Ready for Summer positioned well in turf sprint

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The new Twilight Thursday concept at the Churchill Downs spring meet has been embraced by local fans to the extent that track officials are quietly contemplating doing the same for Fridays at future meets.

Horsemen might object, of course, to the exhausting demands of such a drawn-out schedule, but that’s something to be hashed out at a later date. In the meantime, younger folks with a penchant for food trucks and $1 beer will be back Thursday for another eight-race card, one with a pair of allowances on opposite ends.

The richest of those is a $54,000, second-level turf sprint carded as the second race. Ready for Summer, entered for a $62,500 claiming option that’s part of the race conditions, figures as perhaps the top contender in a field that will max out at six, assuming the race stays on the grass.

Bred and owned by the family partnership that includes her trainer, Chris Block, Ready for Summer will be ridden by Julien Leparoux when breaking from post 6.

The second allowance of the evening goes as race 6. It’s a $52,000, first-level turf route in which Bugle figures as a solid favorite, assuming Cara Marie will be scratched after winning a non-graded stakes Saturday at Indiana Grand.

First post Thursday is 5 p.m. Eastern, with the eighth and last race set for 8:39.

OPTIONAL CLAIMER (RACE 2)

KEY CONTENDERS

Ready for Summer (Last 3 Beyers: 79-81-79)

◗ This Team Block homebred has been knocking on the door at this level and most recently was second for this same condition here on the Thursday evening before the Preakness; an open-air outside box trip under Leparoux should put her in the right spot once they straighten away.

Zamquick (Last 3 Beyers: 74-76-74)

◗ This steady Florida-bred mare has gone winless in six races since pulling a 25-1 upset at Saratoga last summer and has met some tough customers in the meantime while specializing exclusively in these turf dashes; a nifty stalking trip is on order with leading jockey Corey Lanerie aboard.

I’m a Looker (Last 3 Beyers: 78-66-71)

◗ The only 3-year-old in the field makes her first start against older females after having been scratched last week as part of a stable coupling in a race restricted to 3-year-olds; she exits a first-level allowance triumph at six furlongs over the Keeneland main track.

Gift Receipt (Last 3 Beyers: 85-70-71)

◗ This ultra-quick filly showed the way to the eighth pole to the likes of Katie’s Eyes and Free as a Bird before giving way in the Unbridled Sidney, but this drop in class could take her even deeper into the lane.