Mott runners expected to figure prominently in Stephen Foster, Fleur de Lis

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Nominations for the five graded stakes on the June 15 Stephen Foster night card at Churchill Downs don’t close until Saturday, and yet there’s already plenty of speculation as to what those races will look like.

Bill Mott, the Hall of Fame trainer who won his first Kentucky Derby earlier this month when Country House was elevated on the disqualification of Maximum Security, figures as a major player in the two biggest races on Foster night. Mott will be on hand from his New York base to saddle Yoshida for the Grade 2, $600,000 Stephen Foster and Elate for the Grade 2, $250,000 Fleur de Lis.

The Japanese-bred Yoshida, in training at Saratoga, will be making his first start since finishing sixth in the March 30 Dubai World Cup. He is among a trio of likely favorites, along with Seeking the Soul and Quip, being aimed at the 1 1/8-mile Foster. Other likely starters include Alkhaatam, Thirst for Life, and possibly the Mexican-raced star Kukulkan, although Ignacio Correas, who is overseeing the day-to-day training of Kukulkan, said Monday he is inclined to shop for an easier spot.

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Elate, a two-time Grade 1 winner, has been in training in recent weeks at Churchill with Mott’s longtime assistant Kenny McCarthy. The 5-year-old mare ran third behind Midnight Bisou last month in the Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park in her most recent start. She’ll have some stern opposition in the 1 1/8-mile Fleur de Lis, with She’s a Julie, Red Ruby, Blue Prize, and Skeptic among the others likely to enter.

Both the Foster and Fleur de Lis are Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In events.

The other June 15 stakes are the Grade 2 Wise Dan, Grade 3 Matt Winn, and Grade 3 Regret. Among those likely for the Wise Dan, a 1 1/16-mile turf race, are Bourbon Resolution, who won the Ben Ali last month on the main track at Keeneland but will be switching surfaces after finishing seventh in the Alysheba at Churchill earlier this month.

Mott and the owners and breeders of Country House will be presented with their engraved Derby trophies during a traditional between-races ceremony.