Lea settles in at Churchill for Stephen Foster Handicap
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Lea, the likely favorite for the Stephen Foster Handicap, arrived Sunday at Churchill Downs on the same air charter that transported Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and already has settled into a routine for Bill Mott assistant Kenny McCarthy.
“He jogged a mile and galloped a mile this morning, just like he did yesterday,” McCarthy said Tuesday. “He had his last breeze for the race before he left Saratoga.”
The Grade 1, $500,000 Stephen Foster is the highlight of an 11-race Downs After Dark card to be run Saturday night at Churchill. Entries were to be drawn Wednesday.
Lea will carry the co-high weight of 120 pounds – that is, unless trainer Bob Baffert chooses to run Hoppertunity, who is assigned 121 pounds. Assistant Jim Barnes said Tuesday a final decision on whether to run had yet to be made; the stable already has Cat Burglar confirmed for the Foster. Hoppertunity, unraced since Feb. 7, breezed five furlongs here Monday in 58.20 seconds, marking his sixth breeze at Churchill since mid-April.
Commissioner, the winner of the Pimlico Special in his last start, also has been assigned 120 pounds for the 1 1/8-mile Foster. As of Tuesday, a field of about eight older horses was taking shape.
The Foster is the first Win and You’re In race toward the Oct. 31 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland.
Lea, bred and owned by Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider, will be ridden by Joel Rosario. The 6-year-old horse, an earner of nearly $1.9 million from 15 career starts, was third in the March 28 Dubai World Cup in his most recent start. After a brief respite, he returned to training for Mott at Saratoga, where he had his final prerace work Saturday, when going a half-mile in 48.58 seconds.
Rosario and Javier Castellano, who rides Commissioner, are scheduled to ride Saturday at Belmont Park before boarding a private plane.
The Foster is one of four graded stakes on a card that starts at 6 p.m. Eastern. Those other races are the Grade 2, $200,000 Fleur de Lis; the Grade 3, $100,000 Matt Winn; and the Grade 3, $100,000 Regret.
◗ Churchill announced Tuesday that overnight purses for the final 11 days of the 38-day spring meet have been boosted 10 percent, effective with the eight-race Thursday card. The raise is due primarily to profitable business during Kentucky Derby week, according to a track release.