Rare score for No. 18
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – When American Pharoah won the Kentucky Derby last Saturday it was the first time in the 140-year history of the race that the winer wore the No. 18 saddletowel. But it wasn’t the first time a No. 18 has won a race at Churchill Downs.
In the fifth race on Nov. 3, 2004, a filly named Irena Point, trained by the late Bob Holthus and ridden by John McKee, won as No. 18 in a $15,000 maiden-claiming sprint. The top four finishers were numbers 18-9-14-7.
The 6 1/2-furlong race came during a very brief period in the tenure of racing secretary Doug Bredar when – in an attempt to insure larger fields – as many as 14 horses could run in certain races, and an also-eligibles list of four more (Nos. 15-18) was maintained. Irena Point drew in off that list to become the only No. 18 known to win a Churchill race prior to the 2015 Derby.
The Jockeys’ Guild ultimately questioned the safety of running such large fields on a regular basis, and Churchill management soon abandoned the practice.
◗ Lea, the Bill Mott-trained standout being pointed to the June 13 Stephen Foster Handicap, had his first work since finishing third in the March 28 Dubai World Cup when he breezed a half-mile Monday in 50.20 seconds at Keeneland.
Untapable, the 2014 Kentucky Oaks winner, also breezed Monday, going five furlongs at Churchill in 1:00.80 in her second work since she won the April 10 Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park.
◗ It’s not exactly the Rolling Stones or the Police, but Churchill is getting back into the concert business. The track announced this week that O.A.R. will play under the lights on Sept. 9, with Allen Stone and Brynn Elliott as supporting acts. Tickets go on sale Friday.
The Rolling Stones played here to great fanfare in September 2006, and the Police performed the following summer.
◗ A. Stevens Miles, who owned a number of stakes winners trained by Carl Nafzger and Ian Wilkes, died April 29 in Louisville at the age of 85.
Miles, an Army veteran and career banker, owned such top horses as Warrior’s Reward, winner of the Grade 1 Carter in 2010, and Lead Story, Westerly Breeze, and Neck ’n Neck.