Airoforce will again face Oscar Nominated in Dueling Grounds Derby

John Oxley’s multiple stakes-winner Airoforce headlines the Exacta Systems Dueling Grounds Derby at 1 5/16 miles. Airoforce lost Saratoga’s Grade 2 Hall of Fame Stakes by a nose in his last start.

Airoforce won his debut at Kentucky Downs last fall, then captured Keeneland’s Grade 3 Bourbon before finishing second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf by a neck. The son of Colonel John won last fall’s very-tough Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs in the slop to spark Kentucky Derby dreams but drubbings in the Fair Grounds’ Risen Star and Turfway’s Spiral Stakes sent him back to the grass.

In the field of 12, Airoforce will again face Oscar Nominated, who was claimed out of a $75,000 maiden-claiming race in his second start. Oscar Nominated won the Grade 3 Spiral at 23-1 odds to encourage owner Ken and Sarah Ramsey to supplement him into the Kentucky Derby for $200,000. He finished 17th. He’s run at Arlington Park in his last two starts, finishing second in the American Derby (G3) and a close fifth after a troubled trip in the Grade 1 Secretariat.

Dueling Grounds Oaks contender Try Your Luck, who like Oscar Nominated is trained by Mike Maker, also was haltered out of a $75,000 maiden-claiming race. She finished a rallying third in two stakes this summer before finishing first in Arlington’s Grade 3 Pucker Up, only to be disqualified to another third for interference when she drifted out in the stretch.

The way speed has been doing well, the horse to beat might be the Christophe Clement-trained Taralena. Clement also is sending out the lightly raced Blame It On Me.

$75K starter-allowances steppingstone to Claiming Crown

In addition to the $350,000 Exacta Systems Dueling Grounds Derby and $200,000 Dueling Grounds Oaks, Sunday’s Kentucky Downs card offers a pair of starter-allowance races with $75,000 pots that serve as automatic qualifiers for the Claiming Crown Dec. 3 at Gulfstream Park.

The Claiming Crown is designed to serve as a Breeders’ Cup-style championship for claiming horses, which are the backbone of American racing. The Claiming Crown is a partnership between the National Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association and the Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders Association to give these important blue-collar horses and their owners and trainers their own special day in the sport’s limelight.

The $75,000 Claiming Crown Emerald Stakes Prep At Kentucky Downs is for 3-year-olds and older horses that have started for a claiming price of $25,000 or less since Jan. 1, 2015. The $75,000 Claiming Crown Tiara Stakes Prep At Kentucky Downs has the same conditions but is restricted to fillies and mares. The Kentucky Downs preps will be held at a mile and 70 yards; the Claiming Crown distance is 1 1/16 miles.

The creation of lucrative qualifiers for the Claiming Crown is perfect for Flashy Chelsey, trained by Louisville-based trainer Rob O’Connor for his brother-in-law, Bruce McCrea. Flashy Chelsey, 8-1 in the morning line under Robby Albarado, drew post 6 in a capacity field of 12 in the Emerald prep.

Flashy Chelsey was eighth, albeit losing by a total of only 5 1/2 lengths, in the Claiming Crown taken off the turf last year.

“It started pouring down rain and by the time we got to the paddock they announced that the race would be taken off,” O’Connor said. “If he would run well, we would probably look for one start and then go south for it, but that remains to be seen.”

O’Conner said Flashy Chelsey is “dead ready to run.” The 4-year-old colt comes into Sunday’s race off victory in a 1 1/8-mile turf allowance at Ellis Park.

“The race is tough, but he’s doing very well and I think he’s going to run really well,” O’Connor said. “If we get a good trip, we’ll be lucky and win it. I don’t know about everybody else, but he’s definitely ready to run so I don’t have any qualms.”

Last year, the 4-year-old son of Flashy Bull got a taste of success in his lone start over the Kentucky Downs grass, winning an allowance race.

“He’s already shown an aptitude for the course,” O’Connor said. “There’s not a lot of speed and he prefers to be a closer, but he has already shown versatility, so we’re going to put Robby up and just see what happens.”

Cammack shoots for sixth straight win in Emerald prep

Perhaps one of Flashy Chelsey’s toughest foes Sunday is Team Block’s Cammack, who will attempt to land his sixth consecutive victory.

Coming off a layoff that lasted over a year in February, the 6-year-old son of Giant’s Causeway finished second in a conditioned $25,000 claiming race at Tampa Bay Downs before going on a five-race win streak, which included a victory in the Black Tie Affair Stakes at Arlington park for Illinois-breds.

“He’s been in good form ever since late winter to early spring,” trainer Chris Block said by phone from his Illinois base. “He’s pretty much done every thing on his own, he showed a little talent at 3 and then we ended up giving him some time off and turned him out.  In hindsight it was probably more time off than he needed, but we gelded him and it seems to have made a huge difference in his attitude. We’re coming in with confidence. It’s hard to keep that kind of string going but we’ll see what happens, we’ll see if he fits well in there on Sunday.

Cammack would likely point toward the Claiming Crown Emerald should he win.

“It would make sense to do something like that. We’re eligible for and it would be worthy of going should we win on Sunday,” Block said.

Tiara prep: ‘Purse is definitely selling point,’ Kordenbrock says

In the race prior, 10 fillies and mares will face off in a starter allowance at the same distance with the winner receiving an automatic berth into the $125,000 Claiming Crown Tiara.

Robert O’Hara and Gwyneth Gower’s Donita’s Ruler is the only entrant with experience over the Kentucky Downs course, having finished second by a neck in an allowance optional claiming race over the grass surface last year. It is her only prior start on turf.

“She handled everything great so we’re back and we’ll give it another shot,” said trainer Matt Kordenbrock.

The 5-year-old daughter of Roman Ruler last raced at Indiana Grand, winning an allowance optional claiming race on the main track by five lengths, a race that was taken off the turf because of rain. The mare has won 10 of 29 races, including the Hollywood Gaming Mahoning Distaff last fall by 8 1/4 lengths, contributing toward her earnings of $331,755.

Kordenbrock will have a Claiming Crown state of mind if she emerges from the race a winner.

“That’s one of the reason she’s in here,” he said. “The other is that she’s had a lot of success in this (starter-allowance) condition. She’s won this condition both times at Keeneland. The main thing is the purse money, it’s outrageous. We planned on nominating her to the Claiming Crown anyway, but the purse is definitely a selling point.”

The 2-1 favorite is the Larry Rivelli-trained Daddy’s Boo, who set the pace before tiring to fifth (beaten a total of two lengths) in a 1 3/8-mile turf allowance race at Saratoga in her last start. Before that, she had five wins and two seconds in seven starts.

Kentucky HBPA’s college laptop giveaway Sunday

The popular laptop giveaway, where college students can sign up to be in the drawings for a laptop computer after each race, returns Sunday. Sign up is near the outdoor pavilion. The promotion is sponsored by the Kentucky division of the Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association.

Source: Kentucky Downs (Jennie Rees)