Departing can give Stall second Clark score

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Al Stall Jr. knows how to gauge the depth of the Clark Handicap.

“Blame won the Clark in 2009, when it was a Grade 2,” Stall said, referring to his all-time best horse, who a year later was voted champion older male after winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic. “He beat a really good field [in the Clark]. Misremembered and Einstein were in there, and it was a full field of 14. The very next week, the race was upgraded to a Grade 1.”

Five years later, Stall has the co-highweight in Departing for the Grade 1, $500,000 Clark, which will be run Friday at Churchill Downs for the 141st time. As usual, Stall won’t compare Departing to Blame; both were bred and owned by partners Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider. Yet assuming he runs his best race, Departing stands as good a chance as any when a well-matched field is dispatched for the 1 1/8-mile Clark.

“Blame was another caliber of horse,” said Stall, who has been in New Orleans in recent weeks but will return to Louisville for the Clark. “But honestly, this race didn’t come up as tough as it sometimes does. We’re excited about our horse. He’s been really close in his last couple. He’s ready to go.”

Departing, a 4-year-old gelding by War Front, was second in the Homecoming Classic and Fayette Stakes in his last two starts. He has been assigned 121 pounds, the same as the Fayette winner, Pick of the Litter.

At least 10 3-year-olds and up were expected when Clark entries were to be drawn Tuesday. Besides the highweights, other likely starters include Constitution, Easter Gift, Hoppertunity, and Prayer for Relief.

◗ Attendance for the last four or five races this Saturday figures to increase noticeably with an influx of fans clad in blue and red. The Kentucky-Louisville college football rivalry game is set for noon at nearby Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, and crossover sports fans can easily avail themselves of the pair of Grade 2 stakes on a Stars of Tomorrow card, the Kentucky Jockey Club and Golden Rod. Churchill racing officials are looking for big fields for both stakes when entries are drawn Wednesday.

◗ Ian Wilkes is hoping that a 2-year-old named Gorgeous Bird progresses into a classics prospect as the winter unfolds. A gray colt by the late Unbridled’s Song, Gorgeous Bird was an impressive maiden winner here Saturday under Brian Hernandez Jr.

“We think he’s a really nice colt with a future,” said Wilkes, who soon will head to Florida.

Gorgeous Bird, bred and owned by Marylou Whitney, was produced by Elusive Bird, whose dam, Bird Town, won the 2003 Kentucky Oaks for Whitney.

◗ Joe Kristufek has joined the Churchill broadcasting team for the final week of the meet to assist Jill Byrne and Kevin Kerstein with on-air coverage. Kristufek is best known for two decades of work on his Chicago home circuit while also serving as an ambassador with the America’s Best Racing brand.

◗ The lineup for Pool 1 in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager was scheduled for release Tuesday. This is the second year that Churchill has expanded from three to four futures pools by starting with a late-November pool. Pool 1 opens Friday at noon and closes Sunday at 6 p.m.