Hofburg to face six in Fayette Stakes

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Withdrawn from Breeders’ Cup consideration after a subpar last effort, Hofburg will take a different route in seeking to restore his lofty reputation Saturday in the closing-day feature at Keeneland, the Grade 2 Fayette Stakes.

Six older opponents will line up against 3-year-old Hofburg in the $200,000 Fayette, a 1 1/8-mile race that anchors the 10-race finale. Jose Ortiz will be aboard Hofburg, and they break from post 6.

Always promising, Hofburg raised expectations to another level this summer with a five-length romp in the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga. But after the Juddmonte Farms homebred missed the Travers because of a brief illness, he was a well-beaten fourth in his most recent start, the Sept. 22 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx.

“It was not one of his better performances when he ran at Parx, so we decided to skip the Breeders’ Cup,” trainer Bill Mott said Wednesday at his Churchill Downs base. “But, he is only a 3-year-old. There’s still time for him.”

Mott said the Grade 1 Clark Handicap on Nov. 23 at Churchill would be a “good possibility” if Hofburg returns to form Saturday. After that, the Pegasus World Cup would loom.

“Obviously we’ll have to see how he runs,” Mott said.

From the rail, this is the Fayette field: Prime Attraction, Nice Not Nice, Hence, Scuba, Leofric, Hofburg, and Rated R Superstar.

Allowance trio as anchors

Three straight allowances will highlight the penultimate card of the meet Friday at Keeneland, and they’re some solid races. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern, with the forecast calling for a chance of rain and a high temperature of just 50.

Race 7 (4:24) could have Bird’s Eye View, trained by Mike Dini, as the horse to beat in a $71,000 second-level allowance, assuming the 1 1/16-mile race remains on the grass as scheduled.

Race 8 (4:57), a $69,000 first-level race at seven furlongs, is a fair test for likely favorite Cathedral Reader, who narrowly missed for this same condition last out after finishing fifth in the Grade 2 Prioress.

Race 9 (5:30) is another two-turn race slated for grass, and assuming it stays put, then Speedy Solution, exiting the Grade 2 Jessamine, will be favored in a full field of 2-year-old fillies vying for a $69,000 purse.

Churchill meet opens Sunday

The 21-day Churchill fall meet starts Sunday with a familiar staple – an 11-race Stars of Tomorrow card exclusively for 2-year-olds – but obviously the ensuing days will stray from the norm because of the Nov. 2-3 Breeders’ Cup. The Sunday opener will include two stakes, a reduction from past years. Those races are the $300,000 Spendthrift Juvenile Stallion Stakes and the $100,000 Rags to Riches

The Rags to Riches, a one-mile race for fillies, traditionally has been accompanied by its colt-and-gelding counterpart, the Street Sense, but that race will be run instead this year on the BC Friday undercard. Expected for the Rags to Riches when entries were drawn Thursday were Chocolate Kisses, High Regard, Into the South, Mother Mother, Take Charge Angel, and Winning Envelope.

The Spendthrift Juvenile Stallion Stakes, a seven-furlong race restricted to offspring of sires stood by the race sponsor, was expected to get Achilles Warrior, B.B. Dude, Distorted Jimmy, Dunph, and at least a few more. This will be the third and final year for the Spendthrift.