Pocahontas Win Nets Reylu Gutierrez Jockey Of The Week Title

Jockey Reylu Gutierrez stopped at Churchill Downs opening weekend, his 15th track so far this year, and made his first career Churchill Downs win even more special with the Grade 3 Pocahontas. His accomplishment earned Jockey of the Week honors for Sept. 13 through Sept. 19. The award, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 1050 active, retired and permanently disabled jockeys in the United States.

Trained by Bret Calhoun and with Gutierrez again in the saddle, Hidden Connection went into the Grade 3 Pocahontas for two-year-old fillies fresh off a dazzling 7-1/2 length win at Colonial Downs. Off as the 9-5 favorite from post 9 in a field of 11, Hidden Connection sat just off the leader, Lemieux ridden by Tyler Gaffalione. With three furlongs to go, Hidden Connection went to the lead and drew away to a dominating 9-1/2 length win while setting a stakes record for the 1-1/16th mile race over a fast track in a final time of 1:43.78.

“It is incredibly special to get my first win at Churchill Downs for these great people, in front of this amazing crowd and aboard this filly,” said the understandably excited Gutierrez. “She is unbelievable.”

Gutierrez, 25, a finalist for the 2018 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Apprentice, earned his first graded stakes win in 2019. He is the son of Finger Lakes trainer Luis Gutierrez and his uncle is retired Finger Lakes jockey Jose Gutierrez. Even with those close racing connections, Gutierrez did not intend to be a jockey. An injury playing Lacrosse in high school led him to rehabilitation and the idea of physical therapy as a profession. He graduated from SUNY Cortland in 2017 with a degree in exercise physiology.

A desire to pay off student loans and growing up in the racing industry led him to give riding professionally a try. He won his first race in 2017 at Finger Lakes and is considered one of the industry's most promising young jockeys. To date, the well-travelled Gutierrez has won 356 races from 2,808 starts and nearly $13 million in purses. He rode mostly in New York through 2020 but decided to give Texas a try this year riding at Sam Houston and Lone Star Park as well as Remington Park in Oklahoma. This week, he rides at Churchill Downs then Remington Park and back home to Finger Lakes for mounts in two-year-old stakes races for trainer Mike Maker.

Weekly stats for Gutierrez were 8-1-1-1 and purse earnings of $202,624.

Gutierrez out-polled Javier Castellano who won the Grade 3 Iroquois, Tyler Gaffalione with a stakes wins at Churchill Downs, Feargal Lynch with two stakes wins at Laurel and Jaime Rodriguez who had nine wins for the week.

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Talented Maiden Winner Hidden Connection Steps Up In Pocahontas

Deuce Greathouse, Cindy Hutson, Madaket Stables and Thomas Romano's Ontheonesandtwos will be in search of her first graded stakes win in Saturday's 53rd running of the $300,000 Pocahontas (Grade 3) – the kickoff to the “Road to the Kentucky Oaks.”

Saturday's Pocahontas Stakes, which goes as Race 8 with a post time of 9:39 p.m., is part of the Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” series where the winner will receive an automatic entry-fees paid berth to the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) on Nov. 5 at Del Mar.

The 1 1/16-mile race also offers points to the Top 4 finishers on a 10-4-2-1 scale to the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1).

The Pocahontas shares the Saturday spotlight with the $300,000 Iroquois, its counterpart for 2-year-olds that begins the “Road to the Kentucky Derby” along with the $400,000 Locust Grove (G3), $300,000 Open Mind and $275,000 Louisville Thoroughbred Society. The first of 11 races will get underway at 6 p.m. for Downs After Dark presented by Budweiser.

Ontheonesandtwos, a 2-year-old Jimmy Creed filly trained by Norm Casse, won her debut in May at Churchill Downs by 1 ¾ lengths. The former $37,000 purchase from the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale finished second behind Behave Virginia in the $150,000 Debutante and sixth in the $200,000 Adirondack Stakes (G2) at Saratoga. Jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. will ride from post No. 4.

Among Ontheonesandtwos' rivals in the Pocahontas is Hidden Brook Farm's flashy debut winner Hidden Connection. Trained by Bret Calhoun, Hidden Connection won four weeks ago at Colonial Downs by 7 ½ lengths under jockey Reylu Gutierrez. Hidden Connection is among the first-crop of 2-year-olds from her sire Connect. She was purchased at the 2021 OBS June Horses of Racing Age Sale for $85,000. Gutierrez has the return call from post 9.

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

  1. Code for Success (Rafael Bejarano, Vicki Oliver)
  2. Goddess of Fire (Javier Castellano, Todd Pletcher)
  3. Mama Rina (Brian Hernandez Jr., Kenny McPeek)
  4. Ontheonesandtwos (Santana, Norm Casse)
  5. Majestic d'Oro (Martin Garcia, Brendan Walsh)
  6. Kneesnhips (James Graham, Tom Amoss)
  7. Miss Chamita (Gregory Romero, Michel Doulhy)
  8. Hidden Connection (Gutierrez, Calhoun)
  9. Lemieux (Tyler Gaffalione, Mark Cassse)
  10. Joyrunner (Joe Ramos, Laura Wohlers)

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Live Racing Returns To Churchill Thursday; New Turf Course Won’t Be Ready Until Spring 2022

Horse racing on the booming Kentucky circuit shifts to Churchill Downs on Thursday, Sept. 16 with the first of three Twilight Thursday programs at 5 p.m. (all times Eastern) as the famed Louisville racetrack opens its ninth September Meet for an action-packed 12-date run through Sunday, Oct. 3.

Thursday's eight-race opener lured 82 entries, including a field of eight fillies and mares for the featured seventh race, a $134,000 second-level allowance at 1 1/8 miles. The program also has a first-level allowance for 3-year-olds and up at 6 ½ furlongs (Race 6) and a $120,000 maiden special weight for 2-year-olds at six furlongs (Race 5).

Each of the September Meet's 117 scheduled races will be contested on the main dirt track. In July, Churchill Downs began work to install a new $10 million turf course that will be ready for turf racing to resume at the start of the 2022 Spring Meet.

Horsemen will compete for more than $12.3 million (all purses include prize money from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund) offered in Vice President of Racing Ben Huffman's September Meet condition book, including an 11-race stakes schedule cumulatively worth $3.26 million.

Five stakes races, including two important fixtures for juveniles that could produce starters in this year's Breeders' Cup and next spring's Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade 1) and the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1), will be showcased in primetime under the lights on Saturday as part of Downs After Dark presented by Budweiser.

The $300,000 Iroquois (G3) kicks off the “Road to the Kentucky Derby” series (Top 4 Points: 10-4-2-1), while the $300,000 Pocahontas (G3) starts the “Road to the Kentucky Oaks” (Top 4 Points: 10-4-2-1). Additionally, both 1 1/16-mile races are Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” Challenge events, which means the winners will receive automatic berths in the starting gate for their respective Breeders' Cup races on Nov. 5 at Del Mar with full entry fees and travel expenses paid.

Two Saratoga maiden winners are under consideration for the Iroquois: the Todd Pletcher-trained Major General and Stellar Tap, who gave Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen his North American record-breaking 9,446th career win. Ellis Park Juvenile one-two, Roger McQueen and Lucky Boss, and Ellis Park maiden winner Guntown also could run. Hidden Connection, a fast 7 ½-length winner in her debut at Colonial Downs for trainer Bret Calhoun, and trainer Norm Casse's Debutante runner-up Ontheonesandtwos are among the fillies likely to run in the Pocahontas.

Meanwhile Distaff and Filly & Mare Sprint prospects may surface in a pair of Saturday stakes for fillies and mares, the $400,000 Locust Grove (G3) over 1 1/16 miles and the $300,000 Open Mind (Listed) at six furlongs. Last year's Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Shedaresthedevil, winner of this year's La Troienne (G1) and Clement L. Hirsch (G1) for trainer Brad Cox, is likely to headline the Locust Grove against trainer Kenny McPeek's Envoutante, who won last year's Falls City (G2) and this year's Shawnee at Churchill Downs. Winning Colors (G3) winner Sconsin, conditioned by Greg Foley, is expected for the Open Mind.

The inaugural $275,000 Louisville Thoroughbred Society, an open sprint for 3-year-olds and up at six furlongs, wraps the stakes-laden program. Streaking stakes winner Bango, trained by Foley, is expected to run in pursuit of his seventh Churchill Downs victory.

Entries for Saturday night's 11-race card will be taken Wednesday morning.

Thoroughbred Racing will meet Louisville Cardinals Basketball 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 that will bring together two Louisville sports legacies under the famed Twin Spires. Gates will open at 5 p.m. with the first race scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

Other marque events during the September Meet include the $275,000 Dogwood (G3) for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs on Saturday, Sept. 25. The eventual Champion Female Sprinter Covfefe used the race in 2019 as a springboard to a successful run in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) at Santa Anita. Also on Sept. 25 are the newly-created $275,000 Bourbon Trail for 3-year-olds at 1 3/16 miles and $275,000 Harrods Creek for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs.

Closing weekend is anchored by the $400,000 Lukas Classic (G3) for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles and honors Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, the iconic four-time winner of the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks and conditioner of 26 Eclipse Award-winning champions who has been based at Churchill Downs' Barn 44 since 1989.

Knicks Go, the top-ranked horse in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll after convincing wins in this year's Pegasus World Cup (G1) at Gulfstream Park and Whitney (G1) at Saratoga, is expected to prep for the Breeders' Cup's $6 million Longines Classic in the Saturday, Oct. 2 Lukas Classic, according to Cox.

Also run that day is the $300,000 Ack Ack (G3) for Dirt Mile prospects. The new $160,000 Seneca Overnight Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles will be run Friday, Oct. 1.

Churchill Downs' 12-day meet will be staged over three weekends through Sunday, Oct. 2 with racing on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Outside of the three Twilight Thursdays (5 p.m.) and Saturday night's lone Downs After Dark (6 p.m.), the first race for all other race days will be 12:45 p.m. (admission gates open at 11:30 a.m.). Eight races are scheduled on Thursdays with 10-race programs on Fridays and Sundays. Eleven races will be showcased each Saturday.

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‘Ready To Take Our Shot’: Romans’ Breeders’ Cup Brigade Led By Juveniles Girl Daddy, Sittin On GO

Trainer Dale Romans had a monumental Kentucky Derby week with Albaugh Family Stable's duo of stakes winners Girl Daddy and Sittin On Go. The twosome will join three other Romans trainees in next weekend's Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland.

“It was a really great week to win both the Pocahontas (Grade 3) and Iroquois (G3),” Romans said. “We're coming into the Breeders' Cup with some good chances and ready to take our shot. I think that across the board each of the Breeders' Cup races are shaping up to be competitive. It's fun getting to compete on this stage and seeing who is the best of the best.”

Sittin On Go, a 2-year-old undefeated son of former Romans-trained Brody's Cause, is one of the top contenders for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1). Also scheduled to join him in the starting gate is Albaugh's maiden winner Smiley Sobotka.

Girl Daddy, who won the $200,000 Pocahontas by two lengths, is likely to face seven rivals in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1).

“Obviously, long term, you always have next year's Kentucky Derby and Oaks in the back of your mind,” Romans said. “These horses have shown they have potential to get to that level in the future.”

Romans also pre-entered CJ Thoroughbreds, Left Turn Racing and Casner Racing's $500,000 Derby City Distaff (GI) third-place finisher Sally's Curlin to the $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (GI) and Jim Bakke and Gerald Isbister's $200,000 Fayette (GII) hero Mr Freeze to the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (GI).

All five horses are expected to have their final works prior to the Breeders' Cup Friday or Saturday. They will ship to Keeneland on Monday, according to Romans.

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