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Cox Confident Owendale Will Take ‘Next Step Forward’ In Stephen Foster

Rupp Racing's multiple Grade III winner Owendale (by leading sire Into Mischief) will attempt to take a step forward to become one of the top older horses in the country in Saturday's $500,000 Stephen Foster (GII) at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

“He's only had one start this year (in the $100,000 Blame) but his victory was visually very impressive for us,” trainer Brad Cox said. “It's only one race but we're hoping he keeps showing that positive progression from a 3-year-old to an older 4-year-old. The Blame was a one-turn race, which is not his preferred distance and a distance he hasn't run at in several starts. The 1 1/8-mile distance in the Stephen Foster should definitely suit him better and we're confident he can take that next step forward to becoming one of the top handicap horses in the country.”

Saturday's Stephen Foster is the marquee race of the 2020 Spring Meet at Churchill Downs with the winner receiving an automatic berth to the Breeders' Cup Classic (GI) on Nov. 7 at Keeneland.

The Stephen Foster has had a strong influence on the Breeders' Cup Classic and Horse of the Year honors. Four horses used victories in the Stephen Foster as part of their résumés in Horse of the Year campaigns: Black Tie Affair (1991), Saint Liam (2005), Curlin (2008) and Gun Runner (2017). In addition, two runner-ups were crowned Horse of the Year: Mineshaft (2003) and Wise Dan (2012). Also, Awesome Again (1998) and Blame (2010) completed same-year Foster-Classic doubles. Fort Larned won the Classic in 2012, and won the Foster the following year prior to a fourth-place run in his bid for a second Classic win.

Owendale was made the 4-1 third choice on the morning line for Saturday's Stephen Foster and his regular pilot Florent Geroux will be in the irons. The Stephen Foster is carded as Race 10 of 11 with a post time of 5:47 p.m.

The complete field for the Stephen Foster (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds): Fearless (John Velazquez, Todd Pletcher, 12-1); Pirate's Punch (Mike Smith, Grant Forster, 15-1); Alkhaatam (Declan Cannon, Danny Peitz, 30-1); Multiplier(Tyler Gaffalione, Peter Miller, 10-1); Tom's d'Etat (Miguel Mena, Al Stall Jr., even-money); By My Standards (Gabriel Saez, Calhoun, 5-2); Silver Dust (Beschizza, Calhoun, 10-1); and Owendale (Florent Geroux, Brad Cox, 4-1).

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‘He Knows How To Win’: Pink Lloyd Wins 20th Stakes In 8-Year-Old Debut

Canada's reigning three-time Champion Male Sprinter Pink Lloyd kicked off his eight-year-old campaign with a record fourth straight victory in the $125,000 Jacques Cartier Stakes and recorded his 20th stakes win overall on Thursday at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Jockey Rafael Hernandez, who partnered with Pink Lloyd for his previous 1:08.05 track record victory in the 2018 edition of the Jacques Cartier, was reunited with the chestnut gelding for the 67th running of the Grade 3 six-furlong sprint.

Pink Lloyd, carrying 124 pounds, stalked three-wide just off the lead through fractions of :22.23 and :44.53 before taking over command down the stretch to score by two lengths in 1:09.61. Malibu Secret finished second off a ground-saving trip ahead of Not So Quiet while pacesetter Circle of Friends completed the finish order in the compact field of four.

“He broke well, he did his thing,” said Hernandez. “He's older, he knows how to win. He can come from anywhere, he just does his thing. He showed up today. He's one of the best, he does his job. He don't give up, never.”

Hernandez, who has competed against Pink Lloyd in 20 prior starts, noted it was nice to be aboard for the win instead of chasing the revered Old Forester gelding.

“That's right, you know how many times I've tried to figure out how I can put my horse in different positions to try to beat him,” said Hernandez. “The only way I can [win] is when I'm on him.”

Bred in Ontario by John Carey, Pink Lloyd now boasts 23 wins from 28 starts lifetime with his purse earnings soaring over $1.8 million for his Entourage Stable ownership group.

Hall of Famer Robert Tiller's beloved trainee now counts the Jacques Cartier grand slam among his impressive list of accomplishments.

“This is one of the greatest sprinters that's ever raced in Canada and I think his record speaks for itself,” said Tiller of the six-time Sovereign Award winner, who was named Canada's Horse of the Year in 2017. “He really has a lot of heart, a lot of desire. He wants to do it, he loves winning and I don't know if there will ever be another one like him… not for me, that's for sure.

“A lot of hard work at the barn, there's a lot of details that go along with him. But when you're standing here like this, it all works out. He's such a champion, such a sweetheart and I love him dearly.”

Sent postward as the overwhelming 1-5 favourite, Pink Lloyd paid just $2.50 for a $2 win ticket. There was no place or show wagering.

The field was reduced to just four starters with Dixie's Gamble scratched, making it one of the smallest fields that Pink Lloyd has faced.

Often scaring away the competition, he's conquered small four-horse fields on three other occasions but has successfully competed in a field as big as 12 horses when winning last year's Jacques Cartier Stakes. His initial Jacques Cartier win in 2017 was his first stakes victory and the start of an unprecedented 11-race win streak.

Essence Hit Man won three consecutive editions of the Jacques Cartier Stakes from 2011-2013.

Live Thoroughbred racing continues, without spectators, on Friday afternoon. Post time for the seven-race program is 1 p.m.

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Sonneman No Match For Celtic Striker In Two-Horse Easy Goer

Imperial Racing's Celtic Striker bested Courtlandt Farm's Sonneman by 19 3/4-lengths in Thursday's $80,000 Easy Goer, a 1 1/16-miles test for sophomores reduced to just two contenders after scratches at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The Easy Goer marked the first match race on the NYRA circuit since Painted Poney topped Epiphany in a claiming sprint on January 29, 2015 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Ray Handal and piloted by Saturday's Grade 1 Belmont Stakes-winning rider Manny Franco, Celtic Striker took command out of the gate and never looked back.

A second-out maiden winner at Monmouth Park in October, Celtic Striker rattled off splits of 23.55 and 46.55 second on the fast main track with Sonneman, piloted by Jose Ortiz, tracking outside.

Sonneman attempted an inside move approaching the turn, but Celtic Striker continued to improve his advantage through three-quarters in 1:10.50. Celtic Striker angled wide into the lane and galloped clear down the center of the Belmont stretch run for the open lengths score in a final time of 1:42.37. Informative, Casino Grande and Prodigious Bay were early scratches from the Easy Goer, with Toy scratched at the gate.

Handal said he felt confident throughout the unique event.

“I felt good early on. I could tell he was really travelling well,” said Handal. “Jose [Ortiz, aboard Sonneman] tried to angle him in early on the backside and make a little bit of a middle move, but when Celtic Striker kicked away from him and then came back over in front of him, I felt pretty good. I knew there was a lot of running to do. But I knew he was going to be tough the way he was travelling out there.”

A $100,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, Celtic Striker – by Congrats – captured an optional-claiming mile in February at Parx, but was off-the-board in three previous stakes attempts when fourth in the Jerome in January at the Big A; 11th in the Grade 3 Gotham in March at Aqueduct; and sixth last out in the Grade 3 Matt Winn on May 23 at Churchill Downs.

Franco said he wanted to utilize Celtic Striker's gate speed to his advantage.

“I knew that my horse was a lot faster than the other one, so I took advantage,” said Franco. “I just wanted to keep him on the inside to see what kind of move he made, and I made my move first. In a two-horse race, I didn't want to move too soon if I didn't have to, but I wanted to make it difficult for the other horse, too.”

Sonneman, who was making his first start for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen in the Easy Goer, was a winner at third asking in October at Belmont Park in a one-turn mile on Big Sandy for his former conditioner Mark Hennig. He made his sophomore debut a winning one last out when rallying from last-of-eight to capture an optional-claiming sprint at Gulfstream Park.

Ortiz said he knew his colt would be at a disadvantage in the scratch-reduced field.

“My horse comes from off the pace. Clearly, it would have benefited me with a bigger field,” said Ortiz. ” I broke OK. I tried to push Manny a little bit to ensure an honest pace. My plan was to be up as close as I could and try to wear him out late, but when Manny asked his horse, he just drew away from me.”

Bred in Kentucky by Stoneview Farm Inc. and Craig D. Upham, Celtic Striker banked $44,000 in victory while improving his record to 6-3-1-0. He paid $5.50 as the 8-5 second choice in wagering.

Live racing resumes Friday with a nine-race card headlined by the $75,000 Hessonite for older filly and mare turf sprinters in Race 8 at 5:04 p.m. Eastern. First post is 1:15 p.m.

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‘Really Impressive’ Juvenile Winner County Final Switches From Turf To Dirt For Bashford Manor

John Ennis, Hayden Noriega and 47 Roses' eye-catching debut winner County Final will switch surfaces from turf to dirt in search of graded stakes glory in Saturday's $100,000 Bashford Manor presented by TwinSpires.com (Grade III), a six furlong-event for 2-year-olds at Churchill Downs.

“This horse should absolutely love the slight stretch out in distance,” said jockey James Graham, who was aboard for the colt's four-length maiden victory June 5. “We opened up by three-to-four lengths mid-stretch on everyone but what was really impressive was how he extended his stride past the wire. He's a bigger colt with a really long stride. He's got a great mind, too, which is always nice for a younger horse.”

The six-furlong Bashford Manor will go as Race 8 of 11 with a post time of 4:43 p.m. (all times Eastern). The race shares the spotlight on Saturday with the $500,000 Stephen Foster presented by Coca-Cola (GII), $200,000 Fleur de Lis presented by Coca-Cola (GII) and $100,000 Regret presented by TwinSpires.com (GIII). First post is 1 p.m.

County Final, trained by Ennis, has been based at the Thoroughbred Training Center in Lexington. The $9,500 Keeneland September Yearling buy by Oxbow drew the outside post No. 7 in the Bashford Manor.

“I really like that we'll be the last horse to load in the gate,” Graham said. “If he breaks well, we'll be able to see what the other horses to our inside are doing in the early stages. He has speed and he trains well on the dirt. So, the switch from the turf to the dirt should be no problem either.”

The Bashford Manor field, which features all first-out maiden winners, from the rail out (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds): Crown and Coke (Miguel Mena, James Lawrence II, 30-1); Hulen (Corey Lanerie, Steve Asmussen, 5-1); Gatsby (Tyler Gaffalione, Juan Alvarado, 4-1); Hyperfocus (John Velazquez, Todd Pletcher, 4-1); Herd Immunity (Brian Hernandez Jr., Peter Miller, 9-2); Cazadero (Ricardo Santana Jr., Asmussen, 8-5); and County Final (Graham, Ennis, 6-1).

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