Limousine Liberal using Aristides as bridge to bigger stakes

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Fresh off a win in a $500,000 race, Limousine Liberal is entered back Saturday in the $100,000 Aristides at Churchill Downs.

There’s a method to the madness. Lacking few desirable options aside from the $250,000 True North next Friday at Belmont Park, trainer Ben Colebrook essentially is using the Grade 3 Aristides as a steppingstone to richer races this summer in New York.

“The idea of the True North, we kicked it around,” said Colebrook, referring to himself and K.K. Ball, who owns and co-bred Limousine Liberal with her husband, Lexington, Ky., homebuilder Mike Ball.

“You do have almost another week to run there, but once you throw in the ship and everything and the fact A. P. Indian is probably going in there, we thought staying close to home was the way to go. Assuming he runs well, we’ll take a look at maybe the [July 8] Belmont Sprint Championship and the Vanderbilt [July 29 at Saratoga] as our next options. I’m dying to get him to Belmont Park.”

In his last start, Limousine Liberal held sway in the Grade 2, $500,000 Churchill Downs on the May 6 Kentucky Derby undercard for easily the biggest victory of a 14-race career in which he has four wins, five seconds, and $771,120 in earnings. The 5-year-old Limousine Liberal was assigned the outside post in a field of eight older horses in the 29th running of the Aristides, a six-furlong race slotted as the 10th of 11 Saturday races. First post is 12:45 p.m. Eastern, with the Aristides scheduled for 5:21.

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In the seven-furlong Churchill Downs, Limousine Liberal and regular rider Jose Ortiz were prominent from the bell, putting away the favored Masochistic and holding off a belated surge by Awesome Slew to post the fourth triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure (101) of his career. The slight turnback Saturday should not present a major obstacle, given the favorable post and his natural speed. Corey Lanerie replaces Ortiz, who has a full dance card Saturday at Belmont.

“The horse came out of it really well,” said Colebrook, who is based at Keeneland in Lexington. “He kept his weight good, his appetite’s been good. He’s had a couple of nice breezes in between. The half-mile the other day was slow [49.80 seconds] by design.”

Limousine Liberal will be favored, but not prohibitively so. A few of his opponents are capable of the mild upset, most notably Union Jackson (post 3, Florent Geroux), fresh from a layoff of nearly four months for Steve Asmussen, and Wilbo (post 4, Albin Jimenez) and Recount (post 5, Chris Landeros), the one-two finishers in a key May 12 allowance at Churchill.

Wabel, Abbaa, The Truth Or Else, and Schivarelli complete the field.

The Aristides, named for the winner of the first Kentucky Derby in 1875, was first run in 1989, when Bet the Pot won under Charlie Woods Jr. Last year, Alsvid prevailed by a head over Limousine Liberal, with Union Jackson another half-length back in third.

◗ One race earlier, a well-matched field of older turf sprinters will clash in the $65,000 Mighty Beau. Latent Revenge, the 23-1 runner-up in the Grade 3 Twin Spires Turf Sprint on the Kentucky Oaks undercard, figures as the horse to catch in a field of 10 that also includes Forgive, Vici, and Partly Mocha as major contenders.

The Mighty Beau is part of a solid undercard that also includes two allowances (races 3 and 7). Brad Cox could be in for a big day as he continues to make a strong bid for his first training title at his hometown track. Cox has entries in eight races, including several favorites.