Micheline gets some class relief in Ladies Marathon

The curtain comes down Sunday on a frenetic week of action at Kentucky Downs, but not before three more stakes are run and another $2.5 million or so in purses is paid out at the turf-only track in south-central Kentucky.

The $550,000 Kentucky Downs Ladies Marathon anchors the closing-day program as the ninth of 10 races. It is directly preceded by the $500,000 Ainsworth (race 7) and $500,000 Music City (race 8). All three stakes drew maximum fields of 12.

An outstanding card also includes four allowances (races 2, 3, 4, 5) and two maiden-specials (races 1 and 6), all with six-figure purses. All non-claiming/starter purses at Kentucky Downs include bonuses restricted to Kentucky-breds.

First post is 12:20 p.m. Central. Sunshine and a high of 88 are in the Franklin, Ky., forecast, with the ground once again likely to be quite firm. Live action on the Kentucky circuit moves Thursday to Churchill Downs.

Ladies Marathon

Micheline has gotten very little done since she won the Grade 2 Hillsborough at Tampa Bay Downs, one of the deepest races of the winter in the filly-mare turf division, but her accomplishments and the company she has kept is enough to make her a lukewarm favorite in this contentious 10th running of the Ladies Marathon.

Micheline has finished ahead of a total of just four opponents in her three starts since the March 6 Hillsborough, but all three were graded races. The 4-year-old Godolphin homebred will be taking a class drop on Sunday, when she breaks from post 3 and reunites with the red-hot Joel Rosario, who entered the weekend with a Kentucky Downs single-meet record for most wins (13) by a jockey already established. Rosario rode Micheline last September when she upset the Dueling Grounds Oaks in her only race over the unique Kentucky Downs surface.

If Micheline doesn’t get back on track, there are another half-dozen or so capable of winning. Other contenders in the Ladies Marathon, to be contested at the once-around distance of 1 5/16 miles, include Blame Debbie (post 10, Manny Franco), a graded winner who finished first before being disqualified in her lone Kentucky Downs start; Go Big Blue Nation (post 11, Flavien Prat), a California shipper in steady form; Luck Money (post 4, Javier Castellano), who finished well ahead of Micheline when second as a slight favorite when last they met in the Robert G. Dick Memorial at Delaware Park in July; and La Lune (post 5, Adam Beschizza), making her North American debut as a group winner overseas.

Music City Stakes

Rosario rides morning-line favorite Tobys Heart (post 6) for trainer Brian Lynch in the Music City, a 6 1/2-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies. Tobys Heart won the 2020 Bolton Landing at Saratoga and the Limestone at Keeneland in April, both turf sprints. The fact Tobys Heart is turning back from solid efforts going a two-turn mile in the Tepin at Churchill and the Lake George at Saratoga seems likely to make her late kick going this shorter distance all the more potent.

If Tobys Heart doesn’t fire, then Navratilova (post 5, Brian Hernandez Jr.) is among those primed for a mild upset. From a standout female line of G. Watts Humphrey Jr. homebreds, Navratilova became a stakes winner when she held off Tobys Heart by a half-length in the June 26 Tepin.

Other players in this second running of the Music City include Illegal Smile (post 7, Irad Ortiz Jr.), beaten a head as the runner-up in the Galway last month on the Saratoga turf, and Running Memories (post 10, John Velazquez), who figures prominent from the start exiting shorter races at Monmouth Park.

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Ainsworth Stakes

Lady Danae, an eye-catching winner over the Saratoga turf in her lone start, will break from post 12 under Luis Saez as the 3-1 program favorite in the Ainsworth, for 2-year-old fillies going 6 1/2 furlongs.

Lady Danae will look to further the cause of her trainer, Joe Sharp, in his bid for the Kentucky Downs training title. Sharp entered the final two-day weekend of this six-day meet as one of four trainers with three wins, all just one behind Steve Asmussen.

Others meriting a big chance in the Ainsworth are Koala Princess (post 2, Rosario) and Mystic Eyes (post 9, Velazquez), each also making her second start off a flashy debut in the East. Poppy Flower (post 8) was runner-up in the Bolton Landing at Saratoga last month for Wesley Ward.

Jose Ortiz is named to ride Poppy Flower, but he tested positive for COVID-19 after entries were drawn and won’t be riding Sunday.

◗ A pair of races Sunday are named for giants in the racing industry who recently died. Race 5 honors the memory of Dr. David Richardson, who died this week, and Race 10 honors B. Wayne Hughes, who died Aug. 18.