Departing Headlines Closing Day Fayette
Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider’s Departing headlines a field of eight horses entered Wednesday for Saturday’s 57th running of the $200,000 Hagyard Fayette (G2) at 1 1/8 miles on the main track.
The Hagyard Fayette will go as the ninth race on Saturday’s closing-day 10-race program with a 5:13 p.m. ET post time. First post Saturday is 1:05 p.m.
Trained by Al Stall Jr., who conditioned Blame for the same connections to win the 2009 Fayette, Departing comes into Saturday’s race off a runner-up effort in the Homecoming Classic at Churchill Downs on Sept. 27.
Winner of the Super Derby (G2) and West Virginia Derby (G2) last year as well as the Illinois Derby (G3), Departing will break from post position two and be ridden by Robby Albarado.
Coming back to challenge Departing from the Homecoming Classic are the 3-4 finishers in that race: Call Me George and Pick of the Litter.
Trained by Grant Forster, Call Me George will be ridden by Stewart Elliott and break from post position five. Pick of the Litter is trained by Dale Romans and will break from post position one and be ridden by Corey Lanerie.
Two entrants come into the race out of the Woodward (G1) and Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1): Long River and Stephanoatseee.
Trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, Long River finished third in the Jockey Club Gold Cup after finishing seventh in the Woodward. Rosie Napravnik will ride Long River and break from post position seven.
Stephanoatsee, who finished fifth in the Woodward and was placed fourth in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, is trained by Nick Zito. Julien Leparoux has the mount on Stephanoatsee, who will break from post position three.
The field for the Hagyard Fayette, from the rail out, is as follows: Pick of the Litter (Lanerie, 121 pounds), Departing (Albarado, 121), Stephanoatsee (Leparoux, 121), Coltimus Prime (James Graham, 118), Call Me George (Elliott, 121), Mister Marti Gras (Florent Geroux, 121), Long River (Napravnik, 121) and Code West (Shaun Bridgmohan, 121).
Source: Keeneland