Churchill Downs | Horse Racing Free Tips

Brown Packs Triple-Punch in Churchill’s Turf Classic

A fixture in the highest level grass events on racing’s biggest days, Chad Brown offers a three-pronged attack in Saturday’s GI Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic S. Listed at 7-2 on the morningline is Rockemperor (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), a close-up second in Santa Anita’s GII Charles Whittingham S. May 23, but subsequently demoted to third, followed by another runner-up finish in Belmont’s GI Manhattan S. July 4. Sacred Life (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) has proven consistent if not sparkling since his arrival in the U.S. last season. Second in the Lure S. and GII Bernard Baruch H. at Saratoga last summer, the French bred recorded his first American win in a Keeneland allowance last October before rounding out the year with a narrow second to Next Shares (Archarcharch) in Del Mar’s GII Seabiscuit H. in November. Fourth in his seasonal return in the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational at Gulfstream Jan. 25, he returned from a six-month respite to win Monmouth’s Aug. 9 Oceanport S. Paco Lopez, who was aboard for his latest win, gets the return call. Brown also saddles last year’s GII American Turf S. scorer Digital Age (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). In his most recent start, the 4-year-old was a 1 1/2-length winner in a Saratoga optional claimer July 18.

Known for his serious turn of foot is Gaining Ground Racing’s Factor This (The Factor), who holds a four-race winning skein heading into this. Third in his seasonal bow in the Colonel E.R. Bradley S. at the Fair Grounds Jan. 18, the 5-year-old won his next two at that venue-the Feb. 15 GIII Fair Grounds S. and GII Muniz Memorial Classic S. Mar. 21-before making it three straight with a neck score over English Bee (Enlish Channel) in Churchill’s GII Wise Dan S. June 20. The well-supported favorite for the 10-furlong Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Cup S. Aug. 2, he prompted the early pace and proved best late to score by a 1/2 length.

Bowies Hero (Artie Schiller) won last summer’s nine-furlong GII Eddie Read S. and the GI Shadwell Turf Mile S. at Keeneland later that October before finishing fifth in the GI Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita. Given plenty of R&R after that effort, he returned with a second on the June 21 GIII American S. before having to settle for fourth in his title defense in the July 26 Eddie Read.

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Sharing Victorious in Stateside Return

Talented ‘TDN Rising Star’ Sharing returned to winning ways back on this side of the pond as the public’s pick. Beaten a neck in third in her Saratoga unveiling last July, the well-bred chestnut romped in a seven-furlong off the turfer there in August before justifying heavy 1-2 favoritism in Laurel’s Selima S. in September. She was let go at 13-1 for the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita Nov. 1, but the result was the same, and she picked up right where she left off when annexing the course-and-distance Tepin S. here May 23. Her connections opted for a sporting trip to Royal Ascot for the G1 Coronation S. June 20, and she gave a very good account of herself when second best behind Alpine Star (Ire) (Sea the Moon {Ger}), who has since been second in both the G1 Prix de Diane Longines and G1 Prix Jacque le Marois.

Avoiding some bumping between the foes to her outside at the start, Sharing showed good gate speed and perhaps a bit of eagerness as she kept In Good Spirits (Ghostzapper) honest through splits of :24.44 and :48.76. Ridden along by Manny Franco to confront the leader heading for home, she started to edge clear in midstretch and maintained a clear advantage under the line.

“She has tactical speed,” said Franco, who will look to carry Friday’s momentum into Saturday’s GI Kentucky Derby, in which he rides Tiz the Law (Constitution). “She broke out of there good and put me in a position where I wanted to go. After that, she knows how to get it done. She is so nice and has a really good turn of foot. She is very professional.”

This was the first Edgewood victory for trainer Graham Motion, who said: “I can’t lie, I was pretty anxious about it because she was coming off a long trip and a long break. But she’s so classy, she makes us all look good I think. She had a great work last weekend (7f in 1:26, 1/3 over the Fair Hill all-weather) and Manny gave her a perfect ride. It couldn’t have set up any better quite honestly.”

As for what could be next, Motion said, “The only question I have in my mind is how far she wants to go. She obviously loves this distance. The next race would be 1 1/8 miles if we go to the [GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Presented by Dixiana Farm Oct. 10] at Keeneland. I don’t know if she wants to go that far, I don’t know why she wouldn’t, but she seems awfully good going a mile. I think the QEII is a race anyone with a good 3-year-old filly wants to go. I’m so tickled to get a race under her now because this makes it easier going forward now we’ve got this level of fitness. And I can’t say enough about working with [Eclipse’s] Aron [Wellman] and [Gainesway’s] Antony [Beck]. I feel like we’ve called the right shots and it’s because of them, they’ve never put any pressure on me.”

Friday, Churchill Downs
EDGEWOOD S. PRESENTED BY FORCHT BANK-GII, $300,000, Churchill Downs, 9-4, 3yo, f, 1mT, 1:36.87, gd.
1–SHARING, 123, f, 3, by Speightstown
                1st Dam: Shared Account (GISW, $1,649,427),
                                by Pleasantly Perfect
                2nd Dam: Silk n’ Sapphire, by Smart Strike
                3rd Dam: Golden Tiy, by Dixieland Band
($350,000 Ylg ’18 FTSAUG). O-Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners
& Gainesway Stable (Antony Beck); B-Sagamore Farm (MD);
T-H. Graham Motion; J-Manuel Franco. $182,280. Lifetime
Record: GISW-US & G1SP-Eng, 7-5-1-1, $1,038,751. *1/2 to
Riley’s Choice (Distorted Humor), SW, $172,838. Werk Nick
   Rating: A. Click for eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Hendy Woods, 118, f, 3, Uncle Mo–Separate Forest, by
Forestry. ($95,000 RNA Ylg ’18 KEESEP). O-Stonestreet Stables
LLC; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Mark E.
Casse. $58,800.
3–Lucky Betty, 118, f, 3, Munnings–Cherokee Beads, by Street
Sense. ($145,000 Ylg ’18 KEESEP). O-Dennis Park; B-TK Stables
LLC (KY); T-William B. VanMeter. $29,400.
Margins: 1 1/4, 2HF, 1. Odds: 0.60, 3.50, 19.30.
Also Ran: In Good Spirits, Pranked, Walk In Marrakesh (Ire), Mariafoot (Fr). Scratched: Outburst (GB).
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

Pedigree Notes:

Sharing is one of 56 graded/group winners for super sire Speightstown, who was represented earlier this week by new ‘TDN Rising Star‘ in Nashville. Her dam’s signature win was a 46-1 upset of the GI Breeders’ Cup F/M Turf going 11 furlongs over this same course. Shared Account has a yearling filly by Mastery and was bred back to Speightstown this season.

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Sconsin Runs Down Favorite Four Graces In Eight Belles

Lloyd Madison Farms IV's homebred Sconsin overhauled favored Four Graces at the eighth pole to win the 65th running of the $300,000 Eight Belles Presented by TwinSpires.com (GII) for 3-year-old fillies by 2 ¼ lengths.

Trained by Greg Foley and ridden by James Graham, Sconsin covered the seven furlongs on a fast main track in 1:21.30.

“When this race came up on paper we sort of thought the pace scenario could work in our favor,” Foley said. “This filly was very impressive at Keeneland against Four Graces. She got a great ride by James (Graham) and cruised home. It's very exciting winning with a filly like this on such a big stage as the Kentucky Oaks. Hopefully we can do it again tomorrow with Major Fed in the Derby.”

Mundaye Call and Four Graces dueled through early fractions of :22.11 and :44.14 as Sconsin trailed in the field five. On the far turn, Sconsin began to pick off horses, drew even with Four Graces at midstretch and drew off for the victory.

Sconsin, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Include out of the Tiznow mare Sconnie, earned $186,000 with the victory to increase her bankroll to $301,512 with a record of 8-3-2-1.

“She ran huge. She likes this racetrack evidently,” Graham said. “They ran fast in front of her and she picked them off. Can't ask for any more than that. The two favorites are speed horses, so all you can hope is that they hook up and kill each other off. My filly was just happier today. Those two had pace pressure and we just finished them off.”

Sconsin returned $16.40, $3.60 and $2.40. Four Graces, ridden by Julien Leparoux, returned $2.60 and $2.10 and finished 1 ¾

lengths in front of Never Forget who paid $3.80 to show under Javier Castellano.

It was another length back to Mundaye Call who was followed by Extra Effort.

Julien Leparoux (rider, Four Graces, second) – “She ran a good race. We had speed, the other one had speed. She was maybe a little fresh but other than that, I tried to rate her but she was taking the bit. She ran a good race though.”

Ian Wilkes (trainer, Four Graces, second) — “The filly was a little fresh today, but let's not take anything away from the winner. The winner ran her race, she ran her race. That filly's been knocking on the door. Every race, she runs her race and she's right there. It looked like it was going to be the two of us (favorites) going out front and hope we didn't set it up. But the other filly ran good. I'm proud of my horse, she didn't quit. My filly runs her race. I've got to let her run her race. I freshened her up, I backed off her. I don't want to make excuses today. My filly ran good.”

The post Sconsin Runs Down Favorite Four Graces In Eight Belles appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Last to First Win for Sconsin in the Eight Belles

Sconsin had been comfortably beaten by both favorites–Four Graces and Mundaye Call (Into Mischief)–in her previous two outings, but benefitted from a duel between the chalks Friday to earn a breakthrough first graded success while representing the same connections as GI Kentucky Derby longshot Major Fed (Ghostzapper).

Away well enough, the bay dropped back to last of five down the backstretch as Mundaye Call sped off to post fast fractions of :22.11 and :44.14 with Four Graces breathing down her neck. Sconsin popped out for clear sailing as the chalks continued to throw it down into the lane, and rolled past her rivals down the center of the track to win going away.

“She ran huge,” said winning pilot James Graham. “She likes this racetrack evidently. They ran fast in front of her and she picked them off. Can’t ask for any more than that. The two favorites are speed horses, so all you can hope is that they hook up and kill each other off. My filly was just happier today. Those two had pace pressure and we just finished them off.”

Breaking through at second asking in a rained-off Fair Grounds sprint in February, the bay was a well-beaten second behind ‘TDN Rising Star’-earning Ain’t No Elmers (Goldencents) there Mar. 18. Fourth to Four Graces in a very productive track-and-trip optional claimer May 16, she romped by five lengths going a sixteenth shorter here a month later. Sconsin completed the exacta behind Four Graces in the GIII Beaumont S. at Keeneland July 10, and filled out the triple with another run from the back of the pack behind a head-turning performance by Mundaye Call.

“When this race came up on paper we sort of thought the pace scenario could work in our favor,” trainer Greg Foley said. “This filly was very impressive at Keeneland against Four Graces. She got a great ride by James [Graham] and cruised home. It’s very exciting winning with a filly like this on such a big stage as Kentucky Oaks [Day]. Hopefully we can do it again tomorrow with Major Fed in the Derby.”

Friday, Churchill DOwns
EIGHT BELLES S. PRESENTED BY TWINSPIRES.COM-GII, $300,000, Churchill Downs, 9-4, 3yo, f, 7f, 1:21.30, ft.
1–SCONSIN, 118, f, 3, by Include
                1st Dam: Sconnie, by Tiznow
                2nd Dam: In the Wild, by Forest Wildcat
                3rd Dam: Askrania, by Afleet
    1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-Lloyd
Madison Farms, IV LLC; B-Lloyd Madison Farms LLC (KY);
T-Gregory D. Foley; J-James Graham. $186,000. Lifetime
Record: 8-3-2-1, $301,512. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for
   eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Four Graces, 120, f, 3, Majesticperfection–Ivory Empress, by
Seeking the Gold. O/B-Whitham Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY);
T-Ian R. Wilkes. $60,000.
3–Never Forget, 118, f, 3, War Front–Frivolous, by Empire
Maker. O/B-G. Watts Humphrey (KY); T-Victoria H. Oliver.
$30,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, 1 3/4, 1. Odds: 7.20, 0.90, 23.10.
Also Ran: Mundaye Call, Extra Effort. Scratched: Perfect Happiness, Purrfectly Claire. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

Pedigree Notes:
Sconsin is the 23rd graded/group winner overall for sire Include, and 14th in North America to go with nine in Argentina. She is also the 23rd graded/group winner out of a Tiznow mare. Tiznow is most notably the broodmare sire of Derby favorite and four-time GISW Tiz the Law (Constitution). Sconsin’s dam Sconnie was a $90,000 KEESEP yearling buy in 2008, and competed for these same connections. She was second in a local sprint as a July 3-year-old before airing at Hoosier and earning a 93 Beyer Speed Figure. Sconnie made just one more start, and Sconsin was her third foal. She since produced a Paynter filly Mar. 7 and was bred back to Include for 2021. Sconnie is a half-sister to local GSP Sentry (Silver Deputy).

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