Open Mind is round 8 for rivals Sconsin and Bell's the One

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – There’s no hard-and-fast rule saying Sconsin and Bell’s the One must run in the same race – and take turns beating each other when they do – but you couldn’t be blamed for believing one exists.

Indeed, the familiar rivals will be meeting for the eighth time Saturday as obvious favorites in the 13th running of the $300,000 Open Mind at dirt-only Churchill Downs.

In seven prior meetings, Bell’s the One leads Sconsin by a 4-3 score, all when competing at the highest levels of their division. Their first matchup came during the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Keeneland, where, logically enough, both mares are striving to return Nov. 5. Bell’s the One was third, just a half-length ahead of Sconsin in fourth in that long-ago first clash.

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“All I can say is I believe we’ll have the best horse in the race Saturday,” said trainer Neil Pessin, who has guided Bell’s the One to 12 wins, including 10 in stakes, during a 26-race career yielding nearly $1.8 million in earnings for the Lothenbach Stables. “If we don’t have bad luck, we should win.”

Bell’s the One, with Corey Lanerie up as usual, will break from post 4 in the six-furlong Open Mind. Sconsin, who like Bell’s the One tends to do her best running in the final quarter-mile, will have Tyler Gaffalione aboard from post 1.

Sconsin, trained by Greg Foley for the Lloyd Madison Farms of Fred Schwartz, has been quite the homebody over the past year, competing exclusively at Churchill. The 5-year-old mare edged Bell’s the One by a half-length in the Open Mind on this same weekend last year before getting more than eight months off. All three of her 2022 races also have come here, including a victory in the Winning Colors and a runner-up finish in the Chicago, both of them Grade 3 events.

Only three others are entered, with Joyful Cadence and Cheetara likely to contest the early pace. Club Car, first or second in 18 of 28 starts, rounds out the field.

The Open Mind, named for the D. Wayne Lukas-trained filly inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011, is carded as the seventh of 11 races, leading off an all-stakes pick five (races 7-11) with a 50-cent minimum.

Isolate 7-5 favorite

The male counterpart to the Open Mind is the $275,000 Louisville Thoroughbred Society, which follows some 90 minutes later as race 10. Isolate is the 7-5 morning-line favorite in a field of eight, partly because of the presence of the ever-popular Joel Rosario taking the call and partly because the 4-year-old Florida-bred earned a 100 Beyer Figure winning the restricted Tale of the Cat in his latest at Saratoga for Tom Amoss.

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Isolate will be turning back from seven to six furlongs and is likely to be challenged on the early pace by Top Gunner, winner of the St. Matthews here during Kentucky Derby week.

Miles Ahead, the national claimer of the year for 2021, figures in a nice stalking spot right in behind them, while Necker Island, a real workhorse, could present a deep-stretch threat once again.

In a previous version of this article it was incorrectly stated in the headline and story that Sconsin and Bell's the One had previously raced each other seven times. The 2022 Open Mind will be their eighth meeting.