Trainer Mike Maker racked up his 20th and 21st Claiming Crown victories on Saturday, extending his lifetime lead among conditioners in that annual series by saddling Keystone Field (Candy Ride {Arg}) to a determined half-length win in the featured $175,000 Jewel.
But while Maker's familiar presence in the winner's circle underscored his resilience in the event often described as the “blue-collar Breeders' Cup,” a trainer taking his first crack at the Claiming Crown, Tom Van Berg, also registered two series victories and added a third on the undercard for a three-win afternoon.
The Claiming Crown, which began in 1999 as a way to showcase and reward horses who compete in the types of races that form the backbone of day-to-day American racing, is a partnership between the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. After initially rotating among smaller tracks in its formative years, Gulfstream Park had evolved into the host track over the past decade.
But for 2022, the Claiming Crown switched sites to Churchill Downs, and the series was moved up from early December to the Saturday after the Breeders' Cup, a spot where it faced practically zero simulcast competition in terms of marquee events on the national calendar.
Speculation had been rife over the past several months about whether Churchill Downs would actually be able to host turf racing for the Claiming Crown because of the fragile condition of its slow-to-grow $10 million grass course. But Mother Nature interceded on the morning of Nov. 13 by dusting Louisville with early-season snow and freezing temperatures, making it a necessity for track management to move all scheduled turf races to the sloppy and sealed main track.
As if the gray, chilly conditions weren't enough to underscore the hardscrabble nature of the claiming event, Van Berg's two wins for his ownership outfit, Grit to Glory Racing, LLC, lent additional support in the form of an appropriate name: Not only because “grit to glory” is a catchphrase that epitomizes the Claiming Crown, but because those words were also the subtitle of a biography written about Tom Van Berg's father, the late, great Hall-of-Fame trainer Jack Van Berg.
“This is the first time we've participated in it as a stable,” Tom Van Berg said of the eight-race Claiming Crown slate that featured $1.05 million in guaranteed purses, plus additional funding from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund. “When we heard the news it was coming to Churchill, it made a big difference on who we ran and how many we ran. I think if it was in Florida, we'd probably have taken one down there. Instead we have five in today, so [the series being at Churchill] made a big difference for us.”
Another twist this year was that the Claiming Crown races, which have traditionally been conducted under starter allowance conditions but called stakes, couldn't technically be called “stakes” this year because the Claiming Crown would then be subject to no-Lasix restrictions that are required for stakes. But even though not designated as black-type, the races for the most part retained their traditional naming to keep continuity with previous editions.
In the featured nine-furlong Jewel, the Maker-trained Keystone Field opened up with a big move off the far turn and then grudgingly stayed on late at 6-1 odds in 1:53.29 under Gerardo Corrales.
The 7-year-old gelding is now 6-for-21 lifetime for owner Three Diamonds Farm (Kirk Wycoff).
“We knew when it came up sloppy that a son of Candy Ride should handle the surface great,” Wycoff said. “I left the [Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale] a few hours ago, and it's a great sale-but winning races is better.”
One of trainer Van Berg's two wins for his Grit to Glory partnership came in the $125,000 Rapid Transit over seven furlongs. The Queens Jules (Scat Daddy) provided the most exciting finish of the day by clawing back the lead when headed in deep stretch and scoring by the barest of nostrils with Florent Geroux up in 1:25.10 for seven furlongs at 8-1 odds. The 7-year-old gelding has switched barns via the claim box weight times in 59-race career prior to earning win number 12 on Saturday.
That same owner/trainer/jockey combo teamed for a win by Petit Verdot (Vancouver {AUS}) in the $150,000 Canterbury Tom Metzen Memorial, moved from the grass to 5 ½ furlongs over the slop and reduced to a field of five after six scratches. The 4-year-old gelding forced the issue near the front end to register a length-of-stretch, head-bob victory at 2-1 odds in 1:05.52. Petit Verdot had been claimed in his last three starts of 2021 prior to a four-win campaign so far this season, with eight in-the-money finishes from 10 tries.
On a day when Kentucky-based horses enjoyed a six-win, home-court advantage, Parx-based horses shipped in to snag two Claiming Crown races.
In the off-the-turf $150,000 Tiara for distaffers at 1 1/16 miles, Out of Sorts (Dramedy) demonstrated why she's now 3-for-3 on wet dirt tracks. She roared home by 10 lengths in 1:47.34 for trainer Robert Mosco and owner John Fanelli, with Paco Lopez up at 6-1 odds.
The 4-year-old filly had been claimed for $25,000 by those connections out of her most recent start, an Oct. 4 wire job back at Parx, and Saturday's blowout win returned nearly four times that investment in immediate purse dividends.
One race later, in the $100,000 Ready's Rocket Express, Philly connections struck again, with 6-year-old gelding Hero Tiger (Hero of Order) splashing past rivals at the sixteenth pole to tally by 1 ¼ lengths in the $100,000 Iron Horse Kent Stirling Memorial in 1:11.89 for six furlongs. Trained by third-generation horseman John T. Kirby for owner Gregg O'Donnell, it was the second Claiming Crown win on the day for jockey Luis Saez.
To win the Express, the 4-1 Hero Tiger had to run down 2-1 favorite Beverly Park (Munnings), who snatched the lead on far turn but couldn't sustain his bid, fading to fourth in an attempt to win his 13th race of the year from 26 starts. Beverly Park's 12 victories in 2022 are still good enough for winningest horse on the continent honors, with his next closest rival four wins behind.
In the $150,000 Emerald, the even-money Palace Coup (Bernardini) pressed the pace and drew away late for a two-length score for owner FAS Racing (Adis Smajlovic) and trainer Joe Sharp in 1:46.40 for 1 1/16 miles in an off-the-turfer, giving jockey Lopez his second Claiming Crown winner of the day.
The one-turn-mile $100,000 Glass Slipper was won by Invaluable (Include) for owner Paradise Farms Corp. (Peter Proscia), providing Claiming Crown doubles for trainer Maker and jockey Saez. Off at 3-1, the speed-centric 5-year-old mare won by 1 ½ lengths in 1:39.84. Claimed six times in her 24-race career, from $50,000 all the way down to $8,000, Invaluable is now 3-for-7 on wet tracks and was re-equipped with blinkers for first time in two years.
Time for Trouble (English Channel) won the $100,000 Iron Horse Kent Sterling Memorial for trainer Jeff Hiles, who also owns the 5-year-old gelding in partnership with Thorndale Stable, LLC (Paul Parker). Joe Talamo engaged in a long, grind-'em-down effort before drawing away late by 3 ¼ lengths in 1:46.79 for 1 1/16 miles. Since being claimed on June 18, 2021, for $8,000, Time For Trouble has won five of eight over varying surfaces and distances, including firm and good turf, plus fast and slop on the main track, all the way up to 1 3/8 miles in distance.
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