Stakes Saturday: 7 Churchill Downs, Santa Anita races to watch

 

Shawnee Stakes: Race 7 at Churchill Downs (4:08 p.m.)

 

Peter Brant’s Grade 1-winning filly Dunbar Road was made the 4-5 morning line favorite for her seasonal debut in Saturday’s $100,000 Shawnee – part of "Stephen Foster Preview Day." Dunbar Road, winner of last year’s Alabama Stakes at Saratoga, arrived May 14 at Churchill Downs with trainer Chad Brown’s string of horses. Chief among Dunbar Road’s rivals in the Shawnee is She’s a Julie, winner of the 2019 Grade 1 La Troienne Stakes at Churchill Downs. Trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr., She’s a Julie was made the 2-1 second choice on the morning line.

 

 

 

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Sharing was made the 3-1 co-morning line favorite along with undefeated Alms for the one-mile Tepin Stakes on the turf. Sharing, a daughter of Speightstown, has not been seen since her 1 ¼-length score at Santa Anita. Trained by Graham Motion, Sharing’s only blemish in her four-race career was a narrow third-place effort in her debut. Following the Breeders’ Cup, Sharing was given a break but returned to Motion’s Fair Hill training center in March and has been consistently working toward her sophomore debut. Abscond, winner of last year’s Grade 1 Natalma Stakes, is also among the field of 14 slated to run.

 

 

 

Multiple graded stakes winner Mr. Money will aim to return to his top form at his “home track” of Churchill Downs in Saturday’s $100,000 Blame Stakes over one mile. Trained by Bret Calhoun, Mr. Money finished seventh in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile prior to his sixth-place effort in the $150,000 Oaklawn Mile – his first start as a 4-year-old. The 3-1 morning line favorite in the Blame is multiple graded stakes winner Owendale, who is set for his return following nearly six months on the sidelines. Trained by Brad Cox, Owendale will cut back in distance to one-turn for the first time since Sept. 2, 2018. Grade 1 winner Discreet Lover and Everfast, runner-up in the 2019 Preakness Stakes, are also among the entrants.

 

 

Hronis Racing’s versatile Cistron bids for his third straight victory as he heads a field of seven 3-year-olds and up going 5 ½ furlongs on turf in Saturday’s Daytona Stakes. A winner of the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes on dirt last July, Cistron then took the Grade 3 San Simeon Stakes at 5 ½ furlongs on turf on March 21, earning back to back 100 Beyer Speed figures.

 

 

 

Godolphin’s Grade 1 winner Maxfield was made the 5-2 morning line favorite for his highly anticipated 3-year-old debut in Saturday’s $150,000 Matt Winn Stakes going 1 1/16 miles. Maxfield was one of the likely favorites for last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile following his victory in the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland but a minor ankle injury forced him to scratch and spend several months on the sidelines. Maxfield shipped back to Walsh’s string of horses in South Florida but once the COVID-19 pandemic struck, he was forced to switch plans for his seasonal bow. Saturday’s Matt Winn is the first race on the revised Road to the Kentucky Derby schedule.

 

 

 

Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks winner Field Pass was made the lukewarm 4-1 choice on the morning line for the War Chant, which drew an overflow field to go one mile on the turf. Field Pass will shift from the Polytrack surface back to the turf in Saturday’s race. Trained by Mike Maker, Field Pass captured the March 14 Jeff Ruby Steaks by a neck over the Wesley Ward-trained Invader.

 

 

 

A bicoastal showdown looms on Saturday at Santa Anita as Richard Mandella’s United and Chad Brown’s eastern-based Rockemperor (IRE) head a field of seven 3-three-year-olds and up in the $200,000 Charles Whittingham Stakes at 1 ¼ miles on the turf. A recent victor over the course and distance on February 1, United retains the services of leading rider Flavien Prat, while Rockemperor, who is based in New York, will be ridden for the first time by current national earnings leader and two-time Eclipse Award winner, Irad Ortiz Jr.