Molly Morgan, who scored graded stakes wins earlier this year in the Fleur de
Lis Handicap and Gardenia, will go for a third on Saturday in the Grade 2,
$200,000
Chilukki at
Churchill Downs.
The one-mile test, a traditional prep for the 1 1/8-mile Falls City Handicap
on Thanksgiving Day, will be run under the lights and is one of three graded
stakes contested outside Southern California on day two of the Breeders’ Cup.
Since her head victory in the Gardenia at Ellis Park, Molly Morgan has been
in the shadow of Breeders’ Cup Distaff contender Don’t Tell Sophia, finishing
second in the September 6 Locust Grove at Churchill and third in the October 5
Spinster at Keeneland. The Ghostzapper mare also owns a second in the La
Troienne, which occurred a month prior to her four-length tally in the Fleur de
Lis.
Honey Hues, who the Mint Julep Handicap and Ellis Park Turf on the grass over
the summer, is looking to bounce back from two sub-par efforts recently. The
Bernie Flint charge has won six of 13 starts on dirt, including an allowance at
the Churchill spring meet by a commanding seven lengths.
Invading from California is Grade 3 veteran My Happy Face, who is seeking an
elusive first win since transferring to Peter Miller’s barn in Southern
California. She has run third in each of her last four starts, including the Las
Madrinas at Los Alamitos and the L.A. Woman at Santa Anita.
My Happy Face was twice Grade 1-placed in 2013, finishing second in the
Coaching Club American Oaks and a close third in the Test.
Spring in the Air, the Canadian champion juvenile filly of 2012, will make
only her second ever start on dirt in the Chilukki. Winner of the Hendrie, a
Grade 3 event at Woodbine, in May, she exits a third to Breeders’ Cup Filly &
Mare Sprint candidate Leigh Court in the Seaway at Woodbine.
Another Grade 3 winner on Polytrack, My Option, has placed just once in three
outings since taking the June 28 Chicago Handicap at Arlington. She finished
fourth in her only prior attempt at Churchill in last year’s Falls City.
Others of note in the Chilukki are Street Girl, the Humana Distaff runner-up,
and Enchanting Lisa, an allowance-winning half-sister to dual Horse of the Year
Wise Dan.
Earlier in the Churchill card, a solid group of older sprinters will travel
six furlongs in the $58,000
Bet On
Sunshine. Star Harbour, No Distinction, Sharp Sensation, Apprehender, Ghost
Is Clear, and Card are among the leading contenders in a wide-open race, which
has also attracted 2012 New Orleans Handicap winner Nates Mineshaft, who
returned from a layoff of more than nine months on September 13 to beat
allowance foes at Remington Park by three lengths.
Aqueduct
A pair of late developing three-year-olds will go in search of their first
graded stakes victory at Aqueduct Saturday in the Grade 3, $200,000
Discovery
Handicap at 1 1/8 miles.
The likely favorite is Three Alarm Fire, a Pyro gelding who has looked sharp
in taking a maiden at Saratoga and an allowance at Belmont Park in his last two
starts. Tom Albertrani trains the chestnut for a partnership headed by West
Point Thoroughbreds.
The one to catch might be Bay of Plenty, a Godolphin-owned colt who has won
three in a row in wire-to-wire fashion, including two allowances over a mile at
Belmont.
Noble Moon, who took the Jerome on the inner dirt in January, exits
fourth-place finishes in the King’s Bishop and Pennsylvania Derby. Protonico,
who took the Smarty Jones at Parx on Labor Day, also exits the Pennsylvania
Derby, where he finished a distant seventh.
Also in the mix are stakes winners Just Call Kenny, third in the Indiana
Derby last time, and Our Caravan, who notably upset Ring Weekend in the Calder
Derby by 9 3/4 lengths back in April.
The Discovery field is rounded out by Away Game, an allowance scorer in the
mud at Saratoga prior to sub-par effort in the Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park.
Woodbine
Moonlit Beauty could steal another edition of the Grade 3, C$150,000
Maple Leaf
for fillies and mares at Woodbine. The now eight-year-old registered a 25-1
upset in the 1 1/4-mile test last year, and again appears to be the lone speed
on paper.
Miss Mischief, who has won three straight since joining the Dale Capuano
barn, is the probable favorite off a victory in the H.B.P.A at Presque Isle
Downs. Last-out stakes winners Llanarmon and Strut the Course, 2013 Maple Lead
third Sky High Lady, and the turf performers Julie’s Love, Modernstone, and
Industrial Policy are other potential contenders.
A field of six two-year-olds will go 1 1/16 miles in the C$125,000
Display.
Bourbon Cowboy, runner-up in the Fitz Dixon Memorial Juvenile at Presque Isle,
will likely garner most of the wagering support, although debut winner Sea to
Sea and stakes-placed maidens Glenville Gardens and Hollywood Critic have a
license to improve.
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