Morticia stays with her own kind in allowance

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Although she was entered to race Saturday night against males in the $120,000 Mighty Beau at Churchill, the standout turf sprinter Morticia will run instead with females Sunday in a $104,000 allowance that anchors a 10-race card.

“That was the plan all along,” said Rusty Arnold, who co-bred Morticia with owner G. Watts Humphrey Jr. “If this Sunday race didn’t go, we would’ve stayed in the Mighty Beau.”

Morticia, a multiple stakes winner of $617,325, has been a model of class and consistency throughout her 21-race career. She’ll have Tyler Gaffalione aboard when she breaks from post 6 in a field of seven fillies and mares in race 9.

Three other allowances (races 5, 6, 8) also are part of an outstanding Sunday program that starts at 12:45 p.m. Eastern.

After Sunday, Churchill goes dark for three days before another four-day week begins Thursday. The local highlight next weekend is the Grade 3 Mint Julep, a filly-mare turf route that will precede the Belmont Stakes simulcast on Saturday.