The nine-horse field also includes Sugoi, the front-running winner in last year’s edition of the 1 1/2-mile turf test at …
Jeffrey Amling and Merribelle Stable’s Elkhorn Stakes (G2) winner Utah Beach is set to face eight other turf runners entered for the 88th running of the $250,000 Louisville Stakes (G3), the featured event on Saturday’s Downs After Dark nighttime program at Churchill Downs.
The Louisville, contested at 1½ miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course, will go as Race 9 of 11 with a post time of 10:11 p.m. (ET).
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Utah Beach, trained by Ignacio Correas IV, was a gutsy winner in last month’s Elkhorn at Keeneland, defeating 11 rivals at odds of 11-1. The 5-year-old gelded son of English Channel sports a solid record of 14-4-5-1 and purse earnings of $536,265. He’ll be ridden in the Louisville by Vincent Cheminaud from post No. 6.
Chief among Utah Beach’s rivals is last year’s Louisville winner Sugoi. Owned by Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher, Sugoi scored a front-running 1¼-length victory in last year’s race. Trained by Mike Maker, the former $50,000 claim went on to finish second in the Chorleywood Stakes before returning to the winner’s circle earlier this year in the John Connally Turf Cup Stakes at Sam Houston. The veteran 8-year-old Karakontie (JPN) gelding will break from post 9 under Luan Machado.
The complete field for the Louisville from the rail out (with jockey, trainer):
Idratherbeblessed (Ben Curtis, Chris Hartman)
Missed the Cut (Brian Hernandez Jr., Cherie DeVaux)
Rebel Red (GB) (Declan Cannon, Cherie DeVaux)
Tapit Shoes (Rafael Bejarano, Ed Moger Jr.)
Verstappen (Frankie Dettori, Brendan Walsh)
Utah Beach (Vincent Cheminaud, Ignacio Correas IV)
Rock’n a Halo (Edgar Morales, Tom Amoss)
Accredit (Mario Gutierrez, Pavel Matejka)
Sugoi (Luan Machado, Mike Maker)
Source: Utah News