“I have so much love for him,” Novak said. “You can't just throw a life away.”

Not everyone would have seen it that way.

It was the tenth race at Parx that day, a $40,000 claimer for the type of horses who come and go without hardly anyone noticing. Trained by Michael Stidham, Jack a Rose had won two of eight career starts and earned $87,430. He would never be a stallion, be a star or make a lot of money, but Novak didn't care. She instructed the veterinary team at Parx to send Jack a Rose to Dr. Patty Hogan's clinic, where he would undergo a surgical procedure known as arthrodesis. An arthrodesis is where surgeons artificially fuse the joints through the use of ancillary devices like plates and screws.

“This horse is just so sweet, kind and intelligent,” Novak said. “I had to do this for him.”

The injury occurred in the left hind leg.

“You hear the common term breakdown injury all the time, on the newscasts and TV shows,” said Hogan, who would perform the surgery on Jack a Rose. “They are very serious injuries that happen to the ankle. It's when the horses lose the integrity of the function of the ankle whether by breaking a sesamoid or suspensory. These surgeries are difficult and they are expensive. It has a lot of complications associated with it. It's a huge investment.”

Jack a Rose on his day of admission | Hogan Equine

Performing an arthrodesis on a horse is not uncommon. Echo Zulu (Gun Runner) underwent the surgery after she broke down prior to the Breeders' Cup and so did Geaux Rocket Ride (Candy Ride {Arg}) before he was also injured while preparing for the Breeders' Cup. Echo Zulu survived; Geaux Rocket Ride did not. For those horses, the surgery made economic sense. Both had tremendous residual value and were worth far more than the cost of the surgery. No matter what happened with his surgery, Jack a Rose would never race again and could not even be ridden. He would be a pasture pet, one with no economic value.

“The people who owned this horse are working-class people who bred and loved this horse,” Hogan said. “He was a modest race horse but they didn't feel like bailing on him. They wanted to fix him even if that meant he was just going to live somewhere for the rest of his life. He has no economic value whatsoever. What they did, that kind of got to us. It was really touching that they took this to the extremes they did as responsible horse owners. Euthanasia was an absolutely reasonable choice for this kind of injury.”

And there were no guarantees that he would survive the surgery.

“There are a lot of problems with this surgery,” Hogan said. “They are prone to laminitis in the other leg. They get infections because of all the metal. There's a lot of stress and a lot of tissue trauma. It's a big undertaking. Even if you have a horse that is insured many insurance companies consider the surgery an extreme measure and they won't honor the insurance policy.”

Jack a Rose's fused ankle | Hogan Equine

Hogan normally gives a horse a break of a few days between the time they are injured and when she operates. Novak could have changed her mind, something a lot of people might have done when they started to add up the numbers. The cost of the operation plus the payments for the time the horse is laid up and recovering would come out to about $25,000.

Novak grew up in Chicago and followed racing since she was very young. The first horse she fell in love with was Timely Writer, who had to be euthanized after breaking down in the 1982 GI Jockey Club Gold Cup. She said she was always haunted by his death and that it was never far from her mind when she had to start making decisions about Jack a Rose. Then there was the finances.

“I am a supervisor at a carwash here in Chicagoland,” Novak explained. “I've made $61,000 so far this year and my take home pay has been about $48,000. No, I really didn't have the money to do this. I've been through hard times financially before. I had to do it.”

She said she used credit cards to make the payments.

Jack a Rose was operated on Apr. 18 and everything went according to plan.

“We removed all the cartilage of his joint and put it back in perfect alignment with screws and wiring and a plate and let bone heal to bone so it becomes one single unit of bone that's very functionable,” Hogan explained. “It no longer bends but horses who have had this surgery can get around fine.”

Jack a Rose in the paddock | Dr. Patricia Hogan

Hogan said that she and her entire team rallied around the horse.

“This was a completely heart-warming story,” Hogan said. “We do this surgery for horses, but it's always for ones that are worth a ton of money. To do one for a horse who is a 5-year-old gelding was just amazing. Our whole crew, we were heavily invested in this horse. He's a wonderful horse. Just an amazing animal. To know how much these people cared about him was special. It was very satisfying to have been able to do a good job for them. Horse racing get bashed so much. I like to get these stories out there to educate people and show them there are plenty of people out there who really love their horses.”

Unable to have a second career, Jack a Rose is among the newest arrivals at Old Friends. Novak is hoping to visit him in January.

“I love animals,” she said. “If I could save every horse I would.”

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Off at 12-1 in the $600,000 United Nations, Therapist broke cleanly from the inside and settled into a nice midpack spot as 58-1 longshot So High (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) showed the way through early :24.76 and :49.32 quarters. Unhurried, Therapist bided his time until the final turn, where he kicked on wide and rallied down the lane to reel in favored last-out GIII Monmouth S. winner Catnip (Kitten's Joy), who had tracked So High all the way before tackling him in the stretch. Therapist also held off a surging Red Knight (Pure Prize), a fellow older model who has had a resurgence of his own to win the GI Man o' War S. in May. Red Knight, like Therapist, hails from the barn of Michael Maker, who has now won this race three times since 2017.

“He's a really good horse,” said jockey Javier Castellano of the winner. “He's a long-distance horse. He seems to always maintain his rhythm. I knew that horse on the lead was going to stop. I just rode my race. I knew he was going to come back to us. I didn't want to chase him and not have anything left. It's a long distance. You have to have a lot of patience and have a lot of confidence in the horse. It's amazing that he won a Grade I race at 8-years-old. He's just a professional horse.”

Watch this remarkable win by #1 THERAPIST ($26.60) and @jjcjockey in the (GI) United Nations Stakes at @MonmouthPark. Congratulations to Michael Dubb and @trainerMMaker!

The https://t.co/nBYFHiPrdh Haskell Stakes is NEXT! Watch on @FanDuelTV. Bet at https://t.co/nBYFHiPrdh. pic.twitter.com/xzZV3PoIwJ

— TVG (@TVG) July 22, 2023

Therapist has had a long career, breaking his maiden in 2017–three years before the competitors in the GI Haskell S., the next race on Monmouth's card–were even born. A multiple listed winner at two and winner of several black-type races in the ensuing years, he has clearly improved over time, adding his first graded win in Gulfstream's GII Pan American S. just this April. Last seen finishing second in the Chorleywood Overnight S. at Ellis Park June 17, Therapist was picked up by owner Michael Dubb for $50,000 at Gulfstream in January after he lost a $25,000 shake for him in December.

“I followed this horse throughout his career,” said Dubb, who was winning his third consecutive United Nations, although the last two were in partnership. “I knew the ability he had and that's why I claimed him.

“This is Mike Maker's sweet spot. When we got him the horse hadn't been racing this long and I asked Mike why he wanted to go this long. He said, 'I see it in the breeding.'”

Pedigree Notes:

Therapist is the fifth Grade I winner for New York's veteran star sire, Freud. The 25-year-old Sequel Stallions stalwart, a full-brother to the late Giant's Causeway, has 61 black-type winners bred in the Northern Hemisphere and 11 graded winners. Freud has three stakes performers out of Smart Strike mares, with two of those being Therapist and his younger full-sister, Fresco. Smart Strike currently sits second on the 2023 list of leading broodmare sires and has 164 black-type winners out of his daughters.

Now 20, Lady Renaissance has been sold since foaling Therapist and Fresco in the Empire State. She brought $52,000 at the 2018 Keeneland January sale from Dennis Yokum and was shipped to California. Her most recent produce is Seize the Derby (Carpe Diem), an unraced 3-year-old gelding. Lady Renaissance's lovely extended pedigree includes a granddam who is a half-sister to 1994 Broodmare of the Year Fall Aspen (Pretense), whose influence is still felt today.

Saturday, Monmouth Park
UNITED NATIONS S.-GI, $612,000, Monmouth, 7-22,
3yo/up, 1 3/8mT, 2:14.50, fm.
1–THERAPIST, 124, g, 8, by Freud
               1st Dam: Lady Renaissance, by Smart Strike
                2nd Dam: Artistic, by Pirate's Bounty
                3rd Dam: Paintbrush, by Bold Hour
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($8,000 RNA Ylg '16 SARAUG). O-Michael Dubb; B-Oak Bluff Stable, LLC & C. Clement (NY); T-Michael J. Maker; J-Javier Castellano. $360,000. Lifetime Record: 42-13-5-8, $1,353,815. *Full to Fresco, SW, $125,350. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Catnip, 124, g, 4, Kitten's Joy–Masquerade, by Silent Name (Jpn). 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O/B-John Moore & Susan Moore (KY); T-Michael Stidham. $120,000.
3–Red Knight, 124, g, 9, Pure Prize–Isabel Away, by Skip Away. O/B-Trinity Farm, LLC (NY); T-Michael J. Maker. $60,000.
Margins: 1HF, 3/4, NO. Odds: 12.30, 1.20, 2.70.
Also Ran: Limited Liability, Planetario (Brz), Foreign Relations,
So High (GB), Yamato, Kygo (Ger). Scratched: Oceans Map.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV .

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“He really showed some guts,” said winning trainer Michael Stidham. “He's never been on the lead in his life. He's laid close early on in his career so we knew he could be close and still finish. But he was never on the lead so I didn't know what to think. I was hoping for the best, and then when they hooked him at the three-sixteenths pole, I thought, `Oh boy, here we go.' Then he dug in and class came through in the end.”

It was all PROXY (Tapit) in the GIII Monmouth Cup Stakes, much the best today at @MonmouthPark! pic.twitter.com/RBvl9MKHCv

— TDN (@theTDN) July 22, 2023

Proxy, who has been running with cheek pieces for his last couple of starts, took some bumping out of the gate, but shrugged them all off to emerge from the fray on top. After a first quarter in :23.80 and a half in :48.13, Calibrate tackled him from the outside while Wheelin Springs jumped in around the turn. With the trio heads apart coming into the stretch and well clear of the rest, Joel Rosario encouraged the winner with a couple of right-handed taps and he quickly put daylight on the interlopers to cross the wire 2 1/2 lengths the best. The final time for the nine furlongs was 1:49.99.

“I think it was just a case of too much class,” said Rosario. “He was the best horse in the race. He broke well and I just kind of let him go and do his thing. He's a little tricky sometimes to ride. You have to let him do the work. I know he always tries. He never gives up. He just does what he does. I was on the best horse and I rode him that way. They put some pressure on us but I was never worried. He has so much class. I just let him show the way.”

The Monmouth Cup was Proxy's third win at the distance. After knocking at the door with five graded placings from 2021-22, he finally broke through last November, getting his first graded score in a big way with a 101 Beyer Speed Figure and a visit to the winner's circle in the aforementioned Clark at Churchill Downs. He kicked off 2023 by missing the superfecta in the GI Pegasus World Cup, rebounded with a game second by just a neck to Stilleto Boy (Shackleford) in the GI Santa Anita H. prior to a GII Oaklawn H. win, then threw in the towel last out in the July 1 Stephen Foster.

Pedigree Notes:

Gainesway's remarkable Tapit, an annual fixture on the leading sires list, is the sire of Proxy and exactly 100 other graded winners bred in the Northern Hemisphere. His 159 black-type winners include the likes of Horse of Year Flightline, a number of champions including Godolphin's Essential Quality, and four GI Belmont S. winners. Both Proxy and MGSW Pink Sands are by Tapit and out of Include mares. Airdrie's late Include, a son of Broad Brush who passed away last summer due to complications from a heart condition, has 29 stakes winners out of his daughters.

Godolphin bred Proxy out of 2007 GI Juddmonte Spinster S. and GI American Oaks winner Panty Raid after John Ferguson purchased her for $2.5 million at the 2008 Fasig-Tipton November sale. The full-sister to GSW and 2011 GI Kentucky Oaks runner-up St. John's River has also produced GSW & GISP Micheline (Bernardini) and has an unraced 2-year-old gelding named Out in Force (Frosted). Her most recent offspring is a yearling filly by Into Mischief.

Saturday, Monmouth Park
MONMOUTH CUP S.-GIII, $400,000, Monmouth, 7-22,
3yo/up, 1 1/8m, 1:49.99, ft.
1–PROXY, 124, h, 5, by Tapit
               1st Dam: Panty Raid (MGISW, $1,052,380), by Include
               2nd Dam: Adventurous Di, by Private Account
               3rd Dam: Tamaral, by Seattle Slew
O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Michael Stidham; J-Joel Rosario.
$240,000. Lifetime Record: GISW, 18-6-6-2, $2,024,970. *1/2
to Micheline (Bernardini), GSW & GISP, $695,103. Werk Nick
Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report &
5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com
catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Whelen Springs, 118, c, 4, Street Sense–Holy Nova, by Pure
Prize. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O/B-Shortleaf Stable (AR);
T-Lindsay Schultz. $80,000.
3–Calibrate, 122, g, 5, Distorted Humor–Glamour and Style, by
Dynaformer. ($340,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Josh Engel, Rick
Engel, Greg Armatys and Chelsey Badura; B-Don Alberto
Corporation (KY); T-Jamie Ness. $40,000.
Margins: 2HF, 4 3/4, 2HF. Odds: 0.40, 6.90, 4.00.
Also Ran: Antigravity, Fowler Blue, Forewarned, Higher Quality.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs.
VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Working in tandem with stablemate Global Sensation (Into Mischief), the pair covered five-eighths in 1:00.40, with Proxy working an additional eighth-mile past the wire. With a crush of horses working right after the track's renovation break, exercise rider Arturo Aparicio ran into traffic past the wire and had to steer Proxy around a couple of horses galloping out from their own workout.

“Basically Proxy had to go around those horses and weave a little bit to navigate around the turn,” Stidham explained. “It probably cost him a length or two in the final time. But a very nice work. He finished up well and went on out real nice and continued to gallop out well down the backside.”

He added, “The last work [five-eighths in a minute flat] and this work were the two important works. I just wanted to see him finish up willingly and then continue around the turn with good energy. He did that last time and this time really well.”

Runner-up in the GIII Lecomte S. and GII Risen Star S. in the spring of his sophomore season, the homebred finished fourth in the GII Louisiana Derby and GIII Lexington S. before bowing out for the remainder of the season. In 2022, he returned with an allowance win in New Orleans in February before hitting the board in his next four starts, including a third in the GII Stephen Foster S. last summer. Trying Grade I company for the first time in the Nov. 25 Clark, he came home a 3/4-length winner going nine furlongs, the same distance as the Pegasus.

“We talk about it, that Proxy wasn't quite where he needed to be to go into the Triple Crown,” Stidham explained. “It wasn't 'Oh well, why don't we do this or that?' It was a done deal. Believe me, the reason [2021 G1 Dubai World Cup scorer] Mystic Guide [Ghostzapper] did what he did was because of that, allowing us to go slow with him and skip some of the big races, including the Breeders' Cup. With Proxy, skipping the Triple Crown has allowed us to get to winning the Clark. I don't think a lot of people realize how important those decisions are in a horse's career, for their future.”

Also working toward the Pegasus, Saffie Joseph Jr. sent out Daniel Alonso's Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) and Fernando Vine Ode and Michael and Jules Iavarone's O'Connor (Chi) (Boboman) to the main track at Palm Meadows for easy half-mile breezes Saturday morning.

Skippylongstocking breezed a half-mile in :48.50 (18/99), while O'Connor was caught in :51.05 (88/99) at Gulfstream's satellite training facility in Palm Beach County. Both horses were breezing for the first time since running in the GIII Harlan's Holiday S., won by Skippylongstocking. O'Connor finished fourth in the 8 1/2-furlong test Dec. 31. Joseph Jr. also trains White Abarrio (Race Day), who prepped for the Pegasus at Gulfstream Friday morning with a five-furlong work in :59.24.

Joseph also sent Ken Ramsey and the Estate of Sarah Ramsay's Artie's Princess (We Miss Artie) to Palm Meadows' main track for a half-mile breeze in :48.45 in preparation for a start in the GIII Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf invitational.

At Santa Anita Saturday, GI Awesome Again winner Defunded (Dialed In) also worked in advance of the Pegasus World Cup. The Bob Baffert trainee drilled six furlongs in 1:12.6.

Taking on the Pegasus Turf

At Santa Anita Saturday morning, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Speaking Scout (Mr Speaker), victorious in the Dec. 3 GI Hollywood Derby, breezed a half-mile in :48.20 for a start in the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational. Also pointing toward the Turf, Three Diamonds Farm's Atone posted his third straight bullet workout Saturday at Gulfstream, powering through five-eighths of a mile in :59.96 (1/48). The prior two weeks, Atone worked in :59.04 and :59.20.

A $130,000 Fasig-Tipton July purchase, he led all the way through a leisurely pace to win his last start, an Aqueduct turf allowance Nov. 10.

“He's in top form. The freshening did him well, so I expect another big performance from him,” said trainer Mike Maker, who won the 2020 Pegasus Turf with Zulu Alpha. “He's always been a straightforward horse, works well, puts a bunch into his gallops.”

For the second straight year, Atone needed defections from the Pegasus Turf's original invitees in order to run. Last year, he finished fourth, losing by a total of 1 3/4 lengths to two-time winner Colonel Liam (Liam's Map).

While the 6-year-old gelding has never won a stakes, he has hot the board five times in graded-stakes over the past 13 months.

“He's been a little bit of a hard-luck horse,” Maker said. “He's a lot more mature this year than he was last year.”

Maker also indicated Mark Breen's Endorsed (Medaglia d'Oro), fourth in last year's Pegasus World Cup at 85-1 odds, and Nice Guy Stables' GIII Knickerbocker S. winner King Cause (Creative Cause), who is awaiting a spot in the Pegasus Turf, would run if they get into their respective races.

Both horses are currently on the reserve list. The final invitational lists will be released Wednesday, Jan. 18 with the draw for all Pegasus races to take place Sunday, Jan. 22.

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4th-WO, $123K, Msw, 3yo, f, 7f (AWT), 2:49 p.m. ET

Godolphin and trainer Michael Stidham unveil 3-year-old filly AIOLI, a daughter of Darley's Medaglia d'Oro. She is out of a half-sister to Loving Vindication (Vindication), who has produced Canadian Horse of the Year Wonder Gadot (Medaglia d'Oro) and GISW Hard Not to Love (Hard Spun). Aioli is a half-sister to GISW Secret Spice (Discreet Cat), who sold at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Fall Mixed Sale for $1.4 million to Japan's Katsumi Yoshida. Aioli most recently worked four furlongs in :48 2/5 (4/9) May 8 over the all-weather at Fair Hill. Leading Woodbine jockey Kazushi Kimura gets the ride. TJCIS PPs

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“I started almost a year ago and the first thing we did was look at everything so far as how do we better service our clients?” said Lacy, who, along with Timm and Stidham were the Green Group Guests of the Week. “What is the best way to do things? So at Keeneland that embodies everything in the industry. It's a sales company, but it's also a world class racetrack. So we decided to combine the two activities on the one day. Logistically for our team, it's really challenging. But everybody knew it was very important that we could pull it off to get it done. The feedback has been really, really positive. I think the people really appreciate the fact that they can go racing, watch the Bewitch Stakes, and walk down the hill and an hour later we're able to sell horses.”

All the sales companies had to make adjustments due to the pandemic, and one was an increased emphasis on online bidding. Once again, in Friday's sale, prospective buyers can bid on their computers from the comforts of their homes.

“The pandemic has forced a lot of innovation that may have taken a lot longer to initiate otherwise,” Lacy said. “The horse industry is not something that really embraces change really quickly. So as we have learned from a lot of our customers, they have really appreciated the fact of being able to bid online. They also need to do their homework, so Information transparency is incredibly important. That's why we're trying to be flexible as much as possible and are trying to find ways to make it all convenient. A traditional auction is absolutely something that's not going to go away. But we've got to find a way of modernizing it and finding a way that better suits the modern way of doing business.”

Timm, who has had many roles in the industry, recently announced that he has joined forces with James Keogh at Grovendale, a Thoroughbred consignment based in Versailles, Kentucky. The April Horses of Racing Sale will mark the first time the newly formed team would be selling horses together.

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, XBTV, Lane's End Farm, West Point Thoroughbreds, Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders and Legacy Bloodstock, writers Joe Bianca, Bill Finley and Jon Green discussed the win by Letruska (Super Saver) in the GI Apple Blossom H. and her prospects for another stellar campaign in 2022.

For the audio (only) version, click here.

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“We weren't completely happy the way he came out of it. So we decided to send him up to Kentucky to Rood & Riddle, where Dr. (Larry) Bramlage did the surgery and is overseeing his comeback,” Stidham told bloodhorse.com. “Nothing serious, but enough to where we are in a holding pattern, where we had to slow down again and give him a little more time before he resumes his training.”

Mystic Guide has not raced since finishing second in the G2 Suburban Stakes on July 3, 2021, after which he underwent surgery to remove a knee chip. He managed to record a pair of workouts at the Fair Grounds in December, but now the horse's future is uncertain after the latest setback, which does not involve the knee on which surgery was performed. Mystic Guide will be in Kentucky with Godolphin trainer Johnny Burke for at least the next three weeks.

The lightly-raced Godolphin homebred has a record of four wins from nine starts, with earnings of $7,593,200.

DRF's Marcus Hersh first reported the news.

Read more at bloodhorse.com.

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Besides the filly and mare grass feature, there also will be the Grade 3, $100,000 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes for 2-year-olds. The Matriarch has lured seven for its mile journey, while the DeMille has brought out 11 for its eight furlongs on the green.

The 15-day Crosby Season at the seaside track north of San Diego, Calif., featured the 38th edition of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which established a new betting mark for the two-day, 14-race extravaganza. Additionally, the seaside track put on its own 13-day session climaxed by a seven-stakes, all on grass, four-day finish that puts a fine bow on a fine racing run.

Heading the 41st edition of the Matriarch – the last seven of which have been held at Del Mar – is Susan and John Moore's Princess Grace, a 4-year-old filly by the Japanese-bred stallion Karakontie who has won six of her eight lifetime starts, including a tally at Del Mar this past summer in the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon Handicap. Trainer Michael Stidham sticks with Kent Desormeaux as her rider.

Princess Grace will have to have her running shoes on tight Sunday, though, with trainer Chad Brown having entered two of his mares in the test, including last year's winner Viadera.

The Matriarch will be seventh race on the Sunday card.

In the Cecil B. DeMille, which goes as Race 3, the horse to beat appears to be another Brown runner in Verbal, who has only made one starts, but it was a goodie. He won easily over a field of straight maidens at Belmont Park on October 10 at a mile on the grass and will have Jose Ortiz back again on board on Sunday.

Here are the full fields for both races from the rail out with riders and morning line odds:

Matriarch Stakes:  Princess Grace (8/5); Calvin Nguyen's Bodhicitta (John Velazquez, 12-1); Juddmonte's Viadera (Flavien Prat, 5/2); Aoshiba Corporation's Fast Jet Court (Drayden Van Dyke, 20-1); Heider Family Stables' Zofelle (Umberto Rispoli, 5-1), and Peter Brant's Regal Glory (Jose Ortiz, 9/5).

Cecil B. DeMille Stakes:  Red Baron Barn or Rancho Temescal's Optimising (Umberto Rispoli, 3-1); Merecado Racing's Khantaro d'Oro (Juan Hernandez, 12-1); Alvarez Racing Stables' Groovy Huey (Edwin Maldonado, 30-1); West Point Thoroughbreds or Barker's Derecho Dandy (Joe Bravo, 5-1); Drakos or Hanson's Barsabas (Tyler Baze, 12-1); Homme or DeMaio's Il Capitano (John Velazquez, 20-1); Kretz Racing's Cabo Spirit (Victor Espinoza, 6-1); Featherston, Lambert or Underhill, et al's Stotland (Kent Desormeaux, 30-1); Glenn Sorgenstein WC Racing and Great Friends Stable, et al's Get Back Goldie (Kyle Frey, 6-1); Verbal (5/2), and Exline-Border Racing, Wilson, et al's Lottery Pick (Flavien Prat, 8-1).

First post for the Sunday finale will be 12:30 p.m.

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So begins the staging process for the four-day, seven-stakes Turf Festival that will wrap up the Bing Crosby Season at the track. And if the seven previous such closing stands of the fall meeting are any indication, the eager anticipation felt by horsemen and fans is more than justified.

A contingent of quality shippers from the east will arrive Monday or Tuesday in numbers that racing secretary David Jerkens expects will be similar to past years from the stables of trainers whose names top, or are highly stationed, on national lists.

Chad Brown has won nine Turf Festival races, with emphasis on the G1 events – Saturday's $400,000 Hollywood Derby and Sunday's $400,000 Matriarch – where he's notched three in each. He's expected to put seven or eight on the westbound plane, among them defending Matriarch champ Viadera. Brown has multiple graded stakes winner Public Sector and Sifting Sands nominated for the Hollywood Derby and Turf Cup nominee Rockemperor stabled at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., and available for the relatively short trip down the freeway.

Michael Stidham's Princess Grace, who shipped in to win the Yellow Ribbon in the summer and returned for a third-place finish as favorite in the G2 Goldikova during Breeders' Cup Week, has remained on the grounds and is nominated for the Matriarch. So has Goldikova runner-up Zofelle for trainer Brendan Walsh.

Trainer H. Graham Motion, who has notched Red Carpet, Jimmy Durante, and Seabiscuit Stakes wins in past Turf Festivals, has a handful of horses on-site and could bring in reinforcements considering his six stakes nominees. Ken McPeek has indicated he will be sending Camp Hope, a winner of two starts in October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., and Greg Sacco is sending It Can Be Done off a third-place finish, beaten two lengths by Public Sector in the Hill Prince on October 23 at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

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