By Christina Bossinakis
The sole Grade I winner in Saturday's GI Hollywood Derby lineup, Carson's Run (Cupid) will try to shift his East Coast form to California for Del Mar's nine-furlong turf test.
A first-out winner at Saratoga at two, the chestnut took the one-mile GI Summer Stakes at Woodbine later in September. Demoted to fifth in his sophomore bow in the Woodhaven Stakes at Aqueduct in April, the Christophe Clement trainee rebounded to win his next two-a confident score in Monmouth's Tale of the Cat Stakes before closing to a 3/4-length score in the GI Saratoga Derby Invitational Aug 11. Runner-up in the Aug. 31 GIII Nashville Derby at Kentucky Downs, he followed up with another timely victory in the GIII Jockey Club Derby Invitational at the Big A Oct. 5.
A four-time winner on the colt, Dylan Davis gets the call.
Formidable Man (City of Light) rides a two-race win streak coming into this for trainer Michael McCarthy. Winner of the restricted Oceanside Stakes over a mile at Del Mar in July, the bay eked out a victory over the re-opposing Stay Hot (Summer Front) and Atitlan (The Factor) in the nine-panel GII Del Mar Derby Sept. 1. The latter came right back to hand Stay Hot a 1 1/2-length defeat in the Oct. 26 GII Twilight Derby.
Del Mar's Saturday undercard also features the 1 1/16-mile GII Seabiscuit Handicap. Cabo Spirit (Pioneerof the Nile), winner of the 10-furlong GII John Henry Turf Cup Sept. 28, showed some early foot in the Nov. 4 GI Breeders' Cup Turf over 12 furlongs, but folded to finish 12th. Trainer Richard Mandella offers a pair in last out Lure Stakes winner Sumpter (War Front) and Seal Team (GB) (War Front), winner of last fall's GIII Twilight Derby, who returned with a fifth behind his stablemate in the Lure in his sole start in 2024.
Juvenile graded action is also featured on the card with the one-mile GIII Jimmy Durante. Casalu (Caracaro) gets blinkers off for trainer Bob Baffert following a trailing fourth in the six panel Anoakia Stakes over the Santa Anita dirt Oct. 25. Prior to that, the $775,000 OBS April graduate was runner-up behind the talented Thought Process (Collected) in the grassy GIII Surfer Girl Stakes Oct. 6.
Supa Speed (Justify) hopes for a better trip after a challenging trip which resulted in a 12th-place finish in the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes at Del Mar Nov. 1. A debut winner going five panels at Del Mar in August, the John Sadler trainee finished a productive second in the one-mile Juvenile Fillies Turf Stakes on Sept. 7. Flavien Prat partners with the filly for the first time.
Churchill Highlights Juvenile Stakes over Holiday Weekend
With the juvenile titles already decided with the close of the Breeders' Cup earlier in the month, Churchill Downs offers a pair of juvenile tests that have thrown good horses that have gone on to be Grade I winning 3-year-olds including Silverbulletday (1998), Rachel Alexandra (2008) and Carina Mia (2015), all winners of the GII Golden Rod Stakes.
Good Cheer | Coady Media
Offering the flashiest record to this point is undefeated Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro), trained by Brad Cox. Out of the Grade I-winning mare Wedding Toast (Street Sense), the Godolphin hombred romped by 8 1/4 lengths going a mile in her career bow at Indiana Aug. 5 before inhaling her competition by 17 lengths in a sloppy 1 1/16-mile allowance at Churchill Sept. 28. In her latest start, she took Churchill's Rags to Riches by 4 3/4 lengths Oct. 27.
Cox also offers up another undefeated juvenile in Eclatant (Into Mischief), who took her debut in Louisville in June before making it two straight in a six-furlong optional claiming test at Keeneland in October. A full to Grade II winner Mutasaabeq, the Stonestreet homebred will be ridden by Florent Geroux.
Quietside (Malibu Moon) finally gets a reprieve by stepping away from juvenile champion filly elect and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies heroine Immersive (Nyquist), who defeated her in both of her last starts. Dubbed a TDN Rising Star following a 6 1/4-length score at the Spa Aug. 4, the dark bay had to play the bridesmaid to the MGISW in a muddy renewal of the GI Spinaway Aug. 31. Stretching beyond a mile for the first time for Keeneland's GI Alcibiades Stakes on Oct. 4, the Shortleaf hombred was third.
Later on Churchill's card, Jonathan's Way (Vekoma) attempts to regain the winning thread in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club after finishing a flat seventh to Citizen Bull (Into Mischief) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile three weeks ago. Earning TDN Rising Star status in his debut going six furlongs at Saratoga Aug. 17, the Ohio bred launched his Road to Kentucky Derby 151 campaign with a victory in the one-mile GIII Iroquois Stakes going 1 1/16 miles at Churchill Sept. 14.
“We were obviously pretty disappointed with how he ran in the Breeders' Cup after what he showed us in his first two starts,” trainer Phil Bauer said. “This race will give us a good idea of how to plan his starts over the winter.”
“We got him back to Churchill after the Breeders' Cup and he came out of the race in great shape. When we returned him to the work tab, he posted a sharp five-furlong work in :58-and-change. If he breaks like he did in the Iroquois, I'd expect him to be close to the early pace.”
The 5-2 morning line favorite will be ridden by his returning pilot Joel Rosario.
More Grade I Action at Del Mar Sunday
Grade I turf action returns to Del Mar Sunday with the GI Matriarch Stakes. Gina Romantica (Into Mischief), who was forced to miss her engagement in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile at Del Mar three weeks ago, looks to pick up where she left off when winning her latest start in the GI First Lady Stakes at Keeneland Oct. 5. Brown is also represented by GSWs Tax Implications (GB) (Mehmas {Ire}) and Prerequisite (Upstart), in addition Child of the Moon (Fr) (The Grey Gatsby {Ire}), winner of her last two including the Athenia Stakes Oct. 19.
Among those looking to square off with the Chad Brown runner are last year's GI Belmont Oaks Invitational Aspen Grove (Ire) (Justify), Ag Bullet (Twirling Candy), winner in the GII Ladies Turf Sprint at Kentucky Downs before finishing a neck back in third in the GI Breeders' Turf Sprint and Kehoe Beach (Omaha Beach), an open-length winner in her last two starts including the most recent a 5 1/2-length score in a one-mile Keeneland allowance Oct. 26.
Earlier in the afternoon, juveniles face off on the turf in the GIII Cecil B. DeMille, featuring Speak easy scorer Pali Kitten (Vino Rosso) and graded placed Scipio (Caravaggio) and Clock Tower (Not This Time). The one-mile test drew nine runners.
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