A pair of Eclipse Award winners will face off in Saturday's Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., with $1 million on the line for the 1 1/16-mile contest.
Letruska, the Eclipse Award 2021 Champion Older Dirt Female, will be making her second start of 2022 after the G3 Royal Delta in her seasonal bow. Ce Ce, named Eclipse Award 2021 Champion Female Sprinter after her Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint triumph, won Oaklawn's local prep for the Apple Blossom and appears more than capable of getting the distance.
Also on Saturday is the $1 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2), a 1 1/8-mile contest. Fearless, last-out winner of the G3 Ghostzapper at Gulfstream, ships in for trainer Todd Pletcher and has been tabbed as the morning-line favorite in a field of eight.
Up in Lexington, Ky., Saturday's feature at Keeneland is the G2 Elkhorn Stakes over 1 1/2 miles on the turf course. Channel Maker is the morning-line favorite for trainer Bill Mott, but both Phantom Currency and Two Emmys could be likely to vie for that spot when the field breaks from the gate.
Steeplechase action is highlighted by the return of 2020 Eclipse Award winner Moscato in the G2 Temple Gwathmey at Middleburg, with a post time of 2:30 p.m.
4:44 PM – G3 Ben Ali Stakes at Keeneland
Two-time Canadian Horse of the Year Mighty Heart, the multiple graded stakes-placed Proxy and Santa Anita Handicap (G1) runner-up Warrant headline a field of eight entered Wednesday for Saturday's 91st running of the Ben Ali (G3) for 4-year-olds and up.
The Ben Ali, run at 1 1/8 miles on the main track, will be run as the eighth race on Saturday's 10-race program with a 4:44 p.m. ET post time. First post Saturday is 1 p.m.
Lawrence Cordes' homebred Mighty Heart will be making his 2022 debut for trainer Josie Carroll. Winner of three stakes in 2021 and a four-time Sovereign Award winner, Mighty Heart has had six works since returning from a short layoff. His two most recent works were at Keeneland.
James Graham has the mount Saturday and will leave from post position two.
Godolphin's homebred Proxy returned to the races following a 10½-month layoff with an allowance victory at Fair Grounds, which was followed by a runner-up effort to Olympiad in the New Orleans Classic (G2) on March 26.
Trained by Mike Stidham, Proxy chased the likes of Hot Rod Charlie, Mandaloun and Midnight Bourbon on the Kentucky Derby trail before a fourth-place finish in the Stonestreet Lexington (G3) in his final start of 2021.
Brian Hernandez Jr., who has been aboard Proxy for his two starts this year, has the call Saturday and will break from post position three.
Twin Creeks Racing Stable's Warrant, beaten a head by Express Train in the Big Cap in his most recent start, closed his 2021 campaign with a victory in the Oklahoma Derby (G3). Trained by Brad Cox, Warrant will be ridden by Flavien Prat from post position five.
4:54 PM – Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn
Trained by Fausto Gutierrez, Letruska recorded her breakout victory nationally in last April's Apple Blossom when she edged two-time Eclipse Award winner Monomoy Girl by a nose. Letruska rode that momentum to three more Grade 1 victories and an Eclipse Award as the country's champion older dirt female. Her more calculated 2022 racing schedule resumes Saturday, with an eye on winning the Breeders' Cup Distaff this fall at Keeneland.
Female sprint champion Ce Ce won the local prep for this race, the G2 Azeri, and returns to Hot Springs seeking to repeat her 2020 victory in the Apple Blossom. Though she won the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint last fall, the Michael McCarthy trainee has no trouble stretching out when asked.
A pair of Grade 1 winners in Clairiere and Maracuja have also been entered in the Apple Blossom, each having begun her 2022 campaign with an allowance victory last out. Longshot Miss Imperial completes the five-horse field for this 1 1/16-mile contest.
5:16 PM – Grade 2 Elkhorn Stakes at Keeneland
Susan and Jim Hill's Phantom Currency and Wolfe Racing and Hugh Robertson's Two Emmys top a field of nine horses entered Wednesday for Saturday's 37th running of the $350,000 Elkhorn (G2) for 4-year-olds and up going 1 1/2 miles on the Keeneland grass.
The Elkhorn will go as Saturday's ninth race with a 5:16 p.m. ET post time. First post Saturday is 1 p.m.
Trained by Brian Lynch, Phantom Currency returned to the races after more than year layoff to post a wire-to-wire victory in the Appleton (G3) at Gulfstream Park on April 2. Prior to that, he won his only two starts of 2021 highlighted by a front-running score in the Mac Diarmida (G2).
Irad Ortiz Jr. has the mount on Phantom Currency and will break from post position four.
Two Emmys comes into Saturday's race off a 2½-length wire-to-wire victory in the Muniz Memorial Classic (G2) Presented by Horse Racing Nation at Fair Grounds on March 26. Winner of the Mr. D. (G1) last summer at Arlington, Two Emmys was caught at the wire here last fall in the Sycamore (G3) going the 1½-mile distance.
Trained by Mac Robertson, Two Emmys will be ridden by James Graham and break from post position three.
The morning-line favorite, multiple Grade 1-winner Channel Maker, will be making his first start of 2022 for trainer Bill Mott. He'll leave from post five under Luis Saez.
6:41 PM – Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap at Oaklawn
The other million-dollar race at Oaklawn Park this weekend, the 1 1/8-mile handicap has drawn a field of eight.
Southern California-based Idol has been idle for most of the last year, but the Grade 1 winner is scheduled to launch another comeback in Saturday's $1 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) for older horses at 1 1/8 miles.
Trained by Richard Baltas, Idol was a candidate for last year's Oaklawn Handicap after winning the $400,000 Santa Anita Handicap (G1) in March 2021 at Santa Anita. But Idol has run just once since the Santa Anita Handicap, finishing a well-beaten sixth in the $300,000 Awesome Again Stakes (G1) at 1 1/8 miles Oct. 2 at Santa Anita.
Meanwhile, race-favorite Fearless won the G3 Ghostzapper with ease after a defeat in the G2 Gulfstream Park Mile by Speaker's Corner, next-out winner of the G1 Carter. Fearless is trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, and will be ridden by Jose Ortiz.
Second choice on the morning line is Plainsman for trainer Brad Cox. The veteran won the G3 Razorback before falling short in the G2 Essex to Rated R Superstar, who also runs back here for trainer Federico Villafranco.
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