One of three from the final crop of the 'Iron Horse' and one of two in the race, the blaze-faced chestnut made the most of a late start to his freshman campaign with an eye-catching debut score at Saratoga in September and was third from a horror draw when favored at 19-10 in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland the following month. A clear runner-up–with GIII Holy Bull S. hero White Abarrio (Race Day) second–in what has become a key running of the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. at Churchill Nov. 27, Classic Causeway made all the running in this track's GIII Sam F. Davis S. Feb. 12, controlling the pace while stuck down inside of a longshot rival before charging home 3 3/4 lengths to the good of New York-bred Shipsational (Midshipman).

“He came out of the [Sam F. Davis] very well, he's carrying good weight and he has great energy, so we're counting our blessings,” trainer Brian Lynch said. “He seemed to really like the racetrack, so we thought the smart thing was to take him back over there and have a crack at the Tampa Bay Derby.”

The last to complete the Davis/Derby double was Destin–a son of Giant's Causeway–in 2016, while the stallion's Carpe Diem took the 2015 Derby. Giant's Causeway is also the broodmare sire of 2013 Tampa Derby hero Verrazano (More Than Ready).

Giant Game (Giant's Causeway), third in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, but well beaten in the Holy Bull, resurfaces here after being scratched out of last weekend's GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S.

Perfect in a pair of juvenile appearances, WinStar Farm and Siena Farm's Major General (Constitution) makes his 3-year-old bow Saturday. The $420,000 Keeneland September grad narrowly bested a group of Saratoga maidens on debut Aug. 21 and made it two straight with a neck success in the GIII Iroquois S. in Louisville Sept. 18. The dark bay tries two turns for the first time here.

The well-tried Strike Hard (Flashback) won a Gulfstream allowance going the one-turn mile Dec. 5, earning 4-5 favoritism for the Jan. 1 Mucho Macho Man S. over the same track and trip. Beaten four lengths into second by Fountain of Youth hero Simplification (Not This Time) on that occasion, he endured a difficult wide trip in the Davis and although he failed to make up any ground in the final furlong, clawed his way past three rivals to finish fourth. He's slightly better drawn here and gets a significant jockey upgrade from Leonel Reyes to Luis Saez.

New shooters include Happy Boy Rocket (Runhappy), a good-looking allowance winner going two turns in Hallandale Jan. 29; Money Supply (Practical Joke), who Beyered 91 in breaking his maiden at first asking going six furlongs over this strip Feb. 12; and Belgrade (Hard Spun), who topped the horses-of-racing-age section at Keeneland January on a bid of $700,000 and exits a determined entry-level allowance score over six furlongs Feb. 19.

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WinStar Farm and Siena Farm LLC's 'TDN Rising Star' Emmanuel (More Than Ready) will be in search of a third win in as many starts in the Fountain of Youth and tuned up for the 8 1/2-furlong test with a bullet half-mile in :48.05 (1/32) Saturday morning at trainer Todd Pletcher's base at Palm Beach Downs.

He worked great, I was very pleased with it,” said the conditioner, who also breezed GII Remsen S. hero Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo, 4f, :49.37) and GII Iroquois S. hero Major General (Constitution, 5f, 1:02.29). Both are under consideration for the Fountain of Youth.

“I don't know for sure. I have to talk to Jerry Crawford about Mo Donegal tomorrow,” Pletcher said. “I talked to [WinStar's] Elliott [Walden] a little bit this morning. One of my concerns is that it looks like it's going to be a big field. You might enter and draw a bad post. We might take a look at entering both Mo Donegal and Major General. All things being equal, Major General will probably go to the [Mar. 12 GII] Tampa Bay Derby.”

Rattle N Roll (Connect), winner of last year's GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity, prepped for his seasonal debut in the Fountain of Youth by drilling five-eighths of a mile in :58.67 Saturday morning over the Gulfstream Park main track.

“It went really well. The horse worked super,” trainer Ken McPeek said. “He worked fantastic and came out of it good. We're going to do a little gate work Wednesday, and he's all set.”

Howling Time (Not This Time), unraced since his fifth-place effort to Smile Happy (Runhappy) in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. in late November, went five furlongs in :58.54, while his Dale Romans stablemate Giant Game (Giant's Causeway) covered a similar distance in :59.04.

Simplification (Not This Time), an excellent second in the GIII Holy Bull S., went five furlongs in 1:02.66 at Gulfstream Park for trainer Antonio Sano.

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Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo), winner of the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct and last-out third in Gulfstream's G3 Holy Bull, could head back to New York for his final Derby prep. How Mo Donegal trains over the next few weeks will determine whether the colt runs again prior to the G2 Wood Memorial on April 9. The Donegal Racing/Jerry Crawford-owned colt has won two of his four starts thus far, and was acquired as a $250,000 yearling purchase at the Keeneland September sale.

“The Wood Memorial is the 100-point race that we've got him targeted for since he won the Remsen at Aqueduct,” Pletcher told TDN. “I actually thought he ran a sneaky good race the other day [in the Holy Bull]. He was making up some ground late. It's just that everything kind of unfolded the wrong way for him and it took him a while to get out in the clear and able to make his run. It was the kind of effort we were hoping for, even though it wasn't the result we were wanting.”

Emmanuel (More Than Ready) has won a maiden race at Gulfstream and a first-level allowance at Tampa Bay Downs for owners WinStar Farm and Siena Farm, and could next be pointed to the G2 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream on March 5. Pletcher has penciled in the colt, a $350,000 yearling at Keeneland September, as progressing through the G1 Florida Derby en route to Louisville.

Pioneer of Medina (Pioneerof the Nile) required three starts to break his maiden, but won a first-level allowance at the Fair Grounds on Jan. 22 to set him up for a run in the G2 Risen Star on Feb. 19. The homebred Sumaya U.S. Stable colt is out of stakes-winner Lights of Medina.

Major General (Constitution) hasn't started since winning the G3 Iroquois at Churchill Downs, but could reappear in the Mar. 12 G2 Tampa Bay Derby. Owned by WinStar and Siena Farm, the undefeated colt was a $420,000 yearling purchase at Keeneland September.

Read more at the TDN.

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Despite finishing third as the favorite in last Saturday's GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream, Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) may represent Pletcher's best chance of winning a third Kentucky Derby. His main target will be the GII Wood Memorial at Aqueduct Apr. 9. It has yet to be decided if Mo Donegal, the winner of last year's GII Remsen S., will have another race before that.

“We know he likes Aqueduct, so the Wood Memorial is a logical spot for him,” Pletcher said. “I spoke to [owner] Jerry Crawford Monday and we're sort of weighing our options and going to wait and see how he trains before we decide if he's going to have a prep race in between now and the Wood Memorial. The Wood Memorial is the 100-point race that we've got him targeted for since he won the Remsen at Aqueduct. I actually thought he ran a sneaky good race the other day [in the Holy Bull]. He was making up some ground late. It's just that everything kind of unfolded the wrong way for him and it took him a while to get out in the clear and able to make his run. It was the kind of effort we were hoping for, even though it wasn't the result we were wanting.”

Pletcher has some up-and-comers to keep an eye on, particularly in Emmanuel (More Than Ready). After breaking his maiden at Gulfstream, he won a Jan. 30 allowance at Tampa Bay Downs.

“Emmanuel really liked Gulfstream in his debut and feel like if we're able to continue moving forward the [GI Curlin] Florida Derby could be a potential final prep for him,” the trainer said. “Emmanuel is definitely one that we're pretty high on. He's no longer under the radar, even though he's only had a maiden win and a win at Tampa. Right now, we have him pointed for the [GII Fasig-Tipton] Fountain of Youth.”

So far as why he sent Emmanuel to Tampa for what looked on paper like a soft spot, Pletcher said he's had a lot of success with the 3-year-olds he has prepped at that track.

“Part of the strategy was trying to get him around two turns,” he said. “We've been able to accomplish that at Tampa over the years and we've had pretty good luck going there. Both Super Saver and Always Dreaming ran races at Tampa before they won their Derbies. We've had a number of horses that have gone through there that have gone on to do well. It's a good place to leg a horse up and it's a safe track. Getting some two-turn experience there is key.”

Pioneer of Medina (Pioneerof the Nile) was last seen winning an allowance race at Fair Grounds and before that he broke his maiden at Tampa Bay Downs. He will soon be back on his way to New Orleans to run in the Feb. 19 GII Risen Star S.

Since he hasn't run since a win in the Sept. 18 GIII Iroquois S. at Churchill Downs, Major General (Constitution) has flown under the radar this year, but Pletcher said he is nearing his return. Pletcher said he will most likely start next in the Mar. 12 GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby.

So far as nominating so many horses to the Triple Crown, Pletcher said he doesn't look at just the Derby but at the GI Preakness S. and the GI Belmont S. as well.

“We do these nominations for the Triple Crown,” he said. “You're doing it for all three races and the Belmont is not until the first Saturday in June. That's a long way away and we like to keep all of our options open. Some of these horses might not be Derby or Preakness horses, but we feel like we could sneak up on the Belmont if they were able to win a maiden and then go to a race like the Peter Pan. The 42 number is probably a little bit misleading when you think of it in terms of Derby prospects.”

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That came just a few days ago, in the GIII Iroquois S. at Churchill: the first chance to bank starting points for a certain race staged on the same track next May. Time to start dreaming. Unfortunately Magnolia Midnight (Midnight Storm), a Colonial Downs maiden winner owned in partnership by his Titletown Racing Stables, dropped right out to finish last behind Major General (Constitution).  On the other hand, the exciting winner happens to be the first foal out of an unraced daughter of Uncle Mo, No Mo Lemons, Farr had acquired from the estate of the late Gerry Dilger for just $70,000 at Keeneland last November.

That could obviously prove a pretty sensational bargain, if Major General can continue along the Derby trail the way he has started. No Mo Lemons, after all, is still only six and Farr has already sounded out WinStar about sending her back to Constitution next spring, to breed a sibling to Major General. But the spectrum of horseracing fortunes extends far wider even than the gulf dividing the two Iroquois runners in which Farr had some kind of stake.

For back in the spring No Mo Lemons had already promised an early dividend on her purchase, when delivering the foal she was carrying at the sale. Dilger could scarcely have chosen a more fashionable young stallion for her first cover.

No Mo Lemons with her 2021 Practical Joke filly | Courtesy Paul Farr

“So she produced this beautiful Practical Joke filly,” Farr relates. “I mean, just gorgeous. And, in fact, one of the main reasons I bought her had been the difficulty I'd had, along with some of the syndicates I was in, trying to bid on Practical Joke yearlings the prior September and October. They kept going for crazy prices, or what I thought crazy at the time. Of course, his progeny have meanwhile been performing on the track as well. But when I kept being outbid, I thought, 'Screw this, I'm going to go a little farther back in the timeline and buy a mare in foal to him instead.' And I liked this one's whole page and, of course, everything that Gerry Dilger had done over the past many, many years.”

Sure enough, the Practical Joke filly was an immediate standout among the 10 foals delivered by the Titletown mares with Sally Lockhart at Ballyrankin Stud. But then disaster struck.

“With that new rotavirus strain that popped in the Lexington area, at the beginning of the year, we had both the mare and her filly in quarantine for three weeks at Rood and Riddle,” Farr says. “And actually, we had just about got the foal over the parasitic infection–only for her then to spike an infection in her knee. We did everything we could. We tried several different cocktails of antibiotics. But when they're so young, they can't really do that aggressive a treatment. And finally the recommendation came from the vet that there was nothing more we could do, and we had to make the very hard decision that she shouldn't suffer anymore.”

Farr remembers, with bitter affection, kissing the little filly on the head in those last days; and subsequently visiting No Mo Lemons at Ballyrankin, which is just a mile up the road from the clinic. During the miserable period of confinement, the mare had exuded maternal dismay; a distraught, helpless sense that her foal, gated off within their cramped quarantine stall, was not in a good place. It was gratifying now to sense an almost palpable relief in the mare, that the shared ordeal was over.

And if Farr couldn't have been given a more painful reminder of the perils that may always lurk among Thoroughbreds, even after you have shown the most astute judgement, then it's not as though he needed any schooling in the merits of spreading risk. In his business life, that had long been his governing instinct.

It was actually in leading former employer PPL Corp's acquisition of two major Kentucky utilities, around a decade ago, that Farr was first introduced to the lifeblood of the Bluegrass. Several members of the management teams at those utilities were in syndicates together, claiming horses, and Farr saw the fun they were having. After a stint at the reins of a spin-off merchant power generation business, a buyout put Farr in a position to develop his nascent interest.

Paul and Kym Farr just before the Iroquois | Courtesy Paul Farr

“I was in a business very much oriented to risk management,” Farr explains. “So I felt pretty comfortable with the concept of spreading your risk with different trainers, different partnership groups, much as you do different assets in different locations. So while I'm still getting my legs under, I'm okay with managing exposure and nothing about the business scared me in any way.”

Inevitably, even so, seeking the right fit was a process of trial and error. There were attempts to cut corners. Farr soon discovered, for instance, that measuring the thickness of the cardiac wall was no substitute for the kind of heart that's needed in the heat of racetrack battle. So while auspicious physical attributes could and should be factored into decision-making, he soon realized that the all-important competitive desire would only begin to be disclosed many months after a yearling leaves the ring.

Open daylight maiden winner Magnolia Midnight | Coady

In the end, Farr and his wife Kym evolved a strategy of building partnership at different levels. On the one hand, for instance, he is involved with some buddies at Rainbow's End Racing claiming horses in New York; at the other end of the scale, equally, he's also contributing to the new Colts' Group put together by Brad Cox, Bradley Weisbord and Liz Crow. Having enjoyed his first experiences partnering with West Point Thoroughbreds, meanwhile, he has also made a couple of fresh commitments with that team; and then there's a little extra shopping with his pal Staton Flurry of Hot Springs, whose Flurry Racing Stables has a stake in Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil). Farr has also partnered with Sol Kumin (Madaket Stables) on a number of horses in the past two years.

“I learnt my lesson several years ago trying to do things more on the 100 percent,” Farr reflects. “Through all these different avenues I get to share the experience of a lot of really smart people–whether that's Clay Scherer, who helps Staton and me, or the whole infrastructure at West Point, or Liz Crow, or Tom Morley who does the training for Rainbow's End in New York.

“Brad Cox probably trains more horses that I have an interest in than any other trainer, but then think about all those guys on the West Point team: they have John Sadler out in California, there's George Weaver, there's Shug McGaughey, there's Christophe Clement, Dale Romans, Steve Asmussen, Dallas Stewart, so many relationships. I was listening to a podcast they put out to the ownership group the other day, with Dallas Stewart, and Terry Finley was mentioning how they go back 30 years together. So doing things this way lets you tap into deep relationships, and aligns you with people with deep knowledge, people that are world-class.”

And that's also the level he sees in the counsel and empathy of Lockhart, now truly like family to him. In principle, he intends to keep Titletown's breeding and racing operations separate. No doubt some occasional flexibilities will be required, but it's the commercial possibilities that are exciting about the emergence of Major General. For his dam's first Titletown cover, Farr and Lockhart settled on Kantharos, seeking a slightly more streamlined animal after her first three foals–including the Always Dreaming weanling sold alongside her last November, to Steven W. Young for $95,000–all came up a pretty generous size.

Dripping Gold's Saratoga debut | Sarah Andrew

Not that this windfall for No More Lemons is the only excitement for a program gathering momentum all the time. At the same auction where he found her, Farr gave $240,000 for Swiss Skydiver's half-sister Is It Gold (Indygo Shiner), and the Nyquist colt she was carrying is evidently a knockout. Within 24 hours of Farr's first involvement in a graded stakes, moreover, Dripping Gold (Lemon Drop Kid) was fast-tracked to Grade I company in the Summer S. after a debut success at Saratoga for a partnership also including West Point Thoroughbreds and John A. Ballantyne. Shug McGaughey confessed himself rather disappointed with fifth place at Woodbine, and believes there remains better to come. But already the next cycle promises ever more action: the Weisbord-Crow group alone gives him a piece of the action in a couple of dozen elite Saratoga and Keeneland graduates. And Farr is also involved, meanwhile, in a Tony and Kim Dutrow group now prospecting the big yearling sales in Europe.

Titletown's Green Bay Packers-inspired silks | Courtesy Paul Farr

Titletown is named for Farr's hometown and his beloved Green Bay Packers and their 13 championships, and there's no mistaking the sense of purpose that could someday bring him to the equivalent of Super Bowl territory with Thoroughbreds, too.

“To have 2-year-olds running in a Grade III and a Grade I, a day apart, was very exciting and I hope that as young horses both will improve for their experience,” Farr says. “And obviously it was fantastic to see Major General do his job for his dam, and get the 'Win-and-You're-In' for the Breeders' Cup. Hopefully he can go on and do fantastic things.

“Okay, with the Practical Joke foal, Lady Luck put her thumb on the scale a little bit the other way. But that's part of this game, with its amazing ups and downs. I have tended to be somewhat lucky in business, and in life. I've got a great family, five kids, and done great things with my companies. At the level we're talking about, you do need the resources to compete. And when I put a dollar to work, I don't necessarily expect to get that dollar back. I'm very fortunate that I don't need to–though it would be nice, right, to have this stuff work.

“But for me, everything in life comes down to the people part. I just really have to enjoy who I'm involved with. With the New York group, those are smaller dollar amounts. But, same thing: wonderful people. Anybody can put money to work. But horses have tragic things happen, horses have amazing things happen. Irrespective of the size of the check, it's about being with fantastic people that you enjoy spending time with, and going on that roller coaster ride together.”

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“I thought it was an impressive performance in only his second start for him to jump up like that and progress to two turns,” Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said. “I was very pleased with him. Hopefully, he continues to make progress. I haven't talked to Elliott (Walden) and the WinStar team about his next plans but I would probably think we would train him up to the Breeders' Cup.”

Major General debuted at 6 ½ furlongs at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., where he recorded a front-running victory. In Saturday's Iroquois, the Constitution colt rallied from 4 ½ lengths off the early pace. He's scheduled to ship back to his New York base Sunday.

The post Major General Tops Road To Kentucky Derby Leaderboard After Iroquois Win appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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In a crowded field of 10, Magnolia Midnight and Roger McQueen were one-two early, with Stellar Tap and Tough to Tame just back in third and fourth. Major General sat in the middle of the pack fifth on the backstretch, but Castellano in the white silks of WinStar Farm did not wait for the stretch to bid for the front, moving up quickly on the outside of the leaders as they entered the far turn. Just before the field hit the stretch, Stellar Tap took over the lead, with Major General to his outside, the two on even terms as they straightened out into the race's final furlongs.

In the Churchill Downs straight, Major General dug in, dueling with Stellar Tap and then pulling away late, his final surge enough to hold off surging Tough to Tame and Red Knobs in the race's last yards.

The final time for the 1 1/16 miles was 1:44.88. Find this race's chart here.

Major General paid $11.80, $6.60, and $4.80. Tough to Tame paid $23.40 and $11.60. Red Knobs paid $9.00.

The G3 Iroquois is a Win and You're In race for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. The winner earns a fees-paid guaranteed spot in the starting gate for the corresponding race at the Breeders' Cup World Championships, scheduled for Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

As an early prep race for the 2022 Kentucky Derby, Major General earns 10 points toward a spot in the starting gate for the Run for the Roses.

Bred by Circular Road Breeders, Major General is out of the Uncle Mo mare No Mo Lemons. He is trained by Todd Pletcher and owned by WinStar Farm and Siena Farm. With this win in the G3 Iroquois, Major General remains perfect in his short career, with two wins in two starts and career earnings of $232,525.

The post Major General’s Bold Move A Winning One In Iroquois, Earns BC Juvenile Spot appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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“You're always confident whenever Todd [Pletcher] puts you on a horse,” Javier Castellano said. “His team does a great job and this horse is just learning. He seemed to enjoy going two turns and when the other horses got to him in the stretch he started to re-break.”

Pedigree Notes:
Major General is the eighth graded and 17th black-type winner overall for WinStar stallion Constitution, whose third crop is two this year. Circular Road Breeders bred both Major General and his dam, the unraced No Mo Lemons, but sold them both in 2020. Major General went as a Keeneland January short yearling for $265,000 to Northface Bloodstock and was successfully pinhooked into a $420,000 September yearling, where Maverick Racing took him home. No Mo Lemons was hammered for $70,000 by Titletown Racing Stables at the Keeneland November sale and her now-yearling colt by Always Dreaming brought $95,000 at the same sale from Steven W. Young. No Mo Lemons didn't produce a 2021 foal, but was bred to Kantharos for next term. A number of stakes winners trace to the grandam of No Mo Lemons, a half-sister to GISW Well Chosen (Deputy Minister), including GISW Leofric (Candy Ride {Arg}) and MGSW & GISP Multiple Choice (Mt. Livermore). Uncle Mo, with just seven crops to race himself, is young for a broodmare sire, but Major General counts as the third stakes winner out of his daughters.

Saturday, Churchill Downs
IROQUOIS S.-GIII, $300,000, Churchill Downs, 9-18, 2yo, 1 1/16m, 1:44.88, ft.
1–MAJOR GENERAL, 118, c, 2, by Constitution
               1st Dam: No Mo Lemons, by Uncle Mo
               2nd Dam: Lemon Lady, by Lemon Drop Kid
               3rd Dam: Lady of Choice, by Storm Bird
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($265,000
Ylg '20 KEEJAN; $420,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-WinStar Farm
LLC & Siena Farm LLC; B-Circular Road Breeders (KY); T-Todd
Pletcher; J-Javier Castellano. $177,525. Lifetime Record:
2-2-0-0, $232,525. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Tough to Tame, 118, c, 2, Speightster–She'sa Tough Tiger,
by Tiger Ridge. ($75,000 2yo '21 OBSAPR). O-Rittdiculous
Gazmanian Stables; B-Elizabeth H. Muirhead (KY);
T-Christopher Davis. $57,750.
3–Red Knobs, 118, c, 2, Union Rags–Hokey Okey, by Lonhro
(Aus). ($75,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Jim Bakke & Gerald
Isbister; B-Caldara Farm Inc. & Flaxman Holdings Limited
(KY); T-Dale L. Romans. $28,875.
Margins: NK, 3/4, HF. Odds: 4.90, 37.30, 29.70.
Also Ran: Bourbon Heist, Stellar Tap, Guntown, Strike Hard, Husband Material, Roger McQueen, Magnolia Midnight. Scratched: Lucky Boss.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

The post Major General Earns His Stripes in Iroquois appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Also facing winners for the first time off a win at the Spa is WinStar and Siena Farm's Major General (Constitution). Sent off as a part of a favored entry for the connections Aug. 21, he was on the engine through most of the 6 1/2-furlong event, and despite a few bumps along the way, held on for a neck victory. Accompanied by Luis Saez in his debut, the dark bay joins up with Javier Castellano this time. The Todd Pletcher trainee, who worked a swift five furlongs in 1:00.6 over Saratoga's Oklahoma track Sept. 11 (3/10), was scheduled to arrive in Kentucky Friday.

Offering a two-pronged attack here, Asmussen also saddles last-out winner Winchell Thoroughbreds' Guntown (Gun Runner). A closing third after a problematic start in his debut going seven panels at Ellis July 11, the half-brother to champion 3-year-old Filly Untapable (Tapit) and GISW Paddy O'Prado (El Prado {Ire}) rebounded to score by 4 1/4 lengths while adding a furlong at that venue Aug. 13. Tyler Gaffalione gets the call.

The post ‘Rising Star’ Stellar Tap Returns in Iroquois appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The 1 1/16-mile Iroquois is one of five stakes events on the first Saturday of the 12-day September Meet. The Top 4 finishers of the race will receive 10-4-2-1 points as part of the 21-race “Prep Season” that showcases foundation-building races in advance of the “Championship Series,” which begins in mid-February.

The Iroquois and the $300,000 Pocahontas (G3) for 2-year-old fillies are both part of the Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” series and will offer an automatic entry-fees paid berth to the season-ending championships held on Nov. 5 at Del Mar.

The Iroquois was carded as Race 9 with a post time of 10:11 p.m. The first of 11 races will begin at 6 p.m. The other stakes events on the evening's program are the Pocahontas, $400,000 Locust Grove (G3), $300,000 Open Mind and $275,000 Louisville Thoroughbred Society.

In the Iroquois, Carolyn Wilson's $125,000 Ellis Park Juvenile winner Roger McQueen will attempt his first victory around two turns for trainer Larry Rivelli. The Unified colt, who was purchased for $530,000 at the 2021 OBS March Sale, was the half-length winner of the seven-furlong Ellis Park Juvenile under jockey Adam Beschizza, Roger McQueen drew post No. 3 with Beschizza back in the saddle again.

Among Roger McQueen's main rivals in the Iroquois is WinStar Farm and Siena Farm's Saratoga debut winner Major General for newly-elected Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. The Constitution colt broke his maiden in a 6 ½-furlong maiden special weight contest as the 5-2 post time favorite. New York-based Javier Castellano will be in town to ride from post 8.

Also entered in the field is L and N Racing and Winchell Thoroughbreds' 5 ¼-length debut winner Stellar Tap. The son of Tapit arrived to Churchill Downs on Tuesday from Saratoga where he gave Hall of Fame conditioner Steve Asmussen his North American record-breaking 9,446th career win. Ricardo Santana Jr. will have the return mount from post 6.

The complete field for the Iroquois from the rail out (with jockey and trainer):

1. Tough to Tame (Sophie Doyle, Chris Davis)
2. Lucky Boss (Brian Hernandez Jr., Kenny McPeek)
3. Roger McQueen (Beschizza, Rivelli)
4. Strike Hard (Leonel Reyes, Matthew Williams)
5. Magnolia Midnight (Corey Lanerie, Dallas Stewart)
6. Stellar Tap (Santana, Asmussen)
7. Red Knobs (James Graham, Dale Romans)
8. Major General (Castellano, Pletcher)
9. Guntown (Tyler Gaffalione, Asmussen)
10. Husband Material (Florent Geroux, Jimmy Toner)
11. Bourbon Heist (Joe Talamo, Ian Wilkes)

Thoroughbred Racing will meet Louisville Cardinals Basketball Saturday night when Louisville Live, the University of Louisville's annual preseason basketball event, comes to Churchill Downs for Downs After Dark. To celebrate the theme of “Horses & Hoops,” fans are encouraged to wear Cardinals gear to this one-of-a-kind experience. Gates will open at 5 p.m. and the first race is 6 p.m. The spacious 30,000-square-foot Plaza adjacent to the saddling paddock will showcase pulsating live entertainment featuring the Cardinals' men's and women's basketball teams on a portable court. The entertainment line-up will include official DJ for the Louisville Cardinals, DJ K-Dogg, who will spin game-time favorites from the Plaza stage.

UofL's 1986 NCAA Championship men's basketball team, guided by then future Hall of Fame Coach Denny Crum, will participate in the festivities and will be available to sign autographs prior to the Louisville Live main feature at 7:15 p.m.

Two specialty cocktails will be sold at the Old Forester Paddock Bar and the Spend a Buck Bar on the second floor of the Clubhouse in the Food Court: “The Cardinal Crush” and “The Slam Dunk.”

General admission to Downs After Dark is $12 and includes an official program. Guests under the age of 18 will only be admitted to the track if accompanied by a parent or adult guardian. Limited premium dining packages are available starting at $76 per person. Outdoor-third floor box seats are on sale for $27 per person. Reserved seating can be purchased online at www.ChurchillDowns.com/Tickets.

Fans can bet and watch all of Churchill Downs races on www.TwinSpires.com – the official advance-deposit wagering service for Churchill Downs Incorporated and its family of racetracks.

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