An overflow field of 13 was entered for the Thursday feature at Churchill Downs, a second-level allowance race carded for 5 1/2 furlongs on turf and open to $80,000 claimers. The morning line lists Murdock as the 5-2 favorite, and with just three starts behind him, the last two quite fast on the Beyer Speed Figure scale, perhaps even better days lie ahead for this 4-year-old gelding. The future looks even brighter for the morning-line favorite in Thursday’s sixth race, which immediately precedes the feature on the eight-race card. This six-furlong dirt sprint, restricted to 3-year-old fillies and open to $125,000 claimers, drew 11 entrants. Only Feminism has made fewer than two starts, but none of her opponents have run as fast as Feminism did winning her debut April 2 at Oaklawn Park – and the 89 Beyer she got that day looks entirely legit. “She had very good works going into the race, and she ran to them,” said Steve Asmussen, who trains Feminism for Gus King. “She seems very talented.” :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Feminism, by Curlin, sold at a yearling auction for $200,000 and was pinhooked at a June 2-year-old sale for $975,000. She turned in an official workout June 28 at Keeneland but did not show up on the work tab again until Feb. 25 at Sam Houston. The filly proved worth the wait. Racing just off the pacesetter but stuck between rivals much of her debut trip, Feminism emerged with the lead in upper stretch and drew away through the final half-furlong to win by 2 3/4 lengths before galloping out much farther in front. Asmussen quickly sent her into his Churchill string, and Feminism has posted five local workouts. The fastest of them came May 8: Placed inside the two-race maiden Armet, Feminism traveled strongly and comfortably throughout, flashing her ample ability in the relatively short periods her rider allowed her to fully display it. Connections obviously would have preferred drawing someplace other than the rail, and there’s ample speed outside Feminism and jockey Jose Ortiz, but Asmussen predicted the filly would settle and take dirt if forced to trip out behind rivals. As for Murdock in the actual feature, he ships for trainer Larry Rivelli from Hawthorne, where Murduck debuted on dirt in June 2024, and won by more than 10 lengths. For an encore, Murdock did . . . nothing. The gelding didn’t start again until this past March 22 in a Fair Grounds turf sprint. His second-place finish there yielded a strong 96 Beyer, and the performance took on added heft when the winner, John the Beer Man, returned to take a second-level turf sprint allowance in New York. Murdock came back to clear his first allowance condition turf-sprinting at Keeneland, where he did get an ideal pressing trip while facing only seven foes. We’re in Trouble could contend at a fair price, though perhaps not so high as his 8-1 morning line. We’re in Trouble has two wins and three seconds from five turf sprints at Santa Anita, and his only lesser grass sprint start came in his 2025 finale, when We’re in Troubled tried 6 1/2 furlongs at European-style Kentucky Downs. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.