wavered between Damon’s Mound running back in the Iroquois or waiting three more weeks for the Grade 1, $600,000 Breeders’ Futurity, to be run Oct. 8 at Keeneland as a Win and You’re In event toward the Nov. 4-5 Breeders’ Cup at the Lexington track. She added it’s unlikely he’ll go in the Futurity after running Saturday.

From the rail, the Iroquois field is Hayes Strike, Zaici, Damon’s Mound, Jim Tong, Curly Jack, Jace’s Road, Honed, Confidence Game, and Echo Again.

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Gabriel Saez has a return call on Damon’s Mound, bred and owned by Cliff and Michele Love.

The 41st Iroquois, along with its twin sister, the Pocahontas for fillies, are among five stakes to be run here Saturday. Both are Grade 3, $300,000 races going 1 1/16 miles, and both are the first qualifiers (10 points to the winner) toward the Kentucky Derby and Oaks next spring. Both also are part of the new “Dirt Dozen” series that awards monetary credits to the top three finishers toward competing in the Breeders’ Cup.

The other Saturday stakes are the Grade 3, $400,000 Locust Grove for fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles, along with the $300,000 Open Mind and $275,000 Louisville Thoroughbred Society, both at six furlongs.

All purses include bonuses restricted to Kentucky-breds. Damon’s Mound, as a Florida-bred, will be running for the equivalent of a $225,000 purse.