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Haskell Contender Mandaloun Penciled In For Saturday Work At Monmouth

Kentucky Derby runner-up Mandaloun will work Saturday at Monmouth Park – weather permitting – according to Blake Cox, the son of trainer Brad Cox, as the 3-year-old son of Into Mischief continues to move forward with his preparations for the $1 million TVG.com Haskell Stakes on July 17.

Mandaloun was part of a contingent of Cox runners that arrived at Monmouth Park on Tuesday, a group that included four horses entered for the four other graded stakes races on the Haskell Day card.

Arklow (Grade 1 United Nations), Juliet Foxtrot (Grade 3 WinStar Matchmaker), Night Ops (Grade 3 Monmouth Cup) and Vault (Grade 3 Molly Pitcher) accompanied Mandaloun on the van from Kentucky.

“Everyone shipped in very well,” said Blake Cox. “All of them galloped Wednesday and today.

“Mandaloun is doing very well. We'll probably point for a work on Saturday, weather dependent. It will be a nice, easy half. He's ready to go.”

Mandaloun already has a race over the track, having won the TVG.com Pegasus Stakes on June 13.

The list of possible starters for the 54th edition of the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes includes Belmont Stakes runner-up Hot Rod Charlie; Preakness Stakes winner Rombauer; Preakness runner-up Midnight Bourbon; Following Sea; Pickin' Time; Basso and Antigravity.

Pickin' Time, trained by Kelly Breen, Basso (trained by Gregg Sacco) and Antigravity (trained by Jerry Hollendorfer) are stabled at Monmouth Park.

Blake Cox said the Grade 1-winning Arklow, coming off a victory in the Grade 3 Louisville Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 15 in his seasonal debut, “might work an easy half” on Sunday in preparation for the mile and three-eighths United Nations on the turf.

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At Age Seven, Arklow Picks Up Graded Win In Louisville

Grade 1 winner Arkow has aged well. The 7-year-old horse, who made his first start of the year, won Saturday's 84th running of the G3 Louisville Stakes at Churchill Downs by one length over Red Knight in 2:27.13 – a stakes record for the 1 ½-mile turf marathon.

Ridden by Florent Geroux, Arklow was rated in 10th during the early stages of the three-turn race as Admiralty Pier dictated the pace and led the field of 14 older horses through splits of :23.70, :48.64, 1:14.24 and 1:39.78. Nearing the final turn, Arklow made a bold four-wide move to draw into contention. He grabbed the lead at the head of the stretch and turned back the late threat from Ked Knight.

Brad Cox trained the winner for Jerry Crawford's Donegal Racing, Joseph Bulger and Lynn Coneway's Estate of Peter Coneway.

The win was worth $84,630 and improved Arklow's career earnings to $2,750,746 with a record of 9-7-2 in 32 starts. It was his sixth career graded stakes victory. He won the G2 Hollywood Turf Cup at Del Mar in his previous start on Nov. 27.

Arklow returned $4.60, $3.80 and $3 as the 4-5 betting choice. Red Knight, under James Graham, paid $7 and $5. Strong Tide, ridden by Marcelino Pedroza Jr., was another three-quarters of a length back in third and paid $8.60 to show. Ajourneytofreedom was another length back in fourth and was followed by Bakers Bay, Imperador (ARG), Fantasioso (ARG), Spooky Channel, Artemus Eagle, Jais's Solitude, Crafty Daddy, Admiralty Pier, Fighting Seabee and Monarchs Glen (GB).

Arklow is a son of Arch out of the Empire Maker mare Unbridled Empire, was bred in Kentucky by John R. Penn and Frank Penn.

Racing at Churchill Downs continues Sunday with a nine-race card that begins at 12:45 p.m. (all times Eastern).

LOUISVILLE QUOTES, courtesy Churchill Downs press office

Florent Geroux, jockey of ARKLOW (winner): “He's such a warrior. He knows what he's doing and such a professional. When he comes into the paddock every race he's all business and shows a ton of versatility on the racetrack. I had him really relaxed and in a good spot early. With about five furlongs to go he started tugging hard and I had to go. I didn't necessarily plan moving that early but he was ready to go. Brad and his team did a great job with him to get him ready to go this distance in his first start off the layoff. I'm very thankful to the owners as well for letting me get on him. He's an incredible horse.”

Brad Cox, trainer of ARKLOW (winner): “He's such a professional. We had this race in mind for a while to get his campaign started and he ran a great effort to start his year.”

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Grade 1 Winner Arklow Returns In Saturday’s Louisville Stakes

Donegal Racing, Joseph Bulger and the Estate of Peter Conway's Grade 1-winning turf specialist Arklow is set to return from a nearly six-month break in Saturday's 84th running of the $150,000 Louisville Stakes (Grade 3) at Churchill Downs.

Saturday's Louisville Stakes, run at 1 ½ miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course, is the featured event on the 11-race program. First post is 12:45 p.m. (all times Eastern) and the Louisville will go as the finale at 5:58 p.m. A simulcast of the $1 million Preakness Stakes (G1) – the second leg of horse racing's Triple Crown – follows at 6:47 p.m.

Trained by 2020 Eclipse Award-winning conditioner Brad Cox, Arklow has been off since winning November's $200,000 Hollywood Turf Cup (G2) at Del Mar. The now 7-year-old son of Arch has recorded eight lifetime victories through 31 starts with earnings topping a stout $2.66 million. Arklow has one victory over the Matt Winn Turf Course four years ago in the American Turf (G2).

Jockey Florent Geroux, who has been aboard Arklow for 16 previous starts, has the call from post No. 10.

With a victory Saturday, trainer Kenny McPeek would tie Bill Mott for the most victories in the Louisville Stakes with six. McPeek entered Lucky Seven Stable's stakes winner Crafty Daddy along with Walking L Thoroughbreds' three-time winner Fighting Seabee.

Mott hopes to extend his lead with Trinity Farm's $150,000 Elkhorn (G3) winner Red Knight. The 7-year-old gelded son of Pure Prize finished second to Arklow in last year's $1 million Kentucky Turf Cup (G3) at Kentucky Downs.

The complete field for the Louisville from the rail out (with jockey and trainer): Artemus Eagle (Gabriel Saez, Waylon Cundiff); Imperador (ARG) (Joe Talamo, Paolo Lobo); Spooky Channel (Francisco Arrieta, Jason Barkley); Strong Tide (Marcelino Pedroza, Mike Lauer); Fantasioso (ARG) (Julien Leparoux, Ignacio Correas IV); Jais's Solitude (Declan Cannon, Eddie Kenneally); Red Knight (James Graham, Mott); Fighting Seabee (Chris Landeros, McPeek); Monarchs Glen (GB) (Adam Beschizza, Mike Maker); Arklow (Geroux, Cox); Ajourneytofreedom (Tyler Gaffalione, Maker); Bakers Bay (Corey Lanerie, Shug McGaughey); Crafty Daddy (Brian Hernandez, McPeek); and Admiralty Pier (Drayden Van Dyke, Barbara Minshall).

Wagering is available online at www.TwinSpires.com, the official ADW of Churchill Downs Incorporated.

Racing beneath the Twin Spires returns Thursday with a special late post of 5 p.m. for Twilight Thursday presented by Blue Moon. Fans can enjoy the eight-race card while sipping on $1 select domestic beer and $1 Blue Moon draft. The evening also features live music, food trucks and more. General admission, which includes a program, is $5 and can be purchased online at www.churchilldowns.com/tickets.

Live racing will continue Friday-Sunday with first posts of 12:45 p.m. For more information about the Spring Meet, visit https://www.churchilldowns.com/calendar/featured-events/.

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Arklow Recognized As 2020 Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund’s Earner Of The Year

Donegal Racing's well-traveled Grade 1-winner Arklow was honored Wednesday for his exploits right at home as the 6-year-old horse was feted as the 2020 Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund's Earner of the Year.

“We're very excited about this award for Arklow. It's very cool,” said Jerry Crawford, founder and president of the Des Moines-based Donegal Racing partnership. “This business is so, so hard for owners. When you get a horse that can pay some feed bills, it's gratifying in multiple ways to say nothing of all the excitement it creates.”

Now 7, Arklow was recognized at the Kentucky-bred Champions Awards ceremony, presented by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders (KTOB) and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association (KTA), at Keeneland. Frank Penn, co-breeder of the $160,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase in 2015, accepted the trophy on Donegal's behalf.

The Brad Cox-trained Arklow earned $849,734 in his seven-race campaign last year, capped by taking Kentucky Downs' $1 million, Grade 3 Calumet Turf Cup for the second time in three years, sandwiched around a second in 2019. Arklow also finished second by a head in Churchill Downs' $100,000 Louisville Stakes (G3). The son of the late Claiborne Farm stallion Arch concluded 2020 by shipping out to Del Mar — his 12th different racetrack – to capture the Hollywood Turf Cup (G2).

The KTDF award recognizes Kentucky-bred horses racing much of the year in the Commonwealth and is based on earnings at Kentucky tracks. Arklow earned $608,184 racing in graded stakes at Kentucky Downs, Churchill Downs and Keeneland. He made an additional $80,000 while a close sixth in the $4 million Longines Breeders' Cup Turf at Keeneland, though those earnings did not count toward the award.

“Donegal has always loved racing in Kentucky,” Crawford said. “The KTDF purse supplements make you love it even more. Take a horse like Arklow, who only ran in graded stakes in 2020. The Kentucky-bred incentive program rewards excellence, being staged against open company. As purses in Kentucky have increased, in no small measure because of the KTDF, so has the competition. So to be KTDF Earner of the Year becomes even more of a feat in which my partners and I take great pride.”

Cox, the 2020 Eclipse Award winner as North America's outstanding trainer, also was recognized Wednesday as the KTDF Trainer of the Year.

“The KTDF is a great program and makes lucrative opportunities for Kentucky horsemen,” Cox said. “Kentucky-bred horses compete world-wide, but it's obviously nice when you can race right here in our own state. It's an achievement, for sure, for Arklow to be the KTDF Earner of the Year, and I'm extremely proud to be the KTDF Trainer of the Year as well.”

For his career, Arklow is 8-7-2 in 31 starts with earnings of $2,666,116 for Donegal Racing, Joseph Bulger and the Estate of Peter Coneway. Those victories include New York's Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park in 2019.

“The KTDF awards have always been reflective of what's running within the circuit,” said Chauncey Morris, the KTA-KTOB's executive director. “To see a horse like Arklow and owner Donegal Racing at the highest level here in Kentucky just shows how we're evolving into the top tier racing jurisdiction in the United States.”

Crawford said Arklow got a couple of months off after running in the Breeders' Cup Turf for the third time.

“There's at least a 50-percent chance of him getting back to the races on May 1 in the Grade 1, Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic on Derby Day,” Crawford said. “And for the fourth straight year, we will be pointing for the Calumet Turf Cup at Kentucky Downs, where Arklow has had two wins and a second out of three tries.”

Arklow has raced on Kentucky Derby Day twice before, earning his first stakes victory in the 2017 American Turf (G2) and finishing fourth in the Old Forester in 2018. The Sept. 11 Calumet Turf Cup will run run as a Grade 2 stakes for the first time for 2021.

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