Modesty draws modest but competitive cast
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
The aptly name Enjoyitwhilewecan is one of 11 fillies and mares entered in the Grade 3, $100,000 Modesty Stakes on Saturday at Arlington.
The Modesty dates to 1942, when it was inaugurated at the old Washington Park track in Chicago proper. A couple of dilapidated stables, sitting across the street from the University of Chicago hospital, are all that remain of Washington Park. The Modesty moved to Arlington in the early 1960s, and this could be its final renewal. Arlington’s parent company, Churchill Downs Inc., has put the storied venue on the market for development, implementing a bidding process that closed in June. Applications for 2022 racing dates are due at the end of July with the Illinois Racing Board, and if Arlington doesn’t request dates, there will be no meet next year at Arlington. In fact, the stark reality, that Arlington could be no more after this season, comes further into focus every day. Enjoy it while we can, indeed.
As for the mare herself, she is one of several plausible players in a 1 3/16-mile turf contest for older fillies and mares, a nominal prep for the Grade 1 Beverly D. in August. Trained by Mike Maker, Enjoyitwhilewecan had ascendant turf form between January and May but finished eighth in a June allowance race at Churchill.
“It got tight on the fence, and she didn’t really want to go through there,” Maker said. “Other than the last race, she’s run good every time for us.”
In a second-level allowance race in May at Churchill, Enjoyitwhilewecan finished third, beaten a neck by victorious Family Way, a key Modesty contender. An American-bred daughter of Uncle Mo, 4-year-old Family Way made her first six starts in France, racing on turf at provincial tracks before a November trip to Deauville produced a career-best performance on the all-weather surface there, after which Family Way was exported and turned over to trainer Brendan Walsh. At Keeneland in April she had a tricky trip finishing second of 12 in a 1 3/16-mile grass race before improving to knock out the allowance condition May 21 at Churchill, where she got her final furlong in a quick 11.42 seconds scoring in a nine-furlong grass race.
Joy Epifora is the other obvious threat. Scratched on July 7 from a turf stakes at Indiana Grand in favor of this spot, Joy Epifora has gone 0 for 9 since being imported from Argentina, but she has turned in a few performances good enough to win the Modesty. The mare’s run is limited to 1 1/2 furlongs at most, trainer Ignacio Correas said, making proper timing essential. Correas said Joy Epifora’s half-mile dirt workout on July 12 at Keeneland was the best breeze she’s ever put forth. Her official time for the drill was a moderate 49.40 seconds, but Joy Epifora got her final quarter-mile in 23 seconds flat and did so under no encouragement. The final Modesty looks modest in quality, and Joy Epifora is good enough to win it on her day.
American Derby
When King of Miami came back after finishing fourth as the favorite in June 10 Arlington allowance race, trainer Larry Rivelli was struck by the volume of frothy saliva coming out of the horse’s mouth. A tongue tie, Rivelli surmised, was not working for King of Miami, and when Rivelli ran the horse without one June 23, he won the $150,000 Mystic Lake Derby at odds of 15-1.
Rivelli might have unlocked King of Miami’s potential with the equipment change, but King of Miami will need another forward move if he’s to win the $100,000 American Derby on Saturday. For one thing, Mystic Lake Derby runner-up T D Vance ran the best race that night, and for another, the American Derby, top to bottom, is a tougher spot than the one at Canterbury.
Eleven are entered in the 1 1/16-mile American Derby, and several are serious front-runners. That’s not good for the capable Accredit, who has won both his turf starts but prefers forward placement and is drawn inside. Fort Moultrie, who employs a stalking style, won an Arlington turf allowance in his most recent start and stands a reasonable chance, but if the pace turns intemperate, maybe El Kabong can get up at a price.
El Kabong exits a narrow maiden win at Churchill Downs but has turned in lively final quarter-miles in his last two starts, and Rusty Arnold, hardly a trainer known to throw caution to the wind, tries him in stakes company fresh off the maiden score.