Stakes calendar gives Finley'sluckycharm short rest

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Finley’sluckycharm had been perfect in six starts at Churchill Downs prior to finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Humana Distaff on the Kentucky Derby card last weekend. Trainer Bret Calhoun said the defeat, in hindsight, was at least partly understandable given how hard the mare ran in a nose victory in her previous start, the Grade 1 Madison on April 7 at Keeneland.

“It was a gut-wrenching race she was coming off of, and we were bringing her back fairly quick,” Calhoun said. “She’d trained very well, but somewhere in the back of my mind I thought she might regress enough that she’d have a hard time winning.”

Finley’sluckycharm, the 5-2 favorite in the Humana Distaff, ran stride for stride with eventual winner American Gal before fading to finish 5 1/2 lengths back. She now is 10 for 16 overall and 6 for 7 at Churchill, including a 3-for-3 record here last spring when pulling off the rare feat of sweeping three stakes at a meet – the Roxelana, Winning Colors, and Chicago Handicap.

Calhoun said there does not appear to be a suitable race for Finley’sluckycharm until the Honorable Miss at Saratoga in late July, so “we’re thinking about giving her two or three weeks in a paddock just to freshen her a little,” he said.

As for his two Kentucky Oaks longshot starters, Classy Act (10th) and Patrona Margarita (12th), Calhoun said a move to grass will be considered for both.

“I’m trying to decide whether we should try to cut Classy Act back in distance,” he said. “Patrona, I’d like to maybe try to take advantage of her next allowance condition [two other than], even if it means running her against older.”

Farrell back in fine form

After a last-place run as one of the favorites in the 2017 Kentucky Oaks, Farrell got a measure of redemption with a huge effort as the runner-up behind Salty in the Grade 1 La Troienne on the 2018 Oaks card.

“I was ecstatic with the way she ran,” trainer Wayne Catalano said. “She took ’em a long way out front.”

The Grade 1 Ogden Phipps on the June 9 Belmont Stakes card is a possible next start for Farrell, said Catalano, and “if not, we’ll just wait on the race here,” the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis on the June 16 Stephen Foster card at Churchill.

Whitmore eyes True North

Whitmore, a late-closing fourth in the Grade 2 Churchill Downs on the Derby card, could get a rematch soon with Limousine Liberal, the winner in a three-horse photo. Trainer Ron Moquett said he is looking to the Grade 2 True North on June 8 at Belmont for Whitmore, while trainer Ben Colebrook is considering both the True North and the June 2 Aristides at Churchill for Limousine Liberal.

Either way, both trainers are working backward from the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, to be run Nov. 3 at Churchill. Limousine Liberal is now 6 for 8 at Churchill, and although Whitmore is 1 for 3 here, including a 19th-place finish in the 2016 Derby, he is 9 for 16 elsewhere.

“We still believe in him,” Moquett said.

Crosswalk on the way up

Lost among the 13 stakes run on the Oaks and Derby cards were numerous allowance and maiden races that produced promising performances. One of those was a 1 1/4-length triumph by Crosswalk in the Derby Day opener, a first-level allowance at seven furlongs. Crosswalk, a 3-year-old City Zip colt, is a Will Farish homebred.

“I was very happy with him,” trainer Neil Howard said. “We’re toying with the idea of coming back in the Chick Lang” on the May 19 Preakness card, “but that’s unlikely, as quick back as it is. Maybe we’ll try him against older in the Aristides or a ‘two other than’ allowance.”

Single 6 carryover Friday

The second half of the big pick six carryover from Derby Day will be transformed Friday into seed money for the Single 6, held on races 4 to 9. First post is 12:45 p.m. Eastern, with the 20-cent Single 6 starting at 2:13.

Churchill split the Derby Day carryover of $770,264 into two halves – the first $385,132 was to be “forced out” Thursday, and the second $385,132 is being used to kick-start the jackpot aspect of the Single 6. Starting Friday, a solo ticket with all six winners is required to sweep the jackpot; otherwise, after the 15 percent takeout, 90 percent of that day’s handle is paid out on winning tickets, and 10 percent is added to the jackpot. There are no consolations.

In the unlikely case of just one winner Thursday, the entire Derby Day carryover (plus the net from the additional Thursday handle) was to be paid to that winner, with no remaining seed money for Friday.

Unbridled Sidney on tap

The modest highlight of the coming weekend at Churchill is the $70,000 Unbridled Sidney, a five-furlong turf race that anchors an 11-race Saturday card. The Sunday card, meanwhile, invariably draws one of the bigger crowds every spring meet, with thousands of families showing up to celebrate Mother’s Day.

The next graded stakes here is the Grade 3 Louisville Handicap on May 19.

◗ Jockey Channing Hill will be away from his Churchill base on Saturday to ride Great Wide Open for trainer Conor Murphy in the $100,000 Hanshin Cup at Arlington Park, along with several other mounts for his father-in-law, Wayne Catalano.