King's review: Tight races mark quality card

The quality of racing picked up Friday at Churchill, though fields remained short.

The third race stood out as a good one, with the classy Gold Medal Dancer wearing down a hard-trying Vuitton to win by a neck in a long drive in a stakes-quality allowance. Three wide for most of the running, she steadily advanced from behind a slow pace and stopped the clock in 1:23.56 for seven furlongs.

A few races later in the sixth, Cinco Charlie scored at first asking in a baby race for trainer Steve Asmussen. A son of Indian Charlie, he raced professionally and pulled away from Far Right to win by 2 3/4 lengths with 4 1/2 furlongs in 51.65 seconds, earning an 80 Beyer Speed Figure.

Disappointing were the two Wesley Ward first-time starters, To Be Determined and Sarlef, who ran a distant third and fifth, respectively.

The ninth race, a first-level allowance, looked like it was Marathon Lady’s for the taking, despite not having raced since last fall. But the time on the sidelines showed, and she faded to third after making a bid midway in the race.

Scoring the upset was She’s Got Swag, a Student Council filly who has now won two in a row for trainer Brad Cox and owner Hunter Valley Farm since being claimed for $16,000 from a maiden claimer in January at Oaklawn.

The day closed out with the most competitive race on the card, with nine horses running in a third-level allowance on the grass, a race Villandry took by a half-length. Only three lengths separated the first- through last-place finishers.

As is often the case when a field is tightly packed on the turf, trips played a key role in the outcome and contributed to some of the horses not being able to run to their potential. Eighth-place Kalamos, for one, was caught in tight quarters coming into the stretch and ended up hitting the temporary rail on the turf course and backed up thereafter.

Horse to Watch

Grand Arch
Trainer: Brian Lynch
Last race: May 9, 9th
Finish: 3rd by 1/2
Beyer: 88

He was hung wide throughout in racing in a third-level allowance, losing the most ground of any horse in the race, per Trakus. He also moved a bit early before weakening a bit late in a race that turned into a sprint for home after a slow early pace.