Saturday night card has Breeders' Cup implications
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – An 11-race card showcasing 2020 Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil in the Locust Grove is set for Saturday night at Churchill, where twin Breeders’ Cup qualifiers, the Iroquois and Pocahontas, also are among five stakes on an outstanding card.
First post is 6 p.m. Eastern, with the last race going at 11:10.
The Grade 3, $400,000 Locust Grove at 1 1/16 miles will serve as a final prep for the BC Distaff for Shedaresthedevil, whose 3-for-4 record this year includes a triumph over current divisional leader Letruska in the Azeri in March and subsequent victories in the Grade 1 La Troienne at Churchill and Grade 1 Clement Hirsch at Del Mar.
The Iroquois, for colts and geldings, and its filly counterpart, the Pocahontas, both are Grade 3, $300,000 races going 1 1/16 miles. Besides the respective winners earning an expenses-paid berth into their BC races, both also will earn 10 points in the first qualifying races toward the 2022 Kentucky Derby and Oaks.
The other two Saturday stakes are companion sprints, the $300,000 Open Mind and $275,000 Louisville Thoroughbred Society. Greg Foley steps up with the likely favorite in each six-furlong race in Sconsin and Bango, respectively.
Dry conditions and a daytime high of 84 are in the Saturday forecast.
Churchill is hosting three four-day weeks (Thursdays through Sundays) at a dirt-only September meet that runs through Oct. 3. The new turf course is expected to be ready for the 2022 spring meet.
◗ A one-day local fundraiser known as “Give for Good Louisville” that benefits the Backside Learning Center at Churchill is set for Friday. Online donations can be made at giveforgoodlouisville.org/organizations/backsidelearningcenter.