Two stakes highlight Churchill card on Thursday
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Thurby is here to stay, unlike other failed horse racing marketing ploys such as the Great State Challenge or Kegasus. It was in 2014 that Churchill Downs coined “Thurby” for the Thursday preceding the Kentucky Derby, and you can hardly walk a minute through the campus this week without hearing the pun uttered.
And so it is that the eve of the eve of the Derby is now a structured event, too, a monument to maxing out the latent desires of racing fans, casual and otherwise, to fork over their money to a multi-billion dollar corporation. Accordingly, the racing product Thursday is higher-end, helped in no small part by a pair of turf features, the Opening Verse going a mile and the Unbridled Sidney going 5 1/2 furlongs. Eleven races are on tap as a numerical crescendo builds to Kentucky Oaks Day (13 races) and Derby Day (14 races).
Pre-pandemic, the Thursday crowds exceeded 40,000, but with limited capacity in effect this week, perhaps half that will show here, although some may be discouraged by the 90 percent rain chance in the Thursday forecast. Neither stakes is graded, meaning there’s an increased chance either or both could be moved to the main track if it pours, although it may be in the track’s best immediate interests to keep them on, if feasible.
First post is 12:45 p.m. Eastern, which is the regular post for daytime cards at this 38-day meet, with the Opening Verse going at 4:37 and the Unbridled Sidney at 5:45. First post is 10:30 a.m. both Oaks and Derby days.
Opening Verse (race 8)
Brad Cox is rather, um, busy this week, what with two starters in both the Oaks and Derby, but the multi-tasking trainer will set all that aside for a moment when saddling his lone Thursday starter, Set Piece, in the $130,000 Opening Verse.
Set Piece, a British-bred 5-year-old, enjoyed an auspicious stateside debut over the local course for owner-breeder Juddmonte Farms last June when he rolled to victory from well off the pace. Clearly it would be to his benefit for all the speed in opposition here – Gray’s Fable, Sayyaaf, a fresh Sugoi, and the ever-handy Spectacular Gem – to enter into something ruinous to set the table for a closer.
“He stayed active through the winter and really enjoys his training,” Cox said. “His last couple of breezes here were really good, especially the one on the grass” on April 18. “He’s ready to fire.”
Florent Geroux will be aboard Set Piece, breaking from post 5 in a field of nine older horses in the Opening Verse, which honors the 27-1 winner of the 1991 Breeders’ Cup Mile at Churchill.
Spectacular Gem (post 9, James Graham), a two-time winner over the Churchill turf, and the $1.5 million earner Snapper Sinclair (post 7, Ricardo Santana Jr.) are others capable of launching well-timed stretch runs. Both Gray’s Fable (post 1, John Velazquez) and Sayyaaf (post 2, Javier Castellano) were wire-to-wire winners in their respective last starts at Gulfstream Park.
Unbridled Sidney (race 10)
The connections of Oleksandra are hoping the 7-year-old mare will run fast enough for two when she makes her first start since being pronounced in foal last month to Into Mischief. Oleksandra, one of the more highly regarded turf sprinters – male or female – on the continent the last couple of years, is part of an oversubscribed lineup of fillies and mares in the $150,000 Unbridled Sidney.
“We might run her a couple more times, even after Thursday,” said Barry Irwin, who heads the Team Valor International partnership that owns Oleksandra (post 4, Joel Rosario). “We’re actually using this race as a prep toward her defending her win in the Jaipur,” a Grade 1 turf sprint to be renewed on the June 5 Belmont Stakes undercard.
If the stretch run of Oleksandra isn’t as effective as normal, then this race could fall any number of ways. Into Mystic (post 1, Geroux) has been in terrific form for months and might actually come a slight favorite for Brendan Walsh, while the overachieving Change of Control (post 2, Colby Hernandez) and the speedy Elle Z (post 9, Mitchell Murrill) are other possibilities in a deep cast.
In all, 13 fillies and mares are entered, with only as many as 10 being allowed to start, assuming the race stays on turf.