Competitive field of nine set for Falls City

A victory in the Falls City would make her the first filly or mare since

2004, and only the fourth overall, to sweep the two stakes races for fillies and

mares ages three and up in a single meet. Jerry Crawford, Matt

Gannon and Charles Grask's Halory Leigh won both races for trainer Dale

Romans in 2004, and A. Stevens Miles Jr.'s Lead Story took both for trainer Carl

Nafzger a year earlier. Char-Mar Stable's Feasibility Study was the first to

complete the sweep, winning both races for trainer Bill Mott in 1997. The

Chilukki, which was known as the Churchill Downs Distaff Handicap when those

horses completed their respective sweeps, was first run in 1986, while the Falls

City dates to Churchill Downs' first meet as the Kentucky Jockey Club in 1875.

Given her background, a victory on Thanksgiving Day by Don't Tell Sophia

would make her the most unlikely of horses to complete the Fall Meet double. She

was purchased as a yearling at the 2009 Keeneland September Sale for just

$1,000. Heading into the Falls City, Don't Tell Sophia's career record stands at

16-7-3-2 and she has earned $440,814 -- with $302,208 of that total earned in

2013.

"We've had some purchases that were inexpensive that worked out pretty well

-- but not quite this well," Sims said. "This is very unusual."

Don't Tell Sophia is Sims' best horse since Nelson McMakin's Hot Cha

Cha resided in his barn. That daughter of Cactus Ridge won the Queen Elizabeth

Challenge Cup over the Keeneland turf as a three-year-old in 2009, and also took

the Mint Julep at Churchill Downs, Arlington's Pucker Up and the Bourbonette

Oaks at Turfway Park. Hot Cha Cha won six of 19 races and earned $998,552. She

finished her racing career in 2010 with a close fifth-place finish to Shared

Interest in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Churchill Downs.

"We always liked (Don't Tell Sophia) as a two-year-old," Sims said. "I said

this filly is as good as or better than Hot Cha Cha. Even though she was a

$1,000 purchase, she's a nice big, strong filly and she always looked like that.

She's just nice and has a very good mind to her. 

"I bought seven yearlings that year, and the one I paid $1,000 for I thought

was the best of all of them. You never know."

Don't Tell Sophia is drawn on the outside in post 9, and Joe Rocco Jr. has

the return call.

The only other three-year-old filly in the line-up is the Chris Block-trained

My Option, who has spent most of her career on surfaces other than dirt. The

Illinois-bred took the July 20 Arlington Oaks on Polytrack, finished third in

the Hatoof and Pucker Up at the same venue on turf, and just rallied for third

in the October 19 Raven Run over Keeneland's Polytrack. The daughter of Belong

to Me crushed her only two dirt starts earlier in her career, albeit versus

restricted stakes company at Hawthorne, and takes a stiffer class test here.

Flashy American is in the form of her life at the age of four. Successful in

three of her last five, the Ken McPeek trainee garnered the June 28 Iowa

Distaff, August 9 Alada at Saratoga and the September 7 Locust Grove at

Churchill. Her two recent losses have come in salty spots. Flashy American was

runner-up to Authenticity in the July 20 Shuvee Handicap and fourth to Beholder,

Authenticity and Joyful Victory in the September 28 Zenyatta at Santa Anita last

out. Corey Lanerie, who rode her to her Locust Grove victory, is back in the

saddle.

The royally-bred Wine Princess, the daughter of Hall of Famers Ghostzapper

and Azeri, looks for her first stakes win since the 2012 Monmouth Oaks. The

Steve Margolis pupil, who routed an April 27 allowance here by seven lengths,

has placed in four straight stakes -- a distant second to Joyful Victory in the

July 28 Molly Pitcher, a closer second to Flashy American in the Locust Grove, a

third to Emollient and Summer Applause in the October 6 Spinster, and best of

the rest behind Don't Tell Sophia in the aforementioned Chilukki.

Likely pacesetter Magic Hour, who just held on from Don't Tell Sophia at

Indiana Downs, gave way in the Chilukki and ended up eighth. She hopes to return

to her previous form for Ian Wilkes, when winning the March 16 Wayward Lass at

Tampa, placing in the Iowa Distaff (although no match for Flashy American), and

just missing in the August 10 Gardenia, with a ring-rusty Groupie Doll back in

third. Brian Hernandez Jr. picks up the mount.

Doubledogdare winner Ice Cream Silence tries to halt her losing skid, while

Dale Romans will send out recent allowance winners Molly Morgan and Owl Moon.

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