Churchill Downs | Horse Racing Free Tips

Kevin Flanery To Be Honored With Warner L. Jones Horseman Of The Year Award This Saturday

Kevin Flanery, who retired as the 13th Churchill Downs Racetrack President last December, will be honored Saturday with the Warner L. Jones Jr. Horseman of the Year Award at the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners' 33rd annual awards gala at the Kentucky Derby Museum.

Cocktails begin at 6 p.m. with dinner at 7 p.m. Tickets are available for $125, which include dinner and drinks, by contacting Marlene Meyer at (502) 458-5820.

The award recognizes individuals for outstanding contributions to Kentucky racing and sharing the passion exemplified by Jones, who spent 50 years on the Churchill Downs board, including eight as chairman during the iconic track's resurgence. Warner Jones – the first, and so far only breeder of a Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks and Breeders' Cup winner – was the inaugural award winner in 1988, six years before his death.

Steve Asmussen, the 2020 recipient, will also be honored since last year's event was not able to be staged.

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Bell’s The One, Sconsin Rematch On Tap In Saturday’s Dream Supreme Stakes

Two of the nation's most talented filly and mare sprinters, Bell's the One and Sconsin, will renew their budding rivalry in Saturday's $300,000 Dream Supreme (Listed) at Churchill Downs.

Saturday's six-furlong Dream Supreme will go as Race 10 of 11 with a post time of 5:36 p.m. (all times Eastern). First post is 1 p.m.

Bell's the One and Sconsin have faced one another five times throughout their careers. In their latest renewal, Sconsin bested Bell's the One by a half-length in the $300,000 Open Mind.

Following the Open Mind, Lothenbach Stables' Bell's the One traveled to Keeneland to compete in the $250,000 Thoroughbred Club of America (Grade 2), where she defeated fellow Dream Supreme rival Club Car by a neck. Trainer Neil Pessin opted to not run Bell's the One in last Saturday's $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) in lieu of Saturday's race.

Overall, the classy 5-year-old mare has a record of 10-4-2 in 21 starts with purse earnings of $1,336,825. Three of her 10 lifetime victories occurred at Churchill Downs. She'll be ridden by her regular pilot Corey Lanerie in the Dream Supreme from post No. 6.

Lloyd Madison Farm's Sconsin also did not run in the Filly and Mare Sprint. Trained by Greg Foley, Sconsin has been off since her victory over Bell's the One in the Open Mind. The 4-year-old homebred filly will enter Saturday's affair with a record of 5-4-1 in 15 starts with earnings of $783,362. Jockey Tyler Gaffalione will have the return mount from post 4.

The Dream Supreme drew a field of seven fillies and mares. Here's the complete field from the rail out (with jockey and trainer):

Blinkers (Armando Martinez, Kelli Martinez)
Elle Z (Mitchell Murrill, Chris Hartman)
Vintage Ready (John McKee, Eric Reed)
Sconsin (Gaffalione, Foley)
Club Car (Joel Rosario, Ben Colebrook)
Bell's the One (Lanerie, Pessin)
Frank's Rockette (Florent Geroux, Bill Mott)

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Essential Quality to Stand for $75,000

Essential Quality (Tapit–Delightful Quality, by Elusive Quality), last year's champion 2-year-old and winner of this year's GI Belmont S. and GI Runhappy Travers S., will begin his stud career next year at a fee of $75,000, Darley in America announced Sunday. Essential Quality concluded his racing career with a third-place effort in Saturday's GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic.

“His body of work is just tremendous: an Eclipse champion at two, a Classic winner at three, a son of Tapit with a fantastic female family,” said Darley Sales Manager Darren Fox. “He's already generated quite a lot of interest and we couldn't be more excited about him retiring to Jonabell Farm.”

Essential Quality won eight of 10 starts, including last year's GI TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile and GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity, as well as this year's GII Jim Dandy S. and GII Toyota Blue Grass S. He retires with earnings of $4,755,144.

Also retiring to Jonabell in 2022 is Grade I winner Maxfield (Street Sense–Velvety, by Bernardini), who will stand for $40,000. The 4-year-old is expected to make his final career start in the Nov. 26 GI Clark H. at Churchill Downs.

Winner of the 2019 GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity, Maxfield has won this year's GII Alysheba S. and GII Stephen Foster S. and is coming off runner-up efforts in the GI Whitney S. and GI Woodward S.

The post Essential Quality to Stand for $75,000 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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BC Classic Winner Knicks Go Returns To Churchill Downs Tuesday

Saturday's $6 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic champion Knicks Go is set to return to Churchill Downs on Tuesday evening along with several other of his stablemates from the Brad Cox barn.

Owned by Korea Racing Authority, Knicks Go is scheduled to fly from Los Angeles to Indianapolis before vanning two hours south to Churchill Downs. The flight is scheduled to land in Indianapolis at 6:30 p.m. (all times Eastern) and should arrive to Cox's Churchill Downs Barn 22 at approximately 9 p.m.

“He ran an extraordinary effort in the Classic,” Cox said. “We're very proud of him and his campaign this year. Things really worked out the way we planned. It means a lot to our team and his owners to win this race.”

Joining Knicks Go on Tuesday's flight is Classic third-place finisher Essential Quality along with Bubble Rock, Juju's Map, Ready to Purrform, and Turnerloose.

The Breeders' Cup World Championships have been held at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., twice and the Classic has been won each time by a locally based horse: Knicks Go and Gun Runner in 2017.

Local trainers Steve Asmussen and Wayne Catalano also enjoyed success at this year's Breeders' Cup. Asmussen's 2-year-old filly Echo Zulu romped in Friday's $2 million G1 Juvenile Fillies while Catalano's Aloha West defeated Dr. Shivel in Saturday's $2 million G1 Sprint by a scant nose.

“This victory was the pinnacle of my career,” Catalano said following the race.

The 65-year-old trainer has trained fewer horses recently and his usual full barn at Churchill Downs has only four horses. Catalano also keeps a string of horses at Keeneland where Aloha West is scheduled to return Wednesday. Aloha West's victory in the Sprint was Catalano's 2,931th as a trainer. He sports a trio of other Breeders' Cup victories with Stephanie's Kitten (2011 Juvenile Turf), She Be Wild (2009 Juvenile Fillies), and Dreaming of Anna (2006 Juvenile Fillies).

Echo Zulu was Asmussen's eighth Breeders' Cup victory. He previously won with Mitole (2019 Sprint), Gun Runner (2017 Classic), Untapable (2014 Distaff), Tapizar (2012 Dirt Mile), Regally Ready (2011 Turf Sprint), My Miss Aurelia (2011 Juvenile Fillies), and Curlin (2007 Classic).

The North American all-time leading conditioner now has a career-best mark in purse earnings of $27,807,020 – about $400,000 more than he had in 2019. He trails fellow Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher by about $46 million to become the all-time leader in purse earnings.

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