My Mane Squeeze’s Dogwood highlights Churchill’s stakes quartet
Churchill Downs stakes recaps by Kevin Kerstein (Kurtis Coady/Coady Media photo above of My Mane Squeeze winning the G3 Fasig-Tipton Dogwood)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024) – Accomplished 3-year-old filly My Mane Squeeze returned to Churchill Downs Saturday and surged to a powerful five-length victory in the 49th running of the $269,335 Fasig-Tipton Dogwood Stakes (Grade III) under jockey Luis Saez.
Owned by William Butler and WinStar Farm and trained by Mike Maker, My Mane Squeeze covered the seven-furlong distance in a final time of 1:22.27.
A scramble for the early lead unfolded during the early stages of the Dogwood with Neom Beach taking command after a quarter-mile in a solid :22.39. Legadema, Fibberand Halina’s Forte were all within a length of the lead up the backstretch with favored My Mane Squeeze tracking just behind them while in the clear. Around the far turn, after a half-mile in :45.95, Legadema briefly took the lead but was quickly confronted by My Mane Squeeze on her outside at the mid-stretch marker.
With a decisive surge under Saez, My Mane Squeeze kicked clear to secure the open-length victory over Fibber, Legadema, Uphill Dance, Neom Beach, Halina’s Forte, Reagan’s Flame and Manama Gold.
“Today the plan was to try to break and be a little closer than last time,” Saez said. “The track is pretty tight, and the plan was to put her in the clear as soon as possible. Everyone wanted to be up front early. She was in a good spot, and when she got to the top of the stretch, she was loaded. Last time when she ran at Charles Town, the track was a little deep and their turns are a little tight. That’s why today the plan was to break sharply and put her in the clear.”
My Mane Squeeze, a 3-year-old daughter of Audible out of the Speightstown mare In Spite of Mama, now boasts a record of 12-6-1-3 with career earnings of $988,460. Bred in New York by co-owner William Butler, she previously won the Eight Belles (GII) during Churchill Downs’ Spring Meet.
Sent off as the 3-2 favorite, My Mane Squeeze returned $5.04, $3.18, and $2.50. Fibber paid $3.78 and $2.58 for second, while Legadema returned $4.92 for third.
Racing will resume under the Twin Spires Sunday for a 10-race program beginning at 12:45 p.m. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.churchilldowns.com.
BATTEN DOWN BRILLIANT IN BOURBON TRAIL WHILE SETTING NEW TRACK RECORD – Juddmonte’s Batten Down broke sharply and never looked back, cruising to an easy 5 ¾-length victory in Saturday’s $287,500 Bourbon Flight at Churchill Downs, setting a new track record in the process.
Ridden by Junior Alvarado and trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the 3-year-old colt covered the 1 3/16 miles in a final time of 1:54.66, crushing the previous record of 1:55.97 set by Idol in 2020.
Batten Down inherited the lead early of the Bourbon Flight, setting a solid pace of :23.19 for the opening quarter-mile while Next Level tracked to his inside and Hades raced just behind them in third. As the field navigated the first turn, Batten Down maintained a narrow advantage over Next Level, clocking a half-mile in :47.07.
Into the far turn, Batten Down began to extend his lead, opening up by two lengths with Alvarado still motionless in the saddle. At the top of the stretch, Alvarado geared down his mount, allowing Batten Down to cruise home unchallenged for the decisive win.
Sent off as the 1-2 favorite, Batten Down returned mutuel prices of $3.06, $2.30, and $2.10. Hades, under Luis Saez, finished second and paid $3.18 and $2.56. Elephants Ear, with jockey Colby Hernandez aboard, finished third and returned $3.32.
“He’s still trying to figure things out and I think will continue to get better with age,” Alvarado said. “We went a little fast early in the race but he was doing things very comfortably. I could tell I had a lot of horse when we turned for home, and he just cruised down the stretch.”
With this victory, the regally-bred son of Tapit out of multiple Grade I winner Close Hatches, improved his record to 8-3-1-2, with career earnings now totaling $688,300.
Mugatu finished in fourth followed by Next Level and Real Macho.
HENRO KICKS CLEAR LATE TO WIN HARRODS CREEK – JD Thoroughbredsand Joey Keith Davis’ Henro kicked clear late and held off a closing challenge from Jefferson Street to win Saturday’s 4th running of the $295,000 Harrods Creek at Churchill Downs.
Trained by Chris Hartman and ridden by Rafael Bejarano, the 3-year-old chestnut gelding completed seven furlongs in a strong 1:21.84.
The early pace of the Harrods Creek was set by Valentine Candy, who showed good speed out of the gate and took the lead heading onto the main track but was immediately pressured to his outside by Illuminare. As the field of 3-year-olds settled up the backstretch after a quarter-mile in :22.74, Dilger began to make a three-wide bid. The trio battled across the track at the top of the stretch, with Bejarano tipping Henro in the four-path down the center of the track.
At the eighth-pole, Henro found another gear, drawing clear to the wire while holding off the late-closing Jefferson Street by 1 ¼ lengths. Dilger finished third, followed by Illuminaire, Valentine Candy and Willy D’s.
“This horse has so much class all the time and was training really well heading into the race,” Bejarano said. “He’s a fun horse to ride and loves it here at Churchill Downs. He was covered up very well and had a good plan to settle off the pace. I was full of horse and wanted to make sure to get in the clear.”
Hartman was equally pleased with the decision to run his trainee at Churchill.
“We actually had him entered on the turf at Kentucky Downs but we took him out of there and opted to run here,” Hartman said. “It worked out perfectly. I think we’ll have some fun with him down the road.”
With this victory, Henro improved his lifetime record to 8-4-1-0 and boosted his career earnings to $545,889.
Sent off at odds of nearly 6-1, Henro returned mutuel payouts of $13.94, $5.90, and $3.90. Jefferson Street paid $4.28 and $3.08 for second, while Dilger returned $4.08 for third.
Henro, a chestnut gelded son of Collected out of the Street Cry (IRE) mare Street Minstrel, was bred in Kentucky by the late Brereton C. Jones.
PLETCHER DUO MISS JUSTIFY, LIFE TALK FINISH 1-2 IN SENECA OVERNIGHT STAKES –Twin Oaks Bloodstock, Joseph Bulger, Will Campbell and IEE Racing Stables Miss Justify gamely held off a late surge from stablemate Life Talk to win Saturday’s 4th running of the $171,750 Seneca Overnight Stakes (Listed) at Churchill Downs.
Ridden by Luis Saez and trained by Todd Pletcher, the 3-year-old filly completed the 1 1/16-mile event in a final time of 1:43.14.
Breaking well from the gate, Chatalas and Home Game were hustled forward for the lead with Chatalas gaining the upper hand into the first turn. Chatalas led the field through an opening quarter-mile in :23.62, tracked by Home Game in second and Miss Justify in third, about two lengths off the leader.
The moderate pace continued through a half-mile in :48.34 as the field approached the far turn. Miss Justify began to apply pressure, rallying three wide and sticking her nose in front at the quarter pole. Chatalas fought hard on the inside but Miss Justify dug in and held off a late closing run from Life Talk in the final strides to secure the victory by a half-length. Chatalas finished 1 ¼ lengths back in third followed in order by Here’s the Spider,Neon Icon, Home Game, Little Jamie and Midshipman’s Dance.
“I had the position I was looking for,” Saez said. “She relaxed nicely behind the leaders, and when I asked her to finish, she really responded well. She’s a very talented filly.”
With this victory, Miss Justify, a 3-year-old filly by Justify out of the Majesticperfection mare Swiss Alps, improved her record to 7-4-0-1 boasting purse earnings of $333,164. She was bred in Kentucky by Killora Stud.
Sent off as the 6-5 favorite, Miss Justify paid $4.72, $3.78 and $2.60. The Pletcher exacta returned $22.28 for a $2 wager.
FASIG-TIPTON DOGWOOD QUOTES:
Luis Saez, jockey, My Mane Squeeze, winner: “Today the plan was to try to break and be a little closer than last time,” Saez said. “The track is pretty tight, and the plan was to put her in the clear as soon as possible. Everyone wanted to be up front early. She was in a good spot, and when she got to the top of the stretch, she was loaded. Last time when she ran at Charles Town, the track was a little deep and their turns are a little tight. That’s why today the plan was to break sharply and put her in the clear.”
Chris Hartman, trainer, Fibber, runner-up: “She ran well but just ended up being second-best to a really nice filly today. She was caught inside in that speed duel but continued to run well down the lane.”
BOURBON TRAIL QUOTES:
Junior Alvarado, jockey, Batten Down, winner: “He’s still trying to figure things out and I think will continue to get better with age. We went a little fast early in the race but he was doing things very comfortably. I could tell I had a lot of horse when we turned for home, and he just cruised down the stretch.”
Kenny McCarthy, assistant trainer, Batten Down, winner: “This horse is an incredibly bred horse from Juddmonte being by Tapit out of Close Hatches. He’s run two very impressive races here at Churchill Downs, once when he broke his maiden back in the spring and now in this race today. He ran well this summer against some of the top 3-year-olds and will continue to improve with more seasoning. We’re looking forward to seeing more performances like this in the future.”
HARRODS CREEK QUOTES:
Rafael Bejarano, jockey, Henro, winner: “This horse has so much class all the time and was training really well heading into the race. He’s a fun horse to ride and loves it here at Churchill Downs. He was covered up very well and had a good plan to settle off the pace. I was full of horse and wanted to make sure to get in the clear.”
Chris Hartman, trainer, Henro, winner: “We actually had him entered on the turf at Kentucky Downs but we took him out of there and opted to run here. It worked out perfectly. I think we’ll have some fun with him down the road.”
Kenny McCarthy, assistant trainer, Jefferson Street, runner-up: “He came with a huge run late but needed a few extra jumps it seemed. He ran well and we’re proud of his effort.”
