Honorable Duty stands out in Lukas Classic
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – If Honorable Duty isn’t careful, he might wind up in world-class events such as the Pegasus Cup and Dubai World Cup.
Brendan Walsh has mapped out a three-race schedule for Honorable Duty to conclude 2017, and although reluctant to get too far ahead of himself, the Irish-born trainer is hoping what happens in the next few months will result in new horizons for his stable star.
“He’s been a great horse for us,” said Walsh, who trains Honorable Duty, a 5-year-old gelding, for the DARRS Inc. of David Ross.
Honorable Duty figures a heavy favorite this weekend in the Grade 3, $200,000 Lukas Classic, one of three stakes on the final Saturday of Churchill Downs’ September meet. The 1 1/8-mile race will serve as a lead-in to the Oct. 28 Fayette at Keeneland and the Nov. 24 Clark at Churchill.
Honorable Duty was briefly freshened following a runner-up finish behind Gun Runner in the June 18 Stephen Foster at Churchill. Before that, he swept three stakes at Fair Grounds – the Tenacious, Mineshaft, and New Orleans Handicap – and was second to Bird Song in the Alysheba at Churchill.
“I backed off him just a little after the Foster,” said Walsh, who already has surpassed his career highs this year with 53 wins and $2.9 million in stable earnings.
“He’d had a busy enough spring and there wasn’t a lot for him in the summer. We’ve had this fall campaign in mind for him for quite a while now. He’s worked right along and seems about as ready as we can have him for his comeback. I really think he might be as good, if not better, than he ever has been.”
The opposition in the fifth running of the Lukas Classic, which is graded for the first time this year, is expected to include Eagle, Fear the Cowboy, Flashy Jewel, and Money Flows.
Honorable Duty, by Distorted Humor, earned triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures in two of his last three starts. He completed his major preparation for this race by breezing six furlongs Saturday in 1:12.60.
Favoritism in the other two Saturday stakes seems less conclusive.
Awesome Slew, The Player, and Warrior’s Club are among the principals in the Grade 3, $100,000 Ack Ack, a one-turn mile race also expected to get Conquest Big E and Etruscan.
The $100,000 Jefferson Cup, an ungraded turf mile for 3-year-olds, could have the largest field of the three stakes. Among those listed by stakes coordinator Dan Bork as likely starters are Adonis Creed, Bronson, Dawn Raider, Guest Suite, My Bariley, and Your Way.
Entries for an 11-race Saturday card are to be drawn Wednesday. The 11-day meet ends Sunday, with Keeneland starting its 17-day fall meet Oct. 6.
