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Ce Ce Expected To Be Favorite In Saturday’s ‘Win And You’re In’ Princess Rooney

Bo Hirsch LLC's Ce Ce, a multiple Grade 1 stakes winner trained by Michael McCarthy, is expected to be a solid favorite in Saturday's $350,000 Princess Rooney Invitational (G2) at Gulfstream Park.

The 5-year-old daughter of Elusive Quality is scheduled to ship from Southern California to South Florida on Tuesday.

Ce Ce is the most accomplished of 11 fillies and mares on the final invitation list to run in the seven-furlong Breeders' Cup 'Win and In' race that will headline the annual Summit of Speed program that will also feature the $200,000 Smile Sprint Invitational (G3), a six-furlong race for 3-year-olds and up.

McCarthy shipped 2018 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winner City of Light from his base at Santa Anita to Gulfstream for a triumph in the 2019 Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1),

Ce Ce captured the Beholder Mile (G1) at Santa Anita and the Apple Blossom (G1) at Oaklawn last year, who saddled City of Light for a victory in the $9 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream in 2019. The 5-year-old daughter of Elusive Quality has raced twice this year, debuting with a 3 ¼-length victory in a seven-furlong optional claiming allowance April 17 before coming up short in a fourth-place finish in the two-turn Santa Maria (G2) a month later.

Gary Barber's Laura's Light, a Grade 2 stakes winner on turf, also represents Southern California on the final invitational list for the Princess Rooney. The 4-year-old daughter of Constitution, who is trained by Peter Miller, is coming off a victory in the off-the-turf Ouija Board Stakes at Lone Star Park.

Holly Hill Stables LLC's Pacific Gale, who captured the Inside Information (G2) and Hurricane Bertie (G3) during Championship Meet, has an invitation to return to Gulfstream to try to pick up where she left off. The 6-year-old daughter of Flat Out has finished third in the Vagrancy (G3) and fourth in the Bed o' Roses (G3) at Belmont since leaving South Florida.

Medallion Racing and partners' Estilo Talentoso, who captured the June 4 Bed o' Roses last time out, is invited to seek her third victory and second stakes success at Gulfstream. The Juan Arriagada-trained 4-year-old daughter of Maclean's Music is Grade 1 stakes-placed twice this year prior to her first graded-stakes win at Belmont.

2W Stables LLC's Bronx Beauty, who finished second in the Sugar Swirl (G3) during Gulfstream's Championship Meet and second last time out in the Politely at Monmouth Park, is also on the final list.

e Five Racing Thoroughbreds' Sound Machine, who finished second behind Pacific Gale in the Hurricane Bertie and won the seven-furlong Musical Romance for Florida-bred fillies and mares last time out, won't have to travel far to accept an invitation to run in Princess Rooney.

Windylea Farm LLC's Thissmytime, who finished second behind Pacific Gale in the Inside Information, is also among the locally based horses receiving an invitation to run in the Princess Rooney. Other locally based horses include Heiressall, Hallawallah and Competitive Speed.

Entries for the $200,000 Smile are expected to include multiple Grade 2 winner Diamond Oops, 2020 Florida Derby (G1) runner-up Shivaree, graded stakes placed Double Crown and Frosted Grace, and stakes winner Chance It.

Racing will be conducted on Summit of Speed Week Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. There will also be a mandatory payout of the Rainbow 6 Wednesday. First race post is 12:50 p.m.

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‘Fit And Happy’ Maxfield Faces Eight Rivals In Saturday’s Stephen Foster

Godolphin's multiple graded stakes-winning homebred Maxfield leads a field of nine older horses that were entered in Saturday afternoon's featured 40th running of the $600,000 Stephen Foster (Grade 2) – one of seven stakes events on the 12-race closing day program at Churchill Downs.

Saturday's first race is 12:45 p.m. (all times Eastern) and the Stephen Foster will go as Race 11 with a post time of 5:59 p.m. The supporting stakes on the card are the $300,000 Fleur de Lis (G2), $300,000 Wise Dan (G2), $150,000 Bashford Manor (G3), $150,000 Debutante (Listed), $150,000 Tepin and $150,000 War Chant.

The 1 1/8-mile Stephen Foster is a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” event for the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). The winner will receive an all entry fees paid berth to the season ending championship event on Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

Maxfield, a 4-year-old son of Kentucky Derby-winner Street Sense, won the $400,000 Alysheba (G2) eight weeks ago at Churchill Downs. Trained by Brendan Walsh, New York-based jockey Jose Ortiz has the call from post position No. 8.

“We shipped him up from Keeneland last week and worked an easy half-mile (at Churchill Downs),” Walsh said. “He did most of his work at Keeneland prior to the Foster. He's a fit and happy horse. We're ready to go and excited to get this race underway.”

Maxfield was on the Road to the Kentucky Derby in 2020 when he cruised to a one-length victory in the $150,000 Matt Winn (G3). Unfortunately, due to a condylar fracture following a workout at Keeneland, Maxfield went on the sidelines until the fall. Through seven lifetime starts, Maxfield has recorded six victories and boasts earnings of $908,782. The only blemish in his career came in the $400,000 Santa Anita Handicap (G1) where he finished third to Idol.

Among Maxfield's rivals in the Stephen Foster is Tom Durant's five-time graded stakes winner Silver Dust. Trained by Bret Calhoun, Silver Dust was the half-length winner of the $150,000 Ben Ali (G3) at Keeneland. The 7-year-old son of Tapit was attempting to prep for the Foster in the $150,000 Blame at Churchill Downs on May 29 but was scratched after acting up in the starting gate. Since the Blame, Silver Dust returned to the work tab three times for Calhoun. Silver Dust finished third in last year's Stephen Foster behind Tom's d'Etat and By My Standards. Jockey Adam Beschizza, who has been aboard Silver Dust for his previous six starts, has the call from post 5.

The Estate of James Coleman Jr.'s Chess Chief finished third to Maxfield in the Alysheba and trainer Dallas Stewart will be hoping for redemption in the Stephen Foster. The four-time winner achieved graded stakes glory in March with a narrow victory over Owendale in the $400,000 New Orleans Classic (G2). Stewart enlisted the riding services of Hall of Famer John Velazquez for the Stephen Foster and the duo will break from the rail.

The other top entrants in Saturday's Stephen Foster are Ten Strike Racing and Madaket Stables' Grade 3 winner Warrior's Charge; Williamson Racings' two-time stakes winner Visitant; Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable, Peter Deutsch and Pantofel Stable's graded stakes placed South Bend; Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider's stakes-placed Sprawl; Raymond Daniels, Wayne Scherr and Will Harbut Racing's recent allowance hero Necker Island; and Three Diamonds Farm's four-time winner Empty Tomb.

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

Chess Chief (Velazquez, Stewart)
Empty Tomb (Ricardo Santana Jr., Mike Maker)
Necker Island (Mitchell Murrill, Chris Hartman)
Sprawl (Brian Hernandez Jr., Tommy Drury Jr.)
Silver Dust (Beschizza, Calhoun)
Warrior's Charge (Florent Geroux, Brad Cox)
South Bend (Tyler Gaffalione, Bill Mott)
Maxfield (Ortiz, Walsh)
Visitant (James Graham, Bill Morey)

Tickets are available for Saturday's closing day program online at www.churchilldowns.com/tickets. Admission gates will open at 11:30 a.m. and “Churchill Downs Today” will air at 11:45 a.m. throughout the racetrack and on www.TwinSpires.com, the official online wagering provider of Churchill Downs Incorporated.

Saturday's program also will air on “America's Day at the Races” on Fox Sports 2 from 12:30-6:30 p.m.

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Grade 1 Winner Ce Ce Dominates Invitees To Princess Rooney

Bo Hirsch LLC's Ce Ce is still the most prominent invitee to the $350,000 Princess Rooney (G2) July 3 at Gulfstream Park.

The multiple Grade 1 stakes winner is also the most accomplished performer on the second of three invitational lists for the Princess Rooney, a seven-furlong Breeders' Cup 'Win and You're In' race for fillies and mares that will headline the Summit of Speed program that will also feature the $200,000 Smile Sprint Invitational (G3), a six-furlong race for 3-year-olds and up.

Ce Ce, who captured the Beholder Mile (G1) at Santa Anita and the Apple Blossom (G1) at Oaklawn last year, is trained by Michael McCarthy, who ventured from his Santa Anita base with City of Light to win the $9 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream in 2019. The 5-year-old daughter of Elusive Quality has raced twice this year, debuting with a 3 ¼-length victory in a seven-furlong optional claiming allowance April 17 before coming up short in a fourth-place finish in the two-turn Santa Maria (G2) a month later.

Trainer Brad Cox, who took Gulfstream's top prize after saddling Knicks Go for a victory in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) Jan. 23, is represented on the Princess Rooney invitational list by two horses. OXO Equine LLC's Mundaye Call joins Kueber Racing LLC and partners' Vault, who captured the Ruffian (G2) at Belmont last time out, on the list of 13 invitees.

Mundaye Call is one of five fillies and mares added to the second of three Princess Rooney invitation lists. Ciaglia Racing LLC and partners' Venetian Harbor, 2W Racing LLC's Bronx Beauty, e Five Racing Thoroughbreds' Sound Machine, and and Saul Kupferberg's Honor Way are also first-time Princess Rooney invitees.

Venetian Harbor, a 4-year-old daughter of Munnings who captured the Raven Run (G2) at Keeneland before finishing off the board in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) last year, made a victorious 2021 debut on turf in the June 5 Monrovia (G2) at Santa Anita. The Richard Baltas trainee finished second in the Ashland (G1) at Keeneland and Test (G1) at Saratoga last year before winning the Raven Run.

The second of three Princess Rooney Invitational lists includes two others who are Grade 1 stakes-placed graded-stakes winners: Medallion Racing and partners' Estilo Talentoso and Tommy Town Thoroughbreds LLC's Victim of Love.

Juan Arriagada-trained Estilo Talentoso won two of six starts at Gulfstream, including a maiden score and an overnight-stakes victory, before hitting the road to finish in a dead-heat with Belle's the One for second in the Madison, check in third in the Derby City Distaff, and win the Bed o' Roses (G3) at Belmont. Todd Beattie-trained Victim of Love, who captured the May 8 Vagrancy (G3) at Belmont, concluded her 2020 racing second with a third-place finish in the Ballerina (G1) at Saratoga.

Holly Hill Stables LLC's Pacific Gale, who captured the Inside Information (G2) and Hurricane Bertie (G3) during Gulfstream's Championship Meet; LLC's Lake Avenue and Gary Barber's Laura's Light are Grade 2 stakes winners have been included on the first two invitation lists.

Daniel J Lopez and George Chestnut's Chub Wagon, who remained undefeated while winning the June 13 Shine Again at Pimlico; Godolphin LLC's Lakeside Avenue, runner-up in the Ruffian last time out; Gary Barber's Laura's Light, a multiple graded-stakes winner on turf; and Windylea Farms IV LLC's Thissmytime, who finished second behind Pacific Gale in the Inside Information; round out the Princess Rooney invitation list.

The third and final invitational list will be published June 27.

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Perfect Power Scores Breeders’ Cup Berth In Norfolk

Jockey Paul Hanagan timed a late charge to perfection when winning the G2 Norfolk Stakes on Perfect Power, the opening contest on day three of Royal Ascot. The win earned Perfect Power an expenses-paid berth to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint this fall at Del Mar.

Protagonists in this five-furlong dash for 2-year-olds were spread across the width of the track, but it was the Richard Fahey-trained Perfect Power (14/1) who burst from the pack down the stands' side to prevail.

Go Bears Go (6/1) was beaten a head racing on the far side, with Project Dante (6/1) a nose behind in third on the stands' side rail.

Victory gave Hanagan a fifth Royal Ascot success, and first since 2015, while Fahey was scoring for the eighth time at the meeting.

Hanagan, who returned from a broken back in August, said: “I don't usually get emotional, but I'm probably lucky to be here at all after the accident. It's an amazing feeling just to even get back here, never mind a winner at Royal Ascot. I am pretty lost for words.

“I actually fractured my back in three places in a fall at Newcastle, and it was just touch and go whether I was going to be back. I owe so much to a lot of people – the Injured Jockeys Fund, Jack Berry House in Malton, my family and friends, and obviously Richard Fahey, who has been amazing, Richard Hale and just everyone at the yard.

“The period after my accident was a very character building few months. The accident was a pretty bad one and I'm lucky to be here at all, let alone riding winners, and I'm so grateful. I just appreciated I had a second chance, and I took it with both hands. This is what it's all about – what the comeback means. This tops the lot. It's so nice to see the crowd back, and what a buzz that was, when I eventually found out I'd won – the cheer of the crowd was something special.”

He added: “The race itself – they went quite hard and I just had to sit and suffer on him. I'm glad I did, because he didn't half power home and really ran through the line. I must have passed about 10 jockeys pulling up who [thought they] had won, and I wasn't quite sure because it was so far away the other side. I think the way I finished the race I had every chance, because he really powered home.

“You couldn't really get a horse with a better attitude. He takes it all in and has a great temperament. I think that's what got him beat first time, because we were all expecting him to win. First day at school – I think he just had a bit of stage fright, but he's come out of that race so well, and as we saw at Hamilton, that race brought him on again.”

Fahey said: “The Norfolk Stakes has been a bogey race for me. I have been second in it a few times and as they flashed past I thought we got beat. I'm just glad we got there. I got emotional for a couple of seconds, I'm getting soft in my old age.

“It's a fantastic result. Me and Paul have been together for such a long time. He left us for around 18 months, but it's been such a long relationship and it's great to have another Royal Ascot winner together.

“We were very sweet on Perfect Power. We haven't had him very long and he missed the kick first time out when third and that probably helped us. He won well at Hamilton and we were quietly confident coming here.

“We discussed going up to six furlongs but after chatting it through with the team, we came here. He was bought to win a Norfolk and it's great when a plan comes together.”

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