Two Chances for Brown's Third Straight Turf Classic Win
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Photo: Skip Dickstein
Digital Age wins the 2020 Turf Classic Stakes at Churchill Downs
Trainer Chad Brown enters the $1 million Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic Stakes (G1T) May 1 at Churchill Downs with two chances to claim the race for the third straight year.
Domestic Spending and last year's winner, Digital Age , both owned by Klaravich Stables, will line up side by side for Brown in posts 5 and 6 in an accomplished field of nine for the 1 1/8-mile event.
Digital Age, a 5-year-old son of Invincible Spirit from the Lemon Drop Kid mare Willow View, won the pandemic-delayed 2020 Turf Classic Sept. 5, with Brown stablemates Rockemperor and Sacred Life checking in third and fourth, respectively. He followed the Turf Classic victory with an 11th-place finish in the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Turf Mile Presented by PDJF (G1T) at Keeneland in November and has not raced since.
Domestic Spending, a 4-year-old Kingman gelding, represents Brown's latest wave of turf specialists. He is 4-for-5 and was last seen winning the Hollywood Derby (G1T) at Del Mar Nov. 28.
Brown saddled Bricks and Mortar , now standing in Japan, to win the 2019 edition en route to his undefeated Horse of the Year season.
The purse and prestige attracted seven others for the race immediately preceding the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). All of them also are graded stakes winners at disparate venues.
Colonel Liam , a 4-year-old by Liam's Map , arrives with five wins to show for seven starts with victories in the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1T) at Gulfstream Park and the Muniz Memorial Classic Stakes (G2T) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots earlier this season. He ended his 2020 campaign with a win in the Tropical Park Derby at Gulfstream.
Masteroffoxhounds , Smooth Like Strait , and Count Again ship in from California.
Masteroffoxhounds raced in Ireland before being turned over to trainer Richard Baltas. The 4-year-old War Front colt has two wins from four U.S. starts, the victories including the San Marcos Stakes (G2T) in February.
Count Again, an Awesome Again gelding, won the Seabiscuit Handicap (G2T) at Del Mar in November and finished third in the Frank E. Kilroe Mile (G1T) in his most recent start. Smooth Like Strait was second in the Kilroe Mile but the 4-year-old Midnight Lute colt won the Mathis Brothers Mile (G1T) at Santa Anita Park the start before that.
Brazilian-bred Ivar won the Shadwell Turf Mile (G1T) at Keeneland's fall meeting but could only muster a fourth in the Breeders' Cup Mile in his only intervening start.
Seven-year-old Cross Border , an English Channel ridgling, started his career in the claiming ranks at Woodbine and worked his way up to victory in the Bowling Green Stakes (G2T) last summer at Saratoga Race Course. He was third in the Pegasus Turf and third again in the Pan American Stakes Presented by Rood & Riddle (G2T) at Gulfstream Park March 27.
Ride a Comet starts from the outside gate off a runner-up placing in the Maker's Mark Mile (G1T) at Keeneland April 9. The Mark Casse charge has graded stakes wins at Gulfstream Park, Woodbine, and Del Mar on his past performance sheet.
Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 01, 2021, Race 11Entries: Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic S. (G1T)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1Masteroffoxhounds (KY)
Joel Rosario
120
Richard Baltas
15/1
2
2Count Again (ON)
Luis Saez
120
Philip D'Amato
10/1
3
3Colonel Liam (KY)
Irad Ortiz, Jr.
124
Todd A. Pletcher
3/1
4
4Ivar (BRZ)
Joseph Talamo
122
Paulo H. Lobo
5/1
5
5Domestic Spending (GB)
Flavien Prat
124
Chad C. Brown
9/2
6
6Digital Age (IRE)
Javier Castellano
120
Chad C. Brown
8/1
7
7Smooth Like Strait (KY)
UMBERTO RISPOLI
120
Michael W. McCarthy
4/1
8
8Cross Border (NY)
Ricardo Santana, Jr.
120
Michael J. Maker
12/1
9
9Ride a Comet (KY)
Tyler Gaffalione
118
Mark E. Casse
5/1
