Effinex to face six in Stephen Foster Handicap
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Effinex has been assigned post 3 as the favorite in a field of seven older horses for the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap, which will help kick off the unofficial second half of the North American racing season with its 35th running Saturday night at Churchill Downs.
Effinex, with Gary Stevens to ride, will carry 122 pounds as the highweight in the 1 1/8-mile Foster, which not only offers a $500,000 purse but also a Win and You’re In berth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Nov. 5.
Effinex has had five timed workouts over the Belmont Park training track since winning his last start, the Oaklawn Handicap, on April 16.
“He’s gotten a lot of very good work done here, so he arrived there [Sunday] in good shape,” trainer Jimmy Jerkens said Tuesday from New York.
Majestic Harbor and Eagle, the one-two finishers in the Grade 2 Alysheba at Churchill, are among the top challengers to Effinex.
From the rail and with weights and riders, this is the Foster lineup: International Star, 116, Florent Geroux; Bradester, 116, Joe Bravo; Effinex, 122, Stevens; Majestic Harbor, 118, Corey Lanerie; El Kabeir, 115, Ricardo Santana Jr.; Are You Kidding Me, 118, Julien Leparoux; and Eagle, 117, Brian Hernandez Jr.
The Foster is carded as the eighth of 11 races, and the fourth of five consecutive graded stakes, on a Downs After Dark card that starts at 6 p.m. Eastern. It will be shown live on TVG2, with post time set for 9:39, and is part of numerous multirace wagers, including the 20-cent Single Six (races 6-11).
In the other Saturday night stakes:
◗ Grade 3, $100,000 Matt Winn (race 5, post 7:57): Gun Runner, prepping for the Haskell Invitational on July 31, figures as a huge favorite over six other 3-year-olds in this 1 1/16-mile race.
◗ Grade 2, $200,000 Fleur de Lis Handicap (race 6, post 8:30): The 2014 Kentucky Oaks winner, Untapable, will try to get past the $4 million earnings mark when breaking from the rail against five other fillies and mares in this 1 1/8-mile race.
◗ Grade 2, $200,000 Wise Dan (race 7, post 9:05): Formerly known as the Firecracker, this 1 1/16-mile turf race drew a field of 11 older horses led by 2015 Arlington Million winner The Pizza Man.
◗ Grade 3, $100,000 Regret (race 9, post 10:11): A well-matched field of 11 3-year-old fillies will travel 1 1/8 miles on turf in rounding out the stakes lineup.