Maxfield, Envoutante scaring off closing-day rivals
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Heavy favorites appear to be limiting field sizes for the marquee events that will help bring an end to the Churchill Downs spring meet next Saturday.
Maxfield is scaring off the opposition in the Stephen Foster, while Envoutante is doing the same with the Fleur de Lis. Both Grade 2 races will be run at 1 1/8 miles as Win and You’re In events toward the Nov. 5-6 Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar. There are five other stakes on the card.
Maxfield, the Godolphin homebred with six wins from seven career starts, was scheduled to have his final pre-race breeze for Brendan Walsh this weekend at Churchill ahead of the $600,000 Foster. Jose Ortiz, who has ridden the 4-year-old colt in four of his races and was aboard in a 3 1/4-length score in the April 30 Alysheba, will be in from New York for the Foster.
As of Friday, only a few rivals had been confirmed for Maxfield, with Chess Chief, Silver Dust, and Warrior’s Charge among them. One of the 20 nominees, By My Standards is being pointed to the Aug. 7 Whitney at Saratoga after finishing second in the June 5 Metropolitan Mile in his latest start, said trainer Bret Calhoun.
Similarly, there are only a few confirmed opponents for Envoutante from the 16 fillies and mares named to the $300,000 Fleur de Lis. Point of Honor and Spice Is Nice both are possible shippers from New York, according to Churchill stakes coordinator Dan Bork, and either would figure as the main threat to Envoutante in a field also expected to include Miss Bigly and Dreamalildreamofu.
Envoutante, with Brian Hernandez Jr. riding for trainer Kenny McPeek, has been outstanding for a sustained period, particularly at Churchill, where last fall she won the Grade 2 Falls City by six lengths. Her last two starts resulted in a runner-up finish behind Shedaresthedevil in the Grade 1 La Troienne and an easy win in the May 29 Shawnee on Foster Preview Day.
Ortiz also has a return ride in the Grade 2, $300,000 Wise Dan on Somelikeithotbrown, a last-out winner of the Grade 2 Dinner Party on the May 15 Preakness card at Pimlico. The Wise Dan goes at 1 1/16 miles on the turf.
The other stakes, all with $150,000 purses, are the War Chant and Tepin for 3-year-olds going a mile on turf, and the Grade 3 Bashford Manor and Debutante, for 2-year-olds going six furlongs.
Also set for closing week is the Kelly’s Landing, a $110,000 overnight stakes on Friday. Art Collector, winner of the Blue Grass Stakes last summer, is expected to make his 4-year-old debut in the seven-furlong race and is expected to face Bango, a last-out winner of the Aristides, and possibly Yaupon, unraced since the Dubai Golden Shaheen in late March.
◗ Jockey Robby Albarado has hired Gary Stevens as his agent. Albarado, 47, has not had an agent for much of this year, and has been struggling with a 2-for-57 record. He has ridden 5,223 winners in a career dating to 1990, with his greatest triumph in recent times being the 2020 Preakness last fall aboard Swiss Skydiver.
Stevens, the retired Hall of Fame jockey, will continue to book mounts for Drayden Van Dyke while also working as an on-air analyst for Fox Sports.