Departing breezes for Foster; Tapiture set for Matt Winn

Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider's Departing, whose strong three-year-old

campaign included a run in the 2013 Preakness Stakes and wins in three

derbies, completed his serious preparation Monday for his bid for Saturday

night's 33rd running of the Grade 1, $500,000 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs.

The four-year-old War Front gelding breezed four furlongs in :49 2/5 for trainer Al Stall Jr. under jockey Robby Albarado, who will be in the saddle for the Foster. He covered the distance in

fractions of :12 2/5 and :24 4/5 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:02 1/5 and

six furlongs in 1:15 3/5.

"I told Robby not to let him do

anything -- if you look pretty on him he's going to go in :47, so you need to

restrain him," Stall said. "Robby said it's a good thing we did, because

he went :49, and as soon as we hit the wire he re-broke. We got him to the

seven-eighths pole in about 1:13 flat, completely on his own and under wraps. So

he's there and we're looking forward to running on Saturday."

The only 2014 outing for Departing

was a 1 3/4-length triumph in a one-mile allowance race at Churchill Downs on

April 30. It was his first outing since a disappointing fourth-place run behind Broadway Empire as the odds-on favorite in the

Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park on September 29.

"I was very happy with that first

race," Stall said. "I thought he ran well and had a little adversity, which

should help him for this race. We're ready and we're excited."

Prior to his Remington Park run that

ended his three-year-old season, Departing had won three derbies run in

different states. The string started with a victory in the Illinois Derby at

Hawthorne, followed by a sixth-place run behind the victorious Oxbow in the

Preakness that preceded easy romps in the West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer

Park and Louisiana Downs' Super Derby.

Stall said there was no physical

problem that led to Departing's long stretch away from the track. He said his

young star simply needed some time on the farm.

"It was just plain old time," Stall

said. "I want to say 'I' and not 'we' -- I went to the well with him one time too

many as a three-year-old. He ran a tremendous race in the Super Derby. It was 98

degrees that afternoon, but we knew we'd be 1-5 for $400,000. I'm not saying

greed took over, but we were rolling with him. He acted fine and everything was

fine, but he had just done a little too much.

"He came here from Oklahoma for a few

days and then went to Claiborne Farm and hung out. He showed up at the Fair

Grounds and he's done what he's supposed to do between three and four. He's

filled-in and he's picking it up. He's not a big horse, but he looks like he's

gone the right way and his works have been great."

Stall is eager to see how Departing

compares to his rivals in Saturday's 1 1/8-mile Stephen Foster, which has

attracted foes that are expected to include reigning three-year-old champion and

Clark Handicap winner Will Take Charge; Pimlico Special winner Revolutionary, who ran third to Orb in last

year's Kentucky Derby; Moonshine Mullin, an upset winner over Will Take Charge

in the Alysheba at Churchill

Downs on Kentucky Oaks Day; and Golden Ticket, runner-up in the Alysheba, a

dead-heat winner with Alpha in the 2012 Travers and runner-up to Breeders'

Cup Classic winner Fort Larned in last year's Stephen Foster.

"He's doing nice and we're fresh, and

we're trying to plan for the second half of the year," Stall said. "It's a rare

thing in horse racing, but we're on schedule."

Departing enters the Stephen Foster

with a career record of 10-7-0-1 and his earnings of $1,438,300 make him one of

four millionaires in the race. The others are Will Take Charge

($3,669,568), Prayer for Relief ($1,682,413) and Revolutionary ($1,347,600).

Another Stephen Foster contender

reported to be doing well in the days leading up to the race is Randy

Patterson's Moonshine Mullin, who surprised Golden Ticket and Will Take Charge

in the 1 1/16-mile Alysheba.

The Randy Morse-trained Moonshine Mullin completed his major preparation for

the Stephen Foster on Saturday with a four-furlong breeze in :50 1/5 at

Churchill Downs.

The six-year-old son of Albert the Great, who was claimed by Morse for $40,000 out

of an allowance optional claiming race at Remington Park in November, brings a

four-race winning streak into the Stephen Foster. Morse said the Alysheba win

under jockey Calvin Borel was a "great thrill," but added Moonshine Mullin's win

in a 1 1/16-mile Oaklawn Park allowance race that preceded his big day at

Churchill Downs couldn't have been more impressive.

"Looking back at it now with hindsight, the race he ran Oaklawn that day might

have been good enough to win the Oaklawn Handicap," Morse said. "His race

there, to me, was better than his race here (in the Alysheba). We almost didn't

run him in the Alysheba because it was a little quick to come back."

The Stephen Foster will not be Moonshine Mullin's first experience against Grade

1 competition. He ran sixth to Stay Thirsty in the 2011 Travers following a

37-1 runner-up effort behind that rival in the Jim Dandy. His trainer at

the time was Canada's Reade Baker, and he has spent time since in the barns of

trainers Donnie Von Hemel and Steve Asmussen.

The Alysheba victory lifted Moonshine Mullin's record to 8-4-5 in 31 races and

boosted his career bankroll to $685,513. A victory in the Stephen Foster would

be Morse's first in a Grade 1 race, but the trainer said the win by his former

claiming horse in the Alysheba has already provided a wonderful memory.

"It was great," Morse said. "If he never wins another race, beating that field

in the Alysheba was tremendous."

Darley Stable's Long River is scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs on

Wednesday to complete his preparations for the Stephen Foster. Trainer Kiaran

McLaughlin's four-year-old son of A.P. Indy ran fifth in the Charles Town Classic

last time out and lost by a neck to Romansh in his previous start in the

Excelsior at Aqueduct.

Long River is out of Round Pond, a daughter of Awesome Again who scored the

greatest win over her racing career at Churchill Downs in a 13-1 upset in the

2006 Breeders' Cup Distaff.

Trainer Brad Cox said Michael

Langford's Carve, who ran a good third to Will Take Charge and Revolutionary in

the Oaklawn Handicap, remained "possible" for the Stephen Foster after a sharp

five-furlong work on Monday at Churchill Downs. The four-year-old First Samurai

gelding covered the distance in 1:00 4/5, which tied for the fifth-fastest of 24

moves at the distance.

The Dale Romans-trained Prayer for Relief, runner-up by a neck to

Revolutionary in the Pimlico Special, is listed as likely, while

Bellarmine, a recent allowance winner for Kenny McPeek, is possible.

A pair of contenders for

Saturday's 39th running of the Grade 2, $200,000 Fleur de Lis turned in solid final preps for the 1 1/8-mile test for older

fillies and mares when Fiftyshadesofhay and Ordine breezed at Churchill Downs on

Monday.

Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman's Ruffian winner Fiftyshadesofhay

breezed four furlongs in :48 1/5 for Hall of Famer and

three-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Bob Baffert.

Peachtree Stable's Ondine, third to Spellbound in the La Canada at Santa

Anita, worked five furlongs in 1:00 4/5 in preparation for her first start for

trainer Cox, who added the daughter of Medaglia d'Oro and three other

Peachtree horses to his stable in March.

Multiple Grade 1 star On Fire Baby tops the projected field for the Fleur de

Lis, which is also expected to draw Flashy American, Molly Morgan and Frivolous.

A look at the roster of

three-year-olds under consideration to run in Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Matt

Winn Stakes includes an eye-catcher in Winchell Thoroughbreds' Tapiture, last

seen in a 15th-place finish behind California Chrome in the Kentucky Derby.

The three-year-old homebred Tapit colt breezed four furlongs in :51 3/5 over a fast Churchill Downs track on Monday.

Trainer Steve Asmussen said the Kentucky Jockey Club and Southwest winner is set for the 1 1/16-mile Matt Winn.

"He's been able to train here since

the Derby," Asmussen said. "I think he needed the time between races. He's

trained well and I expect a big race from him."

Despite an outside trip in the Derby,

Tapiture was prominent to the far turn before he faltered in the stretch

under Ricardo Santana Jr. Asmussen said the colt also lost a shoe during the run

through the first turn in the Derby.

"I think he's a horse that, right

now, has tremendous talent but still has maturing to do -- physically and

mentally," Asmussen said. "By no means do I think we've seen the best of

Tapiture."

Tapiture's record stands at 8-2-2-2, $490,838, heading into the Matt Winn,

where he will likely clash with

Almost Famous,

Cleburne,

Conquest Titan, The Admiral and

Ulanbator.

Rounding out Saturday night's stakes action is the Grade 3, $100,000 Regret

for three-year-old fillies. The 1 1/8-mile turf test figures to attract A Little

Bit Sassy, Aurelia's Belle, Daring Dancer, Kiss Moon, Personal Diary,

Share the Sugar,

Tepin and V V Goodnight.

Carl Pollard's Regret hope Kiss Moon, 12th in the Kentucky Oaks for trainer

David Vance, breezed a half-mile on the main track in :49 4/5 Monday.

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