Churchill Downs wrap: Mission of Joy is among 5 stakes winners
Mission of Joy found an opening at the top of the stretch, collared pacesetter Miss Riddler at the three-sixteenths pole and kicked home powerfully to win Saturday’s 54th running of the Grade 3, $205,000 Regret Stakes by 1 1/2 lengths over Papilio at Churchill Downs.
Owned by Ryan Zabrowski’s RyZan Sun Racing and Sol Kumin’s Madaket Stables, the 3-year-old Graham Motion-trained filly covered 1 1/8 miles on “firm” turf in 1:49.05 under Tyler Gaffalione.
Mission of Joy, winner of the Florida Oaks (G3) in March, finished a troubled third in the $500,000 Edgewood (G2) on Kentucky Oaks Day when she had to alter course in the late stages of the 1 1/16-mile contest. Saturday’s trip was more ideal.
Mission of Joy raced in a relaxed position along the rail chasing pacesetters Miss Riddler and Girl Named Charlie, who set fractions of 23.63 seconds, 48.39 and 1:13.14. Leaving the far turn, Gaffalione waiting patiently for a seam to open between horses and it did at the head of the straightaway. Mission of Joy kicked clear in the final furlong and safely fended off a bid in late stages by Appalachian (G2) winner Papilio while under moderate handling.
“We sat a great trip just behind the speed,” Gaffalione said. “In the stretch I was able to tip her out around the pacesetter (Miss Riddler) and she kicked for home impressively.”
Mission of Joy, the odds-on 3-5 favorite, paid $3.46, $2.36 and $2.10. Papilio, the 2-1 second choice under Javier Castellano, returned $2.84 and $2.36. Mrs. Astor, at odds of 11 under John Velazquez, was another four lengths back in third and paid $3.10.
Miss Riddler, Girl Named Charlie and Sabalenka completed the order of finish.
With her victory worth $122,760, Mission of Joy boosted her career earnings to $289,567 from a record of 4-0-1 in 6 starts.
“She came out of the Edgewood in great shape and she had a tough trip that day,” Motion said. “Today, Tyler got her into a beautiful position and she really impressed me. She’s a Canadian-bred so we’d obviously look at some of those races but also some of the longer turf races in New York this summer. She handled the mile-and-an-eighth today and proved it wouldn’t be an issue moving forward.”
Mission of Joy is a daughter of Kitten’s Joy out of the Smart Strike mare Smart Mission and was bred in Canada by Sam-Son Farm.
The Regret honors the 1915 Kentucky Derby-winning filly.
Gunite runs down Bango to capture Aristides
Winchell Thoroughbreds’ crack sprinter Gunite ran down Bango in deep stretch to deny the runner-up a third straight victory in Saturday’s 35th running of the $224,500 Aristides and a record-equaling 11th victory at Churchill Downs.
Gunite, who also excels at Churchill Downs, clocked six furlongs over a “fast” track in 1:08.46 under Tyler Gaffalione, who rode the winner for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen.
Asmussen won the Aristides for record fifth time. His other triumphs in the race came with Mountain General (2003), Riley Tucker (2010), Rothko (2012) and Volatile (2020).
Gunite, who defeated Bango by 1 3/4 lengths, won for the fourth time in seven starts at Churchill Downs.
Strava and Sibelius ran a scorching opening quarter mile in 21.71 seconds with Bango tracking from third and Gunite following in fourth. Sibelius and Bango engaged Strava around the turn as Gunite sat just behind the three-wide trio, who passed the half-mile marker in 44.92 seconds.
At the top of the stretch, Bango emerged as the leader but the pursuing Gunite was tipped out by Gaffalione. Gunite grinded down the stretch, took the lead at the sixteenth pole and inched clear late for his seventh career stakes win.
“He sat a really comfortable trip from just off the pace,” Gaffalione said. “He broke a little bit slower but settled in nicely to stride. He’s a very exciting horse and can tell keeps maturing with age.”
Now 4, Gunite won the Hopeful (G1) at 2. His 3-year-old season featured victories in the Maxfield, Amsterdam (G2), Harrods Creek and Perryville. His 2023 campaign began with a victory in the King Cotton at Oaklawn and was followed by a second-place finish in the $1.5 million Riyadh Dirt Sprint (G3) and a third in the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen (GI) in the Middle East.
Gunite, the odds-on 4-5 favorite, paid $3.80, $2.60 and $2.10. Bango, at 5-2 under John Velazquez, returned $3.42 and $2.40. Tejano Twist was another two lengths back in third under Chris Landeros and paid $2.62 to show at odds of 8-1.
Sibelius and Strava completed the order of finish.
“I thought he ran a really good race and ended up being second best to a really nice horse,” said Greg Foley, trainer of Bango. “This race could have been a Grade 1 with these horses in it. We’ll regroup with him and hopefully get back to the winner’s circle next time. (Velazquez) told me he may have moved a little bit too soon but he still ran a really hard race against a quality winner.”
Gunite, who banked $139,000, improved his record to 17: 8-5-2 with purse earnings of $1,749,509.
Gunite is a son of Gun Runner out of the Cowboy Cal mare Simple Surprise. He was bred in Kentucky by his owner Ron Winchell.
“Just like his sire Gun Runner, he seems to get better with age,” Asmussen said. “We’re very fortunate to train a horse like Gunite. We’ve noticed as he’s gotten older he has gotten faster and that’s a great sign moving forward for his campaign.”
The Aristides is named in honor of the inaugural Kentucky Derby winner of 1875.
American Turf winner Webslinger repeats in Audubon
Webslinger,showed his 22-1 longshot victory in the $500,000 American Turf (Grade 2) on Kentucky Derby was no fluke as he rolled to a 1 1/4-length win over Mendelssohns March as the 3-5 favorite in Saturday’s fourth running of the $225,000 Audubon Stakes at Churchill Downs.
Webslinger, ridden by Javier Castellano, trained by Mark Casse and owned by Leonard Green’s D. J. Stable, ran 1 1/8 miles over “firm” turf in 1:49.87.
“I thought Javier gave him a beautiful trip in this race that was very paceless,” said David Carroll, assistant to trainer Mark Casse. “He’s a horse that each time you run him he seems to get better. He’s proven that in his last couple of efforts but today’s race was a bittersweet one. Lois Green, who was the matriarch of the owner’s family, died earlier this week. She was a wonderful woman and our heart goes out to the entire Green family during this time. Hopefully this win was able to give them a little bit of happiness during a difficult week for their family.”
“There wasn’t a whole lot of speed in the race but he was traveling nicely throughout,” Castellano said. “He put himself in a good position turning for him and was able to dig in late. He’s a very consistent horse and always seems to run well each time.”
The $136,520 first prize jumped Webslinger’s earnings to $860,320 from a record of 9: 4-2-1.
Webslinger paid $3.42, $2.28 and $2.10. Mendelssohns March, with Brian Hernandez Jr. up at odds of 4-1, returned $3.02 and $2.40. Desert Duke was another half-length back in third under Mitch Murrill at 8-1 and paid $3.04 to show.
Scoobie Quando, Sharar, J.P. Race and Lazarus completed the order of finish.
Webslinger, a gelded son of Constitution out of the Hard Spun mare Arana, was bred in Kentucky by Ken and Sarah Ramsey.
Idiomatic leads all the way in Shawnee
Juddmonte’s homebred Idiomatic led every step of the way in Saturday’s fourth running of the Grade 3, $224,750 Shawnee at Churchill Downs to score her first graded stakes win with a 2 1/2-length triumph over Sixtythreecaliber.
Trained by Brad Cox, Idiomatic covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.13 under jockey Florent Geroux. That marked the fastest of four runnings of the race that debuted in 2020.
“She was quick away from the gate but was able to settle her speed on the front end and moved comfortably,” Geroux said. “This is the first time I’ve been on her during the races but you can tell from her previous starts she likes to be close or on the lead. She’s run primarily over on the Tapeta at Turfway but has shown she’s able to handle the dirt and going longer.”
Idiomatic returned $6.40, $3.82 and $2.66 as the 2-1 second betting choice. Sixtythreecaliber, under Edgar Morales, returned $8.20 and $3.50 at odds of 11-1. Frost Point, the even-money favorite under Junior Alvarado, rallied from last to finish another 1 1/4 lengths back in third and paid $2.30.
Moon Swag, Hidden Connection, Soul of an Angel and Travel Column completed the order of finish. Pauline’s Pearl was scratched.
Idiomatic is a 4-year-old filly by Curlin out of the First Defence mare Lockdown. She was bred in Kentucky by her owner.
With her victory in Saturday’s Shawnee worth $136,520, Idiomatic improved her record to 8: 5-1-2 with earnings of $474,490.
Previously, Idiomatic won the $245,000 Latonia at Turfway Park before finishing second to Pass the Champagne in the $200,000 Ruffian (G2) on May 6 at Belmont Park.
“We’re very proud of her effort today routing on the dirt,” Cox said. “She ran well last time out in the Ruffian going a mile on dirt but it seems like two turns suits her better. She was based at Turfway this winter and ran well over the Tapeta track. We were confident she’d be able to handle the switch back to dirt and she proved that today. We always had in mind running her in the Delaware Handicap. But, we’ll see what happens and how she comes out of this race first and foremost.”
Churchill-loving Set Piece wins Arlington
Juddmonte scored a stakes double Saturday at Churchill Downs when their venerable 7-year-old homebred gelding Set Piece collared pacesetter Get Smokin with a sixteenth of a mile to run and comfortably won Saturday’s 87th running of the Grade 3, $206,750 Arlington Stakes by one length.
One race earlier, Idiomatic won the Grade 3, $224,750 Shawnee. Florent Geroux rode both winners for trainer Brad Cox.
A multiple graded stakes winner across North America, Set Piece ran 1 1/16 miles on “firm” turf in 1:42.42 to record his fifth victory beneath the Twin Spires and become racing’s newest millionaire. His most notable triumph came in last year’s $400,000 Wise Dan (G2).
“He’s one of my favorite horses I’ve ridden,” Geroux said. “He has no early speed so it’s always tough in bigger fields because you can’t go super wide turning for home but if you stay too far on the inside you end up in trouble. He always tries hard and I’m so happy he was able to get a win today.”
Set Piece, off as the odds-on 3-5 favorite, paid $3.52, $2.82 and $2.26. Get Smokin, a 15-1 outsider under Ricardo Santana Jr., returned $7.20 and $3.80. Harlan Estate was another three-quarters of a length back in third under Declan Cannon at odds of 27 and paid $5.94 to show.
Classic Causeway, Royal Patronage (FR) and Kentucky Ghost completed the running order. Tiberius Mercurius was scratched.
Set Piece earned $122,760 for the win and improved his career record to 27: 12-2-2 with earnings of $1,068,683.
“He’s a barn favorite of ours,” Cox said. “Juddmonte sent him over to our barn in North America a couple years ago and he’s knocked at the door of a Grade I in the past. Today he rallied strongly against a pace that wasn’t very fast at all. He loves it here at Churchill and we’re very proud of his win today.”
Set Piece, a son of Dansili out of the Kingmambo mare Portodora, was bred in Kentucky by his owner.