Bobby's Wicked One, promising Volatile headline Churchill's Aristides
Autumn Hill Farms Racing Stables Bobby’s Wicked One leads a compact but competitive cast of six sprinters that were entered in Saturday’s 32nd running of the $100,000 Aristides at Churchill Downs.
The six-furlong Aristides is carded as Race 8 of 11 with a post time of 4:46 p.m. Eastern.
Saturday’s program at Churchill Downs also will feature the $100,000 Dogwood (G3), which is a prep race on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks. First post is 1 p.m.
Bobby’s Wicked One, a 5-year-old son of Speightstown, has earned $545,423 with six victories through 16 starts including stakes scores in the $250,000 Commonwealth (G3) at Keeneland, $100,000 Thanksgiving Handicap and $100,000 Duncan F. Kenner at Fair Grounds. Trained by Al Stall Jr., Bobby’s Wicked One will enter the Aristides following a disappointing 11th-place effort in the $350,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) at Oaklawn.
“We are still puzzled by his last race,” Stall said. “We know he is a much better horse than that. It’s still puzzling he ran as poorly as he did but sometimes horses don’t like the surface at Oaklawn.”
Miguel Mena will have the mount on Bobby’s Wicked One, who drew post position No. 4.
Chief among Bobby’s Wicked One’s rivals that entered the Aristides is Phoenix Thoroughbred and Three Chimneys Farm’s three-time winner Volatile.
The gray 4-year-old son of Violence sports a 107 Brisnet Speed Rating in his last race, a 7 ½-length allowance win at Oaklawn. Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, the speedy Volatile will be ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr. from post No. 6.