Trainer Romans looks for third Falls City victory

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Dale Romans knows what Thanksgiving dinner is like after winning the Falls City Handicap at Churchill Downs.

“The turkey tastes a lot better,” Romans said.

Stuffing, pumpkin pie and everything else will also taste better if Romans can win the Grade 2 Falls City for the third time. He’ll saddle Go Maggie Go, one of the highweights and top contenders in a field of 11 fillies and mares in the 101st running of the $200,000 race, the 10th of 12 on a Thanksgiving Day card that gets an early start at 11:30 a.m. Eastern.

Go Maggie Go, owned by Mike Tarp, has been in the top echelon of 3-year-old fillies since winning the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks in April in just her second start. She won the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan in May, then ran fourth in the Grade 1 Acorn and a distant sixth in the Grade 1 Alabama on Aug. 20 in her only two starts since.

“I ran her a lot since early in the year,” said Romans, a 50-year-old Louisville native who has attended every Thanksgiving card at Churchill since he was a small boy in the 1970s. “She’s run in some really tough races and needed a freshening after the Alabama.

“We brought her back and she’s trained very well, so we thought we’d take a shot here. It’s in our backyard and it’d be a nice race to win before the home folks on a big day.”

Go Maggie Go, with Robby Albarado to ride, will break from post 8 in the 1 1/8-mile Falls City carrying 118 pounds, two fewer than top-weighted Include Betty (120).

Include Betty (post 6, Drayden Van Dyke) is the lone Grade 1 winner in the lineup, having used a from-the-clouds running style to win the Mother Goose at Belmont Park in June 2015. Trained by Tom Proctor for Brereton C. Jones and Tim Thornton, the 4-year-old filly will add blinkers after most recently finishing second as the favorite following a slow start in an Oct. 22 allowance at Parx Racing.

Among the handful of fringe players are Lady Fog Horn, No Fault of Mine, and Streamline. Lady Fog Horn (post 3, Albin Jimenez) was scratched from the Cardinal Handicap last weekend at Churchill.

“She’s sound and fresh and versatile,” trainer Tony Granitz said. “Hopefully we picked the right spot for her.”

No Fault of Mine (post 10, Florent Geroux) has been very consistent for Lothenbach Stables and Chris Block, having finished first or second in 10 of her 13 starts.

Streamline (post 11, Joe Rocco Jr.) was good enough to finish second behind Forever Unbridled in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom in April and recently returned with a much-needed race at Churchill.

Rounding out the Falls City cast are Walkabout, Crooked Stick, Alotta Skirt, She Mabee Wild, Romantic Vision, and Sweetgrass. Two of those, Walkabout (post 1, Brian Hernandez Jr.) and Sweetgrass (post 9, Chris Landeros), are trained by Ian Wilkes, who upset the 2008 Falls City with Miss Isella.

The Falls City directly precedes the Grade 3 River City Handicap (race 11) on a Thursday card that also includes three allowances (races 4, 6, 9). The Falls City goes at 3:53, the River City at 4:22, and the 12th race at 4:50.

KEY CONTENDERS

Include Betty, by Include

Last 3 Beyers: 90-82-90

◗ A mere $42,000 yearling purchase, she earned $724,500 last year when winning five of 11 starts but is still looking for her first victory in 2016 after having had just three races in a stop-and-start campaign.

◗ Van Dyke, who grew up in Louisville, competes primarily in Southern California but was here on Breeders’ Cup weekend to ride three winners.

Go Maggie Go, by Ghostzapper

Last 3 Beyers: 73-89-86

◗ She’s had a string of sharp local breezes in preparing to return from a three-month layoff for Romans, whose prior Falls City winners were Halory Leigh (2004) and Afleeting Lady (2012).

No Fault of Mine, by Blame

Last 3 Beyers: 88-87-88

◗ Homebred filly was second at odds-on in a recent allowance at Keeneland under Geroux, whose graded stakes victories this year stand at an impressive 29.

Lady Fog Horn, by Zavata

Last 3 Beyers: 83-83-86

◗ Indiana-bred filly was second in the 2015 Cardinal on the Churchill turf, but has shown herself to be equally effective on dirt, if not more so.