Stanford to challenge Gun Runner in Stephen Foster

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Stanford, the Todd Pletcher-trained standout with multiple graded stakes wins, is among the older horses expected to challenge the heavily favored Gun Runner next Saturday night in the Grade 1, $500,000 Stephen Foster Handicap.

Pletcher confirmed Friday that he intends to send Stanford here from his New York base for the 1 1/8-mile Foster, one of five graded stakes on a Downs After Dark program.

Stanford, jointly owned by Coolmore and Stonestreet Stables, has earned more than $1.37 million from 16 career starts. He most recently was the beaten favorite in the $1.25 million Charles Town Classic, a Grade 2 race he won in 2016. Pletcher has maintained a steady workout pattern with the 5-year-old horse in recent weeks over the Belmont Park training track, including a half-mile breeze Friday in 49 seconds.

Gun Runner, the second-ranked horse in North America in the latest NTRA Thoroughbred poll, will be making his first start since finishing second to top-ranked Arrogate in the March 25 Dubai World Cup. Trained by Steve Asmussen for Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm, Gun Runner was expected to head the list of weights when those assignments were released this weekend by racing secretary Ben Huffman.

Other known probables for the Stephen Foster include Bird Song and Honorable Duty, the one-two finishers in the Grade 2 Alysheba on the May 5 Kentucky Oaks undercard; Breaking Lucky, the runner-up in the Grade 1 Clark Handicap here last fall; and Mo Tom, whose last victory came in the Ohio Derby nearly a year ago. Entries will be taken and drawn Wednesday.

The Foster is a Win and You’re In race toward the Nov. 4 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar and will be televised live on the NBC Sports Network. Likewise, its sister race, the Fleur de Lis Handicap, is a Win and You’re In (Nov. 3 BC Distaff) that will be part of the 90-minute telecast (8:30-10 p.m. Eastern). First post for the 11-race card is 6 p.m.

The presentation of the engraved 2017 Kentucky Derby trophies to the connections of the winner, Always Dreaming, will be made between races Saturday night. Pletcher said he is trying to work out a plan to be here but could not commit because he will be traveling overseas to saddle American Patriot for the Group 1 Queen Anne at Royal Ascot the following Tuesday.

In the other four stakes:

◗ Grade 2, $200,000 Fleur de Lis: Big World, the winner of the Grade 1 La Troienne in her last start, is one of at least five fillies and mares likely for this 1 1/8-mile race, along with Walkabout, Carrumba, and the Rusty Arnold pair of Romantic Vision and Weep No More. Weight assignments also were to be released this weekend.

Tom Amoss, the trainer of Big World, said he has been encouraged by the way Big World has trained since the Louisiana-bred 4-year-old went wire to wire in the La Troienne on the Oaks undercard.

“It was an interesting pace scenario in the La Troienne,” Amoss said. “No one really wanted to go to the lead. She broke bad and took advantage of no one setting the early pace. I think those tactics helped her a lot.”

◗ Grade 3, $100,000 Matt Winn: McCraken will make his eagerly awaited return as a big favorite in this 1 1/16-mile race following an eighth-place finish in the Derby. The expected opposition includes Aquamarine, Excitations, Society Beau, and Watch Me Whip.

◗ Grade 2, $200,000 Wise Dan: Pleuven, the defending champion in this 1 1/16-mile turf race, will be part of a sizable field expected to also include Bondurant, Thatcher Street, Conquest Panthera, and more.

◗ Grade 3, $100,000 Regret: Proctor’s Ledge, Sweeping Paddy, Chubby Star, Savannah Belle, and Fizzy Friday are among the 3-year-old fillies likely for this 1 1/16-mile turf race.

– additional reporting by Jay Privman