Stephen Foster Preview Day at Churchill Downs on Saturday features six stakes in what is comfortably the most compelling racing program in the U.S. this weekend.
The $275,000 Blame (G3), a track-and-distance prep for the Stephen Foster (G1), marks the return to action of Tapit Trice, last year’s Blue Grass (G1) and Tampa Bay Derby (G3) winner. Unraced since August, Tapit Trice later placed in the Belmont (G1) and Travers (G1) in his final four starts of his three-year-old campaign.
Trademark, who won the Clark (G2) last November, will look to rebound off a sub-par effort in the Alysheba (G2), which was contested over a sloppy track. Highland Falls appears a horse on the rise following a second-place effort to Skippylongstocking in the Oaklawn H. (G2) last out, while Caligostro and Grade 1-placed Dreamlike step up off a one-two finish in an entry-level allowance at Keeneland in mid-April.
Grade 1 heroine Wet Paint and multiple graded winner Xigera both look to bounce back in the $275,000 Shawnee (G3) following dull season debuts. Wet Paint finished a distant sixth of nine in the Apple Blossom H. (G1) to start the year, while Xigera looked uncomfortable over the slop when virtually eased in the La Troienne (G1). Other potential players in the 1 1/16-mile test for fillies and mares are Bellamore, Scylla, Hoosier Philly, and Hidden Connection.
Ottoman Fleet might be the horse to beat in the $275,000 Arlington (G3) for older turf males going 1 1/16 miles. The Godolphin-owned five-year-old was most recently beaten a neck in his title defense of the Fort Marcy (G2) at Aqueduct, but previously captured the Earl of Sefton (G3) at Newmarket in April and was a solid third to champion Up to the Mark in the Manhattan (G1) last summer.
Other candidates include five-time graded winner Emmanuel and Smokin’ T, who captured the River City (G3) over this course last fall.
Skelly figures to be an overwhelming favorite to earn his fourth stakes win of the season in the $275,000 Aristides S. over six furlongs. Tejano Twist and recent Churchill Downs (G1) runner-up Here Mi Song are among the other contenders.
The $275,000 Regret (G3) for three-year-old fillies at nine furlongs on the turf is headed by multiple Grade 2 winner Buchu, though Way to Be Marie and Dancing N Dixie both fared better over softer ground in the May 3 Edgewood (G2). Making only her second turf appearance is Bourbonette Oaks winner Everland, a distant fifth of 14 in the Kentucky Oaks (G1).
The 11-race program is rounded out by the $275,000 Audubon S., a 1 1/8-mile grass test for three-year-olds. Formidable Man, Lagynos, and Cugino all exit solid tries in the American Turf (G2), while Twirling Point came closer to that race’s longshot winner, Trikari, in the Rushaway S. at Turfway Park over Tapeta two back.
Another intriguing Audubon contender is Cameo Performance, who exits a solid-looking maiden win at Keeneland for trainer Brendan Walsh.
