Juveniles take forefront at River Downs

With a little more than three weeks left in the 2010 River Downs summer meet, it is once again time to look at the signature races for 2-year-olds. The Bassinet and Cradle Stakes, the only two open races on the River Downs stake schedule, will be contested on closing weekend. The $50,000 Bassinet and $100,000 Cradle will be run on Sept, 4 and 6, respectively.
The purse for each race has been cut in half this year.
Saturday the Cradle prep will be run and this Sunday the Bassinet prep will be contested. The first three finishers of each race can supplement to their respective race. The purse for the preps have also been reduced by $5,000 to $20,000.
In the one-mile turf prep Saturday, Awesome Attack from the Patrick Byrne barn should be tough to beat when facing seven others. Although still a maiden, the colt, a son of Awesome Again, finished second in his only lifetime start. In a one mile turf event at Arlington Park July 22, Awesome Attack was kept far back off very slow fractions throughout but managed to make up nearly seven lengths in the stretch to finish second, beaten 4 3/4 lengths. Jesus Castanon ships in to ride.
In the Bassinet prep Sunday, John Hancock will send out a pair of fillies, Internet Cafe and Bach Hamilton.
The Bassinet prep will be run at the same distance as the Bassinet, six furlongs on the main track. Seven fillies are scheduled to start. Internet Cafe won her maiden race at Churchill Downs May 21 by six lengths. A Freefourinternet, she filly came back 10 days later to win an entry level allowance event at Churchill May 31, this time by a hard-fought nose. In her most recent out in the Grade 3 Debutante at Churchill, she finished an even fourth June 26.