Churchill Downs: 4 stakes support Blame on Saturday's card

Skelly, already a 12-time winner, tops a field of seven horses entered in Saturday’s 37th running of the Grade 3, $275,000 Aristides Stakes at Churchill Downs.

Contested at six furlongs, the Aristides serves as the local prep for the $250,000 Kelly’s Landing (G3) on June 28. The Aristides is carded as race 6 at 3:18 p.m. EDT on Saturday’s 11-race program, which begins at 12:45 p.m. EDT.

Skelly, who finished a close second in last year’s Aristides to Closethegame Sugar, returns off a dominant 10 1/2-length victory in the $200,000 Lake Hamilton Stakes at Oaklawn under regular rider Ricardo Santana Jr. The 6-year-old gelded son of Practical Joke has banked more than $1.9 million in earnings and is a two-time winner of the Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) in 2023-24. The Steve Asmussen trainee, owned by Red Lane Thoroughbreds, will break from post 6 with Santana in the saddle.

Another talented sprinter entered in the race is WinStar Farm and BBN Racing’s Grade 2 winner World Record. Trained by Rodolphe Brisset, World Record dominated last year’s $200,000 Amsterdam Stakes (G2) at Saratoga by 6 3/4 lengths. Following a third-place finish in the $300,000 Steel Valley Sprint to end his 3-year-old campaign, World Record made his 4-year-old debut earlier this month at Churchill Downs, dominating a six-furlong allowance contest by 2 1/2 lengths in a sharp 1:07.84. Jockey Flavien Prat has the call in the Aristides from post 7.

Gin Gin tries to run back to Doubledogdare romp in Shawnee

Calumet Farm’s dominant Doubledogdare (G3) winner Gin Gin headlines a field of seven fillies and mares entered in the sixth running of the $275,000 Shawnee Stakes (G3) on Saturday.

Carded as race 8 of 4:23 p.m. EDT, the 1 1/16-mile Shawnee serves as the local prep for the $500,000 Fleur de Lis (G2) on June 28.

Trained by Brendan Walsh, Gin Gin scored an impressive 5 1/4-length victory last month in the $350,000 Doubledogdare at Keeneland at odds of 38-1. The 4-year-old daughter of Hightail has a consistent record of 10-3-2-2 with earnings of $461,596. The homebred filly will break from post 7 with Jose Ortiz aboard.

Other notable entrants include Gerald Bruno Jr., Carl Deville, Chasey Deville Pomier and Jerry Caroom’s 2024 Louisiana Horse of the Year Free Like a Girl, Gold Standard Racing Stable’s millionaire Hoosier Philly and Michael McMillan’s Apple Blossom (G1) third-place finisher Where’s My Ring.

Mercante tries to build on Turf Classic close call in Arlington Stakes

Carl Pollard’s talented homebred Mercante, a narrow runner-up to Spirit of St Louis in the Turf Classic (G1) earlier this month, returns to Churchill Downs Saturday to face an accomplished field of nine turf specialists, including Klein Racing’s Opening Verse winner Brilliant Berti, in the 89th running of the $275,000 Arlington Stakes (G3).

Run at 1 1/16 miles on turf, the Arlington is one of six stakes on the Saturday card at Churchill Downs. The ninth race of the day, post for the Arlington is set for 4:55 p.m. EDT. The race serves as the local prep for the $500,000 Wise Dan (G2) on Saturday, June 28.

Trained by Brian Knippenberg, Mercante pulled off a 13-1 upset in the $300,000 Kentucky Cup Classic (G3) in late March at Turfway Park. The 5-year-old son of Gun Runner returned six weeks later in the $1 million Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic where he contested the pace throughout the 1 1/8-mile race before finishing three-quarters of a length behind Spirit of St Louis. Mercante will be ridden by Joe Ramos from post 8.

Brilliant Berti, trained by Cherie DeVaux, has a perfect record over the Churchill Downs turf course from four starts. The homebred son of Noble Mission scored a gutsy half-length victory in last month’s $350,000 Opening Verse Stakes that improved his overall record to 9: 6-1-0 with $1.8 million in earnings. Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. will retain the mount and break from post 9.

Other contenders include L and N Racing and Clark Brewster’s multiple stakes-winning Virginia-bred Gigante; HRH Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud’s Commonwealth Turf (G3) winner Lagynos; and Jordan Wycoff’s impressive allowance winner Call Protection.

Lush Lips goes for graded glory in Regret Stakes

Talented 3-year-old filly Lush Lips will seek her first graded stakes victory when she faces 10 fellow 3-year-old fillies in Saturday’s 56th running of the $275,000 Regret Stakes (G3), part of a six-pack of stakes on Stephen Foster Preview Day at Churchill Downs.

The Regret, run at 1 1/8 miles on turf, is carded as the finale on the 11-race program with a post time of 5:58 p.m. EDT.

Owned in partnership by Medallion Racing, Steve Weston, Stewart Hoffman, Mrs. Paul Shanahan and Mrs. M. V. Magnier, Lush Lips has recorded back-to-back runner-up efforts to Nitrogen in the $200,000 Florida Oaks (G3) and $600,000 Edgewood (G2). Trained by Brendan Walsh, the daughter of Ten Sovereigns made her North American debut last fall as a 2-year-old and followed with a dominant seven-length maiden special weight win on Nov. 23. She then captured her 3-year-old debut in a first-level allowance on Jan. 10 at Gulfstream Park. She will be ridden by Flavien Prat from post 7.