CHURCHILL Downs had two feature races last weekend and both produced eye-catching performances.
Midnight Bisou is in her third year at the top level and the five-year-old mare looked good as ever when strolling to an eight-and-a-quarter-length win in the Grade 2 Fleur de Lys, showing no effects of a tough race when second in the Saudi Cup in February.
Serengeti Empress made the running, as expected, but Mike Smith made his ground quickly approaching the final turn and Midnight Bisou quickened away, pricking her ears down the stretch.
The stands were silent but the filly got acclaim from afar.
The other feature race was the Grade 2 Stephen Foster and it saw an equally impressive win from the seven-year-old entire Tom’s d’Etat.
The son of Smart Strike spent the first three years of his career without a blacktype win and he has now stamped his ticket to the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic with his fourth consecutive graded win.
Trainer Al Stall Jr. said: “He’s obviously had quite a few breaks along the line for various reasons like nagging injuries, and maybe that’s helped his longevity.”
Tom’s d’Etat broke well and was guided to the front by jockey Miguel Mena and settled back in second as Pirate’s Punch showed early speed to 48.13secs for the half-mile.
By My Standards and Alkhaatam pressed the pace down the backside before Mena guided his mount out wider exiting the turn, and the pair were in control at the top of the straight.
By My Standards made his effort but was no match for Tom’s d’Etat, who drew away in midstretch and increased his lead all the way to the line, finishing in 1m 47.30secs on the fast track.
Winning jockey Mena was given an opportunity to ride Tom’s d’Etat when regular jockey Joel Rosario opted to ride Uni for Chad Brown in Belmont Park.
“I owe everything to Al for giving me the opportunity to ride such an impressive horse. He was going along so easy and I just asked him for his attention a little bit at the top of the lane and I didn’t even have to really step on the gas,” the rider said.
Tom’s d’Etat opened the year with a three-quarter-length win in the April 11th Oaklawn Mile Stakes at Oaklawn Park having ended 2019 with his first Grade 1 in the Clark Stakes at Churchill.
“I feel like we’re in good shape going forward into the rest of this year. He’s a great athlete. If he needs to be close, he breaks running, and if the pace is fast, he can back off and listen to the rider. He’s a smart horse, he’s an athletic horse, and he’s what a Grade 1 horse is supposed to be,” Stall said.
Tom’s d’Etat now has 11 wins from 18 starts over his five years of racing.
Winning Way for Frankel filly
THE former Michael Halford-trained Elizabeth Way got up in the final strides to win the Grade 2 Nassau Stakes at Woodbine in Canada.
Jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson rode the filly in the mile turf event for fillies, digging in down the stretch and getting up to collar the frontrunner Another Time by a neck.
Elizabeth Way is a four-year-old Godolphin-bred daughter of Frankel out of the Giant’s Causeway mare Maids Causeway, a winner of the Coronation Stakes. She started her career in Ireland before making four starts in the US this year under Attfield’s care.
The filly was purchased by John McCormack Bloodstock from Godolphin’s consignment to the 2019 Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale.
TRAINER John Sadler has been fined $15,000 and suspended for 60 days (45 of which are on hold) by the California Horse Racing Board for three medication violations during the spring of last year.
In a statement Sadler said: “Two of these cases involved the passive transmission by a groom of a medication prescribed for his own medical condition. The other involved detection of a prohibited substance in a horse over which I did not have actual custody or control.”
Sadler is also placed on probation for one year from the ruling date and may not have any violations of Class 1, 2, or 3 drug positives or the 45 suspended days will be imposed following a hearing.