Weights Released for River City Handicap

Weights for Saturday’s 37^th running of the $100,000-added River City Handicap (Grade III) have been released and seven-time graded stakes winner Silver Max is the 122-pound high weight for the 1 1/8-mile turf race.

 

Mark Bacon and Dana Wells’ 5-year-old Silver Max, a $1.9 million earner, has been lightly campaigned in 2014 with only three starts. In his first start of the year, he rolled to a 1 ¾-length win in the $224,800 Firecracker Handicap (GII) over the Matt Winn Turf Course in June – his second win in three starts on grass at Churchill Downs. Most recently, he was fifth beaten four lengths by Wise Dan in the $1 million Shadwell Turf Mile (GI) at Keeneland on Oct. 4.

 

The 5-year-old tuned up for the River City on Thursday with a half-mile breeze on turf in :49.80.

 

In addition to Silver Max, trainer Dale Romans has three-time graded stakes winner Guys Reward (119 pounds) eying the River City.

 

Trainer Charlie LoPresti also has two River City likely starters: Villandry (118), who will cut back in distance after finishing third in the 1 ½-mile Sycamore (GIII) over soft going at Keeneland on Oct. 16, and last year’s runner-up Set the Sail (114).

 

Other likely starters according to Churchill Downs’ stakes coordinator Dan Bork: Plainview (117), Fixador-BRZ (117), Greengrassofyoming (116), Gentleman’s Kitten (115) and Hamp (115).

 

An interesting River City nominee is Live Oak Plantation’s Za Approval, the Christophe Clement trainee who was scratched as an also-eligible from Saturday’s $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (GI) at Santa Anita. Plans for the versatile 6-year-old gelding were unclear.

 

Entries for the River City Handicap will be taken Wednesday morning.

 

Saturday’s $100,000-added River City Handicap (Grade III) could mark the U.S. debut of a Fixador-BRZ, a multiple Group I winner in Brazil.

 

Owned by Stud Vicenza LLC, Fixador broke his maiden early in 2013 and proceeded to dominate the Brazilian racing circuit the same year, notching six victories from eight starts, including four Group I events on the grass.

 

Fixador was sent to the to the barn of Eduardo Caramori at the start of this year with the goal of competing in the Arlington Million (GI). But Caramori said things didn’t go according to plan.

 

“We’ve had him since the beginning of the year,” Caramori said. “He was a really nice horse in Brazil, but had a minor problem after his last race down there. So we got him at Palm Meadows early this year and were pointing to the Arlington Million (in mid-Auguest), but he had another minor setback that kept him from returning that quickly.

 

“Now it’s like we’re just trying to come back somewhere. Because he was so successful in Brazil, he’s not eligible to come back in any sort of allowance race in the U.S., so we’re looking for a place to start with him and we think the River City might be the spot. It’s the only race on this circuit that makes sense for him before we move our operation down south.”

 

Caramori will move his horses to Palm Meadows in south Florida at the beginning of December. His home base is the Thoroughbred Training Center in Lexington, where he said weather conditions lately have not been ideal for training.

 

“The weather has been bad for training this week,” Caramori said. “Like here in Lexington, the track is frozen, so it’s not really ideal. But as I said, we do think we want to get a race in before moving down to Florida so hopefully we can get him to the River City. That’s the plan.”

 

Caramori said he will see how this week goes for the 4-year-old colt by Crafty C.T., but ultimately they have big plans for Fixador.

 

“He’s a good horse,” Caramori said. “He has the mentality and the demeanor of a good horse and the stride of a good horse so we are excited to get him back to racing. We have big plans for him if we can keep him sound.”

 

Spendthrift Farm LLC’s Medal Count and Terry Hamilton’s Heart to Heart headline a cast of 28 3-year-olds nominated to the 11^th running of the $100,000-added Commonwealth Turf (Grade III) on Nov. 15. The 1 1/16-mile race for sophomores shares top billing with the $200,000-added Mrs. Revere (GII) for 3-year-old fillies.

 

Medal Count, who has banked $476,850 with a record of 12-3-2-1, will cut back to 1 1/16 miles in the Commonwealth Turf after a narrow runner-up finish in the $230,417 Dueling Grounds Derby on Sept. 6 over 1 5/16 miles at Kentucky Downs and a well-beaten seventh in Belmont Park’s $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (GI) at 1 ½ miles three weeks later. The Dynaformer colt trained by Dale Romans returned to turf for those races after a campaign that included runs in the Kentucky Derby (eighth), Belmont Stakes (third) and Haskell Invitational (ninth).

 

Canadian-bred Heart to Heart was an impressive gate-to-wire, four-length winner of the $110,000 Jefferson Cup (GIII) on Sept. 27 for trainer Brian Lynch. Prior to that, the English Channel colt wired foes at Saratoga in the $100,000 Better Talk Now. Overall, his record is 11-4-1-2—$263,325.

 

Other Commonwealth Turf nominees include the Michael Matz-trained Bashart, the $262,000-earner who is a two-time Grade III runner-up including a three-quarter length loss to Divine Oath in the $150,250 Kent (GIII) at Delaware Park on Sept. 20; Wallyanna, upset winner of the $200,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (GII) at Saratoga for trainer Michael Pino; and the Wayne Catalano-trained Solitary Ranger, the 2013 Arlington-Washington Futurity (GIII) winner who hopes to rebound from a flat eighth place finish in August’s $67,000 Straight Line over Polytrack at Arlington.