Monomoy Girl to get rest, skip Pegasus World Cup

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Monomoy Girl has been withdrawn from consideration for the Pegasus World Cup after her ownership group decided to give her a freshening ahead of her 4-year-old campaign of 2019.

Monomoy Girl left the Churchill Downs stable of trainer Brad Cox on Monday for about 60 days of downtime at the Ocala, Fla., farm of Paul Sharp. The Tapizar filly essentially clinched a 2018 Eclipse Award for top 3-year-old filly by winning the Nov. 3 Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Churchill.

“She came out of the Distaff extremely well, but we came to the conclusion it’d be best to go ahead and give her a break,” Cox said. “We’ll bring her back probably at Fair Grounds and get her ready for a race in April or so, maybe the Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park.”

The $9 million Pegasus, to be run Jan. 26 at Gulfstream Park in Florida, was discussed by owners Michael Dubb, Sol Kumin, and other partners before the decision to pass was made, Cox said. In all, Monomoy Girl has won 9 of 11 starts and earned more than $2.95 million.

Fort Peck in a good spot

As opportunities dwindle for 3-year-olds to race exclusively against each other, the connections of Fort Peck were only too happy to find such a spot Friday at Churchill.

The Whitham Thoroughbreds homebred surely will come a solid favorite when facing six other 3-year-olds in the seventh of 10 races, an $82,000, second-level allowance with a $100,000 claiming option. Corey Lanerie has the mount for trainer Ian Wilkes.

Other attractions on a card that starts at 1 p.m. Eastern include a $78,500 allowance (race 9) scheduled for 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf and a $25,000 claimer (race 2) at the infrequently run distance of 1 3/16 miles.

Friday is expected to bring a slight upswing in temperatures, with a high of nearly 50 amid mostly sunny skies. Saturday might even be a little better, with a high of 53 for a card highlighted by the Grade 3 River City for older turf horses.

Sad goodbye for Glyshaw

Tim Glyshaw has said goodbye this year to the two horses who brought his 15-year training career to its pinnacle. The departure of Bucchero on Sunday from the Glyshaw stable at Churchill was far less traumatic – yet bittersweet nonetheless – than when Bullards Alley was lost to a catastrophic injury at Keeneland in April.

Sunday “was a very hard day for me, knowing he won’t be in our barn any longer,” Glyshaw said Monday via Twitter. “The tremendous support he has received the last two years really helps a lot. Thanks from the bottom of my heart.”

Bucchero, an earner of $947,936, is headed to stud at Pleasant Acres in Florida after finishing eighth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint in his 31st and last start. Bullards Alley, a Grade 1 winner, earned $928,622 in 40 starts.

Noms out for Grade 1 Clark

Nominations have been released for the six graded stakes to be run here Thanksgiving week, led by the Grade 1 Clark Handicap on Nov. 23. Seeking the Soul, the 2017 Clark winner and more recently the runner-up in the BC Dirt Mile, heads a list of about eight probables that also includes Leofric and Prime Attraction, the one-two finishers in the Grade 2 Fayette last month at Keeneland. Weight assignments will be released Friday and entries taken Sunday.

The other stakes here next week are the Grade 2 Falls City and Grade 3 Cardinal on Thursday; the Grade 2 Mrs. Revere, in addition to the Clark, on Friday; and the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club and Grade 2 Golden Rod as part of a Stars of Tomorrow card on Saturday, Nov. 24. Closing day is Nov. 25.

Claiming Crown nears

With the 21st Claiming Crown set for Dec. 1, opening day of the championship meet at Gulfstream, a number of Kentucky horsemen are eyeing those six-figure races, most notably Mike Maker, the leading trainer in series history.

Maker, based at the Trackside training annex a few miles from Churchill, said he has about a half-dozen horses to run in the nine Claiming Crown races. Most of Maker’s top horses will transition from Kentucky to Gulfstream after the Churchill meet.

“We’ve already got 35 down there and will top out at 80 this winter,” he said.

Derby futures next week

The first of four pools in the 2019 Kentucky Derby Future Wager will be held concurrent with the final four days of the fall meet (Nov. 22-25), along with the Kentucky Derby Sire Wager.

This will be the 21st year for Churchill offering parimutuel futures and the fourth year for the sire wager. Results from last year: Justify was part of the mutuel field favored at 6-5 in Pool 1, while his sire, Scat Daddy, was 26-1.

◗ The largest annual fundraising event for the Backside Learning Center is set for Friday at the races at Churchill. Live and silent auctions will be held on Millionaires Row 6 to benefit backstretch workers and their families. Tickets are $100. More information is available at backsidelearningcenter.org.

◗ Turfway Park in northern Kentucky is gearing up for four months of winter racing, with the holiday meet (Nov. 28 to Dec. 31) being conducted Wednesdays through Saturdays until the week after Christmas. Condition books are available in print and online.

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