Block Bids for Thanksgiving Weekend Success

Kentucky racing fans learned long ago that horses trained by Chicago-based Chris Block that shows up in the entry box for any race merit respect,. Most will be paying close attention to Lothenbach Stables’ homebred No Fault of Mine in Saturday’s 71^st running of the $200,000-added Golden Rod (GII).

 

If recent history is a guide, Block could be most formidable when he ventures south to Churchill Downs on Thanksgiving Weekend. A venture into a time machine to 2010 would show a pair of wins in major races in the final weekend of the Fall Meet. Dundalk Dust, a 3-year-old filly who upset older foes in the Falls City Handicap (GII) on Thanksgiving Day, was followed roughly 24 hours later by a triumph in the Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GI) by veteran star Giant Oak, who was awarded Churchill Downs’ fall highlight after apparent winner Successful Dan was disqualified to third.

 

A Golden Rod win by No Fault of Mine would not be considered a major upset. She is the 9-2 third choice in Churchill Downs’ oddsmaker Mike Battaglia’s morning line odds behind Pocahontas (GII) winner Cristina’s Journey (3-1) and West Coast Belle, winner of Churchill Downs Rags to Riches overnight stakes.

 

The well-named daughter of 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) winner Blame romped to a 4 ½-length victory over Arlington Park’s synthetic Polytrack surface in her debut on Sept. 28. Block admits that the emphatic win was a bit of a surprise.

 

“She trained well coming to it, but I was looking for a two-turn race on grass for her and I couldn’t get it,” Block said by telephone from Chicago. “It was closing day (at Arlington) and I wanted to get a race in her before I went to Keeneland.

 

“She surprised me. She really accelerated when it was time to go and did it very professionally, as well. She handled everything like she had run before, which is nice to see. She’s got that kind of mind where she doesn’t seem to allow anything to bother her at all.”

 

The Chicago-based filly has a pedigree that carries a strong influence of Claiborne Farm, the legendary, more than century-old racing and breeding institution in Paris, Ky. Blame provided Claiborne with its first Breeders’ Cup Classic win, and No Fault of Mine is out of a mare by Flatter, whose racing career was significantly compromised by injury but has become a solid member of the Claiborne stallion roster since his racing days ended.

 

“When they (Lothenbach Stables) bred the mare to Blame, he was a freshman sire at that point and I didn’t know what to expect,” Block said. “When they sent her to me she still had a lot of growing to do, but her frame was there and I thought she could develop into a really nice-looking filly. 

 

“She did everything right and was really kind of unassuming until I ran her that first time, but she made herself known the day she ran.”

 

No Fault of Mine has been at Churchill Downs since the Fall Meet opened in late October. She has had three works over the one-mile Louisville oval, including a five-furlong breeze in 1:00 on Nov. 9 that was the fastest of 26 at the distance. There were other options to run No Fault of Mine during the meet or on Saturday’s “Stars of Tomorrow II” card devoted exclusively to 2-year-olds, but Block said her body of work at Churchill Downs pointed her toward the Golden Rod.

 

“She’s trained very well there,” Block said. “It’s a pretty big step from a maiden win to a Grade II, but we also that that, with the way she’s been training, she deserved a shot to be in there.”

 

Block has another promising juvenile in his barn in Oak Brook, a full brother to Clark winner Giant Oak. The son of Giant’s Causeway owned by the Virginia H. Tarra Trust has a record of 1-2-0 in four races with the victory coming in his most recent outing at 1 1/16 miles on the grass on Nov. 13 at Churchill Downs.

 

“That colt should get a lot better with each race,” Block said. “He has really developed nicely. He was a little slow to start off with, but he’s picked it up nicely in his last couple of starts and I really look for him to go forward.”

 

The Clark was one of two Grade I triumphs for Giant Oak, who completed his career with a record of 5-5-6 in 31 races and earnings of $1,484,829. He won Gulfstream Park’s 2011 Donn Handicap (GI) in his next start.