Colonial Cup among weekend stakes offerings; Espinoza head
to HKIJC
Churchill Downs and Gulfstream Park are but two of the track hosting graded
events on Saturday, but Springdale Racecourse near Camden, South Carolina, is
where a championship could be decided.
Camden is the site of the
$100,000 Colonial Cup (NSA-G1), which could end up deciding who is honored as
the 2015 champion steeplechaser on Saturday. A little farther north and
west,
Churchill Downs is putting on the $100,000 Cardinal H. (G3) sending fillies and
mares nine furlongs on the grass, while
Gulfstream has carded a pair of $100,000 turf Grade 3s of its own in the
Tropical Turf H. (G3) and My Charmer H. (G3).
James Scully weighed in on key performers to watch at Fair Grounds, which kicks
off its 144th season of Thoroughbred racing on Thursday, and
Ed DeRosa is hoping to get a piece of those big payouts at Churchill Downs.
Also on Wednesday, it was announced that the
Federico Tesio S. will be a “Win & You’re In” race for next year’s Preakness S.
(G1) and that
Triple Crown-winning jockey Victor Espinoza is taking part in Hong Kong’s
International Jockeys’ Challenge on December 9.