Sharing and Alms square off in Tepin; War Chant Stakes wide open

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Sharing spent the winter steadily working, with an eye toward a season debut in her home state of Maryland before a potential trip to England. Meanwhile, another Fair Hill-based filly, Alms, emerged as a divisional standout during Sharing’s winter break, setting her sights on the Keeneland spring meeting.

But with both the Keeneland and Pimlico spring meets scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic, Sharing and Alms find themselves thrown together as co-favorites for the inaugural running of the $100,000 Tepin Stakes for 3-year-old fillies going a mile on the Churchill Downs turf Saturday. With limited stakes opportunities – especially on turf – at this point in the racing calendar, the Tepin and its male counterpart, the $100,000 War Chant, have both drawn competitive, overflow fields.

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Sharing, trained by Graham Motion for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gainesway, won three of her four starts last year to become an Eclipse Award divisional finalist. After winning the Selima Stakes on the Laurel turf, she shipped across the country to Santa Anita for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on Nov. 1. In a full field of 14, she stalked the pace and drove clear in the lane to win by 1 1/4 lengths over favored Daahyeh.

Sharing has been working steadily on the dirt and all-weather training surfaces at Fair Hill, where the turf course is undergoing renovation. The filly had a pair of five-furlong works in April, and her last three works, all on the all-weather surface, have come at either six furlongs or seven furlongs, suggesting Motion has worked to put a foundation into her off the layoff.

Godolphin homebred Alms won her first two starts, including the Grade 3 Matron Stakes at Belmont, sprinting on the turf before successfully stretching out to a mile to win the Grade 3 Jimmy Durante Stakes in November at Del Mar. In her season debut for trainer Michael Stidham, she again won around two turns, taking the Shantel Lanerie Memorial in February at Fair Grounds. Alms earned Beyer Speed Figures of 88 in the Durante and 87 in the Lanerie Memorial, both edging Sharing’s career-best of 86 at the Breeders’ Cup.

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Alms has worked four times at Fair Hill since returning from Fair Grounds, including a five-furlong bullet May 17 on the synthetic surface.

Sharing and Alms are both 3-1 on the morning line. Sharing, under regular rider Manny Franco, breaks from post 9 in the main body of the field of 14. Alms, partnered for the third straight race with Paco Lopez, drew the outside post.

Eddie Kenneally saddles a one-two punch in Grade 1 winner Abscond and Outburst, unbeaten in North America. Abscond won the Natalma Stakes at Woodbine, but was seventh behind Sharing at the Breeders’ Cup. This year, she was third in the Ginger Brew and second in the Grade 3 Herecomesthebride at Gulfstream, beaten less than a length each time.

Outburst has won both her starts since coming to Kenneally’s barn, including the Grade 3 Florida Oaks. Both fillies will again face Walk In Marrakesh, second by a nose in the Natalma and by a head in the Florida Oaks.

After sending out Alms, Godolphin and Stidham have a major player in the War Chant with Hieronymus, who is 4 for 5 lifetime. The colt comes in off wins on the Fair Grounds turf in the Randy P. Romero Memorial at a mile and the Black Gold Stakes at 1 1/16 miles. His only loss came when eighth last fall on yielding Churchill Downs turf. While rain has persisted this week in Kentucky, Hieronymus did win on yielding turf at Fair Grounds last year.

Field Pass won the Dania Beach Stakes on the Gulfstream turf before narrowly winning the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby on Turfway’s Polytrack. He is one of three Grade 3 winners in this field, along with Kitten’s Joy winner Island Commish and Cecil B. DeMille winner Smooth Like Strait.

Stakes winner Billy Batts, second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, makes his first start since a trip overseas to finish seventh in the Saudi Derby.