Diva Meg should be forwardly placed in Wednesday turf-mile feature

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The severity of the local weather having eased, Churchill Downs will resume Wednesday with the primary focus turning to the quality (and quantity) of racing during the final week of the fall meet.

Frozen conditions led to two canceled cards last week, followed by a downpour that made for miserably wet conditions Sunday and a raging wind during Monday morning training hours. This final five-day stretch of the meet won’t necessarily be ideal, with spotty rain and chilly temperatures in the forecast, but at least the awful stuff is in the rearview mirror.

To partly make up for 20 lost races, Churchill will tack on an extra race or two every day through the Sunday finale, which explains why an otherwise standard-fare Wednesday card has been expanded to 11 races. The nominal feature is the 10th race, a second-level optional claimer for fillies and mares that pales in importance to the four graded stakes that highlight this final week but nonetheless makes for interesting handicapping, assuming it stays on the grass, as scheduled.

Share the Sugar and Diva Meg, the respective runner-up and beaten favorite in a key Oct. 23 turf race at Keeneland, are among a handful of bona-fide contenders among an oversubscribed lineup in the $45,000 feature, the second of two consecutive allowances on a card that starts at 12:40 p.m. Eastern. Race 9 is a $43,000, first-level, main-track race that has Attain and Prosecution in a field of nine.

KEY CONTENDERS

Diva Meg (Last 3 Beyers: 78-76-65)

◗ She figures to race on or near the lead once again when trying to atone for that loss as the tepid choice in Lexington; must accept early rating while trying to show she can get the mile. She gets a call from Corey Lanerie, who, with 28 victories heading into this week, is well on his way to another Churchill riding title.

Share the Sugar (Last 3 Beyers: 82-82-72)

◗ Back-to-back runner-up finishes for this same condition make her an obvious consideration, especially with that victory over this course in June on her record.

Secret Someone (Last 3 Beyers: 76-86-75)

◗ This Mt. Brilliant homebred from the final crop of A.P. Indy makes the third start in her form cycle following a series of local works for longtime Bill Mott assistant Kenny McCarthy. It may be worth noting that five of her opponents in a rugged renewal of the Pebbles (won by Mott with Lady Lara) ran back here in the Grade 2 Mrs. Revere on Nov. 15.

Black Elegance (Last 2 Beyers: 75-75)

◗ With five horses recently sent to him by Team Valor, trainer Wayne Catalano (who developed Animal Kingdom for the partnership, by the way) steps in with a very interesting candidate in an Irish-bred filly whose two stateside attempts both resulted in respectable efforts in East Coast stakes.