Wide-open allowance draws nine

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – There’s a different feel to Twilight Thursday cards at Churchill Downs. With their workday complete, a younger crowd filters in for eight races, which start at 5 p.m. Eastern, primed for a head start on the weekend while enticed by cut-rate beer prices and live music.

The twilight cards have become a regular attraction at the spring and September meets (but not the fall), with an allowance or two usually serving as on-track features. For this particular card, it’s a $97,000 first-level allowance (race 7) that fills that role, with no standout favorite among a field of nine going a one-turn mile on the main track.

Winnipesaukee, with Shaun Bridgmohan to ride, is a lukewarm 7-2 choice on the morning line, illustrating how wide-open the race is. A couple of 4-1 co-second choices, Troubling Moon and Wicked Indeed, are next in line, with fringe players such as Franknjymme and Can’t Hide From Me figuring in the mix, too.

The feature is part of the 20-cent Single 6 (races 3-8), which has a carryover pool of $7,652 following the first three days of the 11-day September meet. The feature goes at 7:54, while the eighth and last race, a $95,000 maiden-special turf route, is set for 8:23.

KEY CONTENDERS

Winnipesaukee, by Will Take Charge
Beyers: 79-73

◗ Gray colt looked terrific winning off by himself last month at 2-5 in an Ellis Park maiden race for Brad Cox, who sent out a couple of winners during opening week.

Troubling Moon, by Into Mischief
Last 3 Beyers: 76-77-57

◗ Four-year-old gelding by one of the world’s hottest sires has shown steady improvement for Rusty Arnold, who already has set a personal record for stable earnings (nearly $3.5 million) this year.

Wicked Indeed, by Tapit
Last 3 Beyers: 84-62-78

◗ Gray colt who was given a few chances on the Kentucky Derby trail earlier this year by Steve Asmussen just missed at this same level at Ellis in his latest.

Can’t Hide From Me, by Awesome Patriot
Last 3 Beyers: 85-78-70

◗ Chicago shipper is the unknown of the field after making all four of his starts over synthetics, with his latest marking his first since coming into the Larry Rivelli fold.