Bal Mar Equine's Beverly D. (G1) winner Dalika will return to Churchill Downs and headline a contentious field of 10 fillies and mares entered in the $300,000 Cardinal Stakes (G3) on Thanksgiving Day at Churchill Downs.
The 47th running of the Cardinal will be run at 1 1/8 miles on turf and go as Race 11 of 12 at 4:22 p.m. (ET). First post is 11:30 a.m. The card also will feature the $500,000 Falls City (G3), which will go as Race 10 at 3:53 p.m.
Trained by Al Stall Jr., Dalika was the half-length winner in the Aug. 13 Beverly D., which was contested for the first time at Churchill Downs. The striking gray 5-year-old mare primarily trains at the Skylight Training Center, located about 40 minutes from Churchill Downs in Goshen, Ky.
Overall, Dalika, a German-bred daughter of Pastorius, has won nine of her 30 starts, including the Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf (G3) Sept. 10 at Kentucky Downs, and tabbed $1,292,786 in purse earnings. Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. will be in the saddle for the Cardinal and break from post No. 5.
The competitive Cardinal field also includes Godolphin's homebred Adventuring, winner of the AGS Ladies Marathon Stakes (G3) Sept. 13 at Kentucky Downs and fourth in the E. P. Taylor (G1) Oct. 8 at Woodbine last time out. Grade 3- placed Lake Lucerne and Silverton Hill's multiple stakes winner Pass the Plate are also entered.
The complete field for the Cardinal from the rail out (with jockey, trainer): Pass the Plate (Joe Talamo, Paul McGee); Disappearing Act (Corey Lanerie, Carlos Santamaria); Perseverancia (Julien Leparoux, Cherie DeVaux); Lake Lucerne (Tyler Gaffalione, Brendan Walsh); Dalika (Hernandez, Stall); Adventuring (Joel Rosario, Brad Cox); Sunny One (Vince Cheminaud, Conor Murphy); Flippant (Rafael Bejarano, Vicki Oliver); Curly Ruth (Luis Saez, Eddie Kenneally); and Wave of Goodness (Mitchell Murrill, Armando Hernandez).
The post Beverly D. Winner Dalika Among Competitive Field Set For Cardinal At Churchill Downs appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
