Hoppertunity makes third bid to win second Clark

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Class in a racehorse often directly correlates to career earnings, and that certainly seems the case with Hoppertunity. With a bankroll of nearly $4.3 million, the 6-year-old horse has proven himself against the best of the best for nearly four years now.

Whether Hoppertunity still has the class to accomplish something that has never been done in the proud history of the Clark Handicap is another matter entirely. That matter will be settled Friday under the Churchill Downs lights when Hoppertunity runs for the fourth straight November in the 143rd running of the annual fall showcase.

“He always seems to show up,” said Bob Baffert, the Hall of Fame trainer of Hoppertunity. “He’s tough and he’s consistent. This is going to be a tough race, though, because it seems like some other good horses are in there.”

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Hoppertunity will be ridden by Florent Geroux and breaks from post 1 in a field of nine in the 1 1/8-mile Clark, the 11th of 12 races on a Friday card that invariably draws the largest ontrack crowd here every fall. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern, with the Grade 1 Clark set for 5:56.

Stabled mostly in Southern California during a 27-race career, Hoppertunity won the 2014 Clark as a 3-year-old and will be bidding to become just the fourth two-time winner in race history. The previous three all won in back-to-back years, so a victory three years apart would be unprecedented.

The stretch-running Hoppertunity will start as the 123-pound co-highweight with Diversify, who was withheld from the Breeders’ Cup Classic despite having earned an expenses-paid berth by capturing the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup. Diversify is clearly the primary speed in the Clark and poses a definite wire-to-wire threat, with The Player likely to give closest early chase.

“The first option is gonna be, ‘Go!’” said Rick Violette, who trains the 4-year-old New York-bred gelding for Lauren and Ralph Evans. “The Player has some stalking speed, so it’s not like I think we’ll be left all alone. Other than that, though, yes, hopefully they’ll all have a hard time catching up.”

Diversify (post 9, Irad Ortiz Jr.) has earned Beyer Speed Figures of 107 and 108 in his last two starts, and Violette felt running back in four weeks in the Nov. 4 Breeders’ Cup might have produced a bounce.

“That was one of the factors,” he said. “He’s run his best races with a little more spacing. Plus we would’ve been facing the bears, the Arrogates and Gun Runners and the rest, and it wasn’t like we were going to be alone on the lead. We weren’t kidding ourselves. If he was a colt, maybe we would’ve tried them, but he’s a gelding, and the owners want this guy around for as long as they can have him.”

The Player (post 7, Calvin Borel) is at a career peak, having won the Grade 2 Fayette at Keeneland after a second here behind Awesome Slew in the Ack Ack.

“I don’t think I can get him any better than he is right now,” said trainer Buff Bradley.

Honorable Duty (post 8, Corey Lanerie) had put together a terrific string of races until he finished far back in the Fayette, which was run over a sloppy track.

“You have to think the slop had something to do with it, or at least you hope so,” said trainer Brendan Walsh.

Destin (post 4, Ricardo Santana Jr.), perhaps best known for his narrow defeat in the 2016 Belmont Stakes, exits a victory in the Marathon Stakes on Breeders’ Cup weekend at Del Mar.

Good Samaritan (post 3, Joel Rosario) is something of a wild card as the lone 3-year-old in the field, having followed his breakthrough Jim Dandy triumph with a fifth in the Travers and a fourth in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

Rounding out the lineup are Seeking the Soul (post 2, John Velazquez), Goats Town (post 5, Chris Landeros), and Mo Tom (post 6, Brian Hernandez Jr.).

The Clark, named for track founder Col. M. Lewis Clark, dates to 1875, which was also the first year for the Kentucky Derby and Oaks. First run under lights in 2010, when Giant Oak was awarded victory by disqualification, the Clark has occasionally been an end-of-season key in deciding divisional awards, although that’s not the case with this renewal.

The Clark anchors an outstanding Friday card that also includes the Grade 2 Mrs. Revere (race 9), the Dream Supreme (race 10), and three allowances (races 2, 5, 12). The daytime forecast calls for sunny skies and a high of 56.

KEY CONTENDERS

Hoppertunity, by Any Given Saturday
Last 3 Beyers: 97-N/A-102

◗ His long and distinguished history at Churchill includes a scratch as the second morning-line choice from the 2014 Kentucky Derby, followed by annual runs in the Clark (first in 2014, second in 2015, fourth in 2016).

Diversify, by Bellamy Road
Last 3 Beyers: 107-108-100

◗ A winner in 7 of 10 career starts, this fleet gelding could cause a serious tactical dilemma for opposing riders.