Nine to tango with Bango in St. Matthews

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – All due respect to the Kentucky Derby horses who have come to town looking to enter the history books this week, but Bango is Mr. Churchill Downs. The winningest horse in the track’s recorded history looks to extend his record when he makes another appearance in the $200,000 St. Matthews Overnight Stakes for older sprinters on Thursday.

“He is 8 years old, and you wouldn’t know it by looking at him,” said Greg Foley, who has trained Bango throughout his career for Fred and Debbie Schwartz’s Tamaroak Stable. “He’s got dapples like apples all over him.”

Millionaire Bango owns a record 12 victories beneath the twin spires, including the 2021 and 2022 editions of the Aristides Stakes, the 2021 Kelly’s Landing, the 2022 Bet On Sunshine, the 2023 St. Matthews, and the 2023 Louisville Thoroughbred Society. However, he was fourth as the favorite in the 2024 St. Matthews during a period when he seemed to go through a mental slump. He got his spark back for a classy allowance victory last September, which gave him the win record. That race came on a sloppy, sealed track, and wet conditions could come into play this week.

“The first time I ran him last year, I thought he was a mortal lock and just kind of ran dull,” Foley said of last year’s St. Matthews, discussing the horse’s mental state. “And then when he broke the record, it was one of his best times, numbers, ever. It wasn’t that he couldn’t do it. He’s always been a sound-legged horse. We’re lucky there. As long as he wants to do it, it’s all there, physically.”

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Bango was fifth in the Bet On Sunshine and third in another allowance against some of the same foes he bested in September to end his 2024 season. He is back to test his competitive capacity after his usual winter freshening.

“He looks great, doing great, just hope he hasn’t lost his fire,” Foley said. “He trains as good as he ever has, he acts as good as he ever did. His talent’s still there – just, they get to this age sometimes, they lose a little want-to. I don’t think he has. We’ll find out.”

A key to the St. Matthews will be if Speed Boat Beach retains his own fire after more than a year away from the races since winning the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes in December 2023. Part of Bob Baffert’s California arsenal, he is a massive threat to win on class but should also contribute to a sharp early pace that would benefit several late-running Kentucky horses, including Bango. Speed Boat Beach’s strategy should be no secret from post 3, inside all the other speed. He could get company early from Bango’s stablemate Champlin, who Foley called “a very fast horse” and who was second by a neck in last fall’s Bet On Sunshine to the classy Gulfport.

Valentine Candy has shown versatility in his running style and has drawn outside in the field of 10 – a double-edged sword, as he will be able to track the setup but must avoid being hung wide. The colt, a six-time stakes winner on dirt, faltered in a turf try in his season debut, which can likely be discounted.

Happy Is a Choice bested the talented Skelly in the Louisville Thoroughbred Society last September, and he picks up Mike Smith in the irons off a productive winter at Oaklawn. Miles Ahead and Henro, both late-runners, also are stakes winners at Churchill Downs.

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