Quick Tip positioned for upset attempt in Cardinal

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - With nearly $350,000 and a Grade 3 win to her credit, Quick Tip has accomplished pretty much everything owner Will Farish and trainer Neil Howard have asked.

Yet there is little doubt that if Quick Tip can pull a mild upset Saturday in the $150,000 Cardinal Handicap at Churchill Downs, it would be the highlight of her career. Quick Tip, a 4-year-old Unaccounted For filly, is expected to be part of a full and highly competitive field in the Cardinal, a Grade 3, 1 1/8-mile turf race.

"She won the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Oaks when she was 3, so we've got that black type under our belt," said Howard.

"Her last race at Keeneland was super," he added, referring to a 3 1/4-length victory over Watch and Solvig in an Oct. 17 allowance. "She's done really good since that race. I look for her to run well again Saturday."

Besides Quick Tip, these fillies and mares are expected to enter: Bien Nicole, Byzantine, Curious Conundrum, Five Fishes, Kiss the Devil, Lady Linda, Lady of the Future, Lapuma, San Dare, Secret River, Snow Dance, Surya, and Verruma.

Only 12 will be allowed to start.

Bien Nicole, a winner of her last five starts for trainer Don Von Hemel, could be a slight favorite.

The Cardinal is the lone stakes to be run here this weekend. Saturday also marks the trainer Nick Zito bobblehead giveaway.

Allamerican Bertie works fast

Allamerican Bertie, who figures to be no worse than second choice to Take Charge Lady in the $250,000 Falls City Handicap on Nov. 28, drilled a bullet five furlongs in 59.80 seconds over a fast track Wednesday morning.

The work was the first for Allamerican Bertie since she posted an easy eight-length victory in her turf debut. The 3-year-old filly will switch back to dirt in the 1 1/8-mile Falls City.

Other Wednesday works included five-furlong breezes by a pair of colts being pointed to the Nov. 30 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes by trainer Ken McPeek: Ten Cents a Shine went in a minute flat, while White Cat went in an easy 1:04.

Howard okay with Rock Slide's loss

Considering everything, Howard was happy with the way Rock Slide ran in the feature race here Tuesday. After racing several lengths off the pace, Rock Slide rallied strongly to pull virtually even with Booklet at the top of the stretch, then continued willingly to be defeated only three-quarters of length.

"That was a really good horse who beat him," said Howard. "Plus, I was concerned about how he'd come back from the quarter crack he popped that made me scratch him from the Fayette" on Oct. 26 at Keeneland.

"All in all, I thought he ran a heck of a race," he added.

Among the horses finishing behind Booklet and Rock Slide were stakes winners Dash for Daylight and Twilight Road.

Tuesdays will not be missed

From a business perspective, Tuesdays will not be missed when Churchill goes to a five-day schedule next fall.

Ontrack attendance here Tuesday was announced at 3,441. The ontrack handle (live racing only) was a meager $363,037, barely more than $100 per capita.

Churchill already has announced that it will eliminate Tuesdays during the 2003 fall meet, when the calendar again will stretch the meet to five weeks. The fall meet usually lasts just four weeks.

- The jockey agent known only as Clarence has begun working for veteran Patti Cooksey. Clarence also works for Dean Butler.