Matt Winn, Regret come up strong

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Older Thoroughbreds won’t have the Churchill Downs spotlight for the entirety of Saturday night. Three-year-olds will get their turn in a pair of Grade 3, $150,000 races – the Matt Winn and Regret – while, later on, Arabians will even get into the mix by way of the President of the United Arab Emirates Cup.

Those supporting events also are deserving of horseplayers’ close scrutiny during an 11-race Downs After Dark card that starts at 6 p.m. Eastern and is highlighted by the Stephen Foster, Fleur de Lis, and Wise Dan.

Here’s a rundown of the supporting stakes:

Matt Winn (race 5, 8:03)

The 5 1/4-length victory by Mr. Money in the Grade 3 Pat Day Mile on Kentucky Derby Day sure has aged well. Fifth-place finisher Everfast wheeled back to run second in the Preakness, and runner-up Hog Creek Hustle won the Woody Stephens last Saturday.

“Those horses did kind of flatter us,” said Bret Calhoun, who will give Gabriel Saez a leg up again when he sends out Mr. Money against six others in the 1 1/16-mile Matt Winn.

Mr. Money had finished no better than fourth in three demanding spots – the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Risen Star, and Louisiana Derby – but following the career-best effort in the Pat Day Mile, Calhoun believes the colt is on the threshold of joining the division’s elite.

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“I know the two turns is a little different than the one-turn mile, but the way he looked last time, I don’t think distance should be a problem,” he said. “It looked like he could’ve run around there again.”

Among the chief threats to Mr. Money are Knicks Go, trying to rediscover his 2-year-old form; Nolo Contesto, in from California for John Sadler; and Signalman, looking to rebound off a ninth-place finish in the Preakness.

This is the 22nd running of the Matt Winn, which honors the man often credited with being highly instrumental in making the Kentucky Derby what it is today. Winn was inducted posthumously into the Racing Hall of Fame in 2017 as a Pillar of the Turf.

Regret (race 9, 10:19)

Wayne Catalano tried to look on the bright side last month when discussing the bitter disappointment of his stable star Liora being injured, forcing the filly to go without a follow-up to her runner-up effort in the Kentucky Oaks.

“We do have another good filly in the barn,” said Catalano, referring to Winter Sunset.

The Regret would seem an ideal spot for Winter Sunset to start proving just that. In a 1 1/8-mile turf race that lacks a graded winner among its field of 11, Winter Sunset will break from post 1 and is likely to come favored after most recently finishing a creditable third behind two of the best in the 3-year-old filly turf niche – Concrete Rose and Newspaperofrecord – in the May 4 Edgewood Stakes over the local course.

“I couldn’t be happier with the way she’s training right now,” said Catalano. “She’s got a lot of upside to her, as they say.”

Among her most capable opponents in what shapes up as a very deep lineup are Gamblin Train and Princesa Carolina, both last-out winners in two-turn turf allowances on this circuit; the Casse family trio of Fortunate Girl (for dad Mark), and Hard Legacy and Belle Laura (both for son Norm), all with valuable turf-stakes experience under them; and Varenka, Hungry Kitten, and Choate Bridge, all in off solid maiden wins over turf.

This is the 50th running of the Regret, the Hall of Fame horse whose victory here in 1914 made her the first of three fillies to win the Kentucky Derby.

UAE Cup (race 10, 10:48)

Followers of top-level Arabian racing will quickly recognize several of the entries in this 1 1/16-mile race, which carries a $100,000 purse and a Grade 1 ranking for the breed.

Those familiar names in a field of 10 include 8-year-old Paddys Day (post 8), who won the UAE Cup in 2016 and owns a remarkable career record of 24 for 43 and a $588,246 bankroll; Easter Man (post 5), a 7-year-old with a three-race win streak and an overall record of 14 for 31; and Quick and Rich (post 9), the 2017 UAE Cup winner who tuned up for this with a key prep last month at Delaware Park versus Madjikman (post 1).

This is the seventh time since 2011 that Churchill and the Arabian Horse Association have hosted the UAE Cup. The winning time for the 2018 running was 1:54.65.