Silver Freak faces easier task in Friday turf feature
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Silver Freak took a drubbing in Canada in his last start, but no wonder. Four of his opponents in that race, the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile, wound up in the Breeders’ Cup, including Trade Storm, a hard-closing third in the BC Mile, and Bobby’s Kitten, the winner of the BC Turf Sprint.
Duly regrouped, with four workouts in the interim, Silver Freak returns Friday in the $47,000 feature, a third-level allowance scheduled for a mile on turf. Many fans will be willing to forgive the 10th-place finish for Silver Freak in the Sept. 14 Woodbine Mile and focus on some of his more representative efforts, including a two-back, wire-to-wire score in a Saratoga optional claimer.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 1 Silver Freak. Drops out of the Woodbine Mile, which had two next-out winners (including BC Turf Sprint winner Bobby’s Kitten) and four others in the money next out. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Julien Leparoux gets the call from trainer Brian Lynch on Silver Freak, who was assigned post 1 in a field of eight 3-year-olds and up in the eighth of 10 Friday races. A 5-year-old Kentucky-bred by Badge of Silver, he figures as the horse to catch, as Shining Copper (post 3, Brian Hernandez Jr.) appears to be the only opposing speed.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 3 Shining Copper. Third last out in the Remington Green, a race that has come back weak with next-out runners going 4-0-0-0 so far. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
First post Friday is 12:40 p.m. Eastern, with the feature set for 4:04. One other allowance, a first-level sprint, directly follows as race 9.
Next Friday, Nov. 14, will be the only Downs After Dark program (4:30 first post) of the 26-day fall meet.
KEY CONTENDERS
Silver Freak (Last 3 Beyers: 65-95-89)
◗ With just four starts this year and nine overall, his races have been judiciously and conservatively spaced by Lynch, who continues to enjoy his career-best year with almost $3.9 million in stable earnings.
◗ He tends to draw close attention from fans, who have made him a strong favorite in five of his nine starts – just as he’s likely to be their choice again Friday.
King David (Last 3 Beyers: 83-84-81)
◗ A Grade 1 winner more than two years ago as a newly claimed 3-year-old, this Mike Maker trainee has won just once in 11 subsequent starts while burning quite a bit of his followers’ money along the way.
◗ Corey Lanerie, who has won or tied for leading rider at six of the last seven Churchill meets, is at it again, having opened daylight atop the jockey standings after the first six days of action here.
Shining Copper (Last 3 Beyers: 87-95-86)
◗ Exactly like Silver Freak, he was a two-back, front-running winner of a second-level turf optional claimer at Saratoga when earning a 95 Beyer Speed Figure.
◗ He seems yet another shrewd claim by Steve Asmussen, who shows above-average percentages in all the categories that apply here (with far more than ample sample sizes).
Trace Creek (Last 3 Beyers: 82-83-78)
◗ This nifty last-out winner of a second-level turf allowance at Keeneland under Chris Landeros steps up in class while changing jockeys to Robby Albarado. Landeros will be away Friday to ride Lord Tyrion in the Clever Trevor Stakes at Remington Park.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 8 Trace Creek. Trainer Ken McPeek is 33-3-5-3 with a $1.00 ROI over the past two years in turf routes in the second start following a layoff. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 7 Infinite Magic. Trainer Wayne Catalano is 40-13-3-5 with a $2.56 ROI over the past year in turf routes with Channing Hill aboard. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
