Decision on Frivolous key to Falls City
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – What G. Watts Humphrey Jr. decides to do with his stable star this week at Churchill Downs is no frivolous matter.
Humphrey is the owner and breeder of the standout mare Frivolous, who would be a solid favorite in the Grade 2 Falls City Handicap, the traditional Thanksgiving Day feature. But Humphrey and his daughter, trainer Vicki Oliver, might decide to try her against males the following day in the Grade 1 Clark Handicap.
Frivolous, the 2014 winner, is one of 13 fillies and mares entered in the $200,000 Falls City. Either the Falls City or Clark will be the final race of her career.
“Winning [the Falls City] again would be super,” Oliver told Churchill publicity. “If she could win it or be third in the Clark, she’d make about the same amount of money. To be a Grade 1 winner or Grade 1-placed against the boys in a prestigious race like the Clark is enticing for our mare. We’re leaning to the Clark, but if we don’t think we can be 1-2-3 in there, she’ll go in the Falls City.”
Entries for the Clark were to be drawn Tuesday. If Frivolous goes in the 1 1/8-mile Falls City, she will break from post 5 as the 122-pound highweight and will be ridden by Jon Court, who on Monday celebrated his 55th birthday. Court has been aboard in three Churchill stakes victories for Frivolous in the last year: the Falls City last November, the Fleur de Lis in June, and the Locust Grove in September.
If Frivolous goes in the Clark, then a trio of 3-year-old fillies will be among the core of favorites for the Falls City: Chide, No Fault of Mine, and Birdatthewire. Other considerations in one of the biggest Falls City fields in years include Tiz So Sweet, Call Pat, Ahh Chocolate, and another Humphrey homebred, Pretty Fancy.
The 100th Falls City is the second of two straight graded stakes and the 11th of 12 races on a Thanksgiving card that starts at 11:30 a.m. Eastern. The Grade 3 River City (race 10) goes at 3:53 p.m., the Falls City at 4:22, and the last race at 4:50.
Thanksgiving at Churchill is a perennial favorite among the locals, with the track’s dining facilities packed with hundreds of families enjoying their holiday dinner together while playing the races.
KEY CONTENDERS
Frivolous (Last 3 Beyers: 90-91-92)
◗ An earner of $750,718 from 24 starts, she has developed an obvious fondness for the Churchill surface and comes off a very respectable fifth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.
Chide (Last 3 Beyers: 86-85-88)
◗ Homebred filly for the familiar Claiborne-Dilschneider team was terrific in a recent prep over the Churchill surface and will be looking to make a similarly strong stretch run when ridden back by Miguel Mena.
No Fault of Mine (Last 3 Beyers: 79-85-85)
◗ Lightly raced Chicago-based filly was second as the favorite to Chide in that key Nov. 5 allowance prep, a race from which she clearly stands to benefit.
Birdatthewire (Last 3 Beyers: 72-85-89)
◗ Beaten favorite in the Grade 2 Chilukki less than three weeks ago is another who could move up substantially following a needed race over the track.