American Turf Field Full of Last-Race Winners

Last-race winners from Aqueduct Racetrack, Tampa Bay Downs, Gulfstream Park, Santa Anita Park, Sam Houston Race Park, Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, and Keeneland will all meet May 1 in a full field of 14 set for the $500,000 American Turf Stakes Presented by Derby City Gaming (G2T) at Churchill Downs.

The 1 1/16-mile affair, restricted to 3-year-olds, shapes up as a scramble with Annex , an undefeated Constitution   colt trained by Bill Mott, the lukewarm 7-2 favorite on the morning line. Annex has displayed a competitive bent, winning all three starts while wintering at Gulfstream Park, taking the Palm Beach Stakes by a head and the Cutler Bay by a neck.

Annex will be reunited with a few he vanquished while compiling the perfect score.

One of his victims, Scarlett Sky , bounced back from the loss in the Palm Beach to win the Kentucky Utilities Transylvania Stakes (G3T) at Keeneland April 2 and returns for another try. The runner-up in the Transylvania, Palazzi , also is in the American Turf as is the third-place finisher from the Palm Beach, Chess's Dream . Lucky Law , a fast-closing fourth in the Cutler Bay, makes his return, too.

The California shipper is Du Jour , a Temple City   colt who took three tries to find the winner's circle for trainer Bob Baffert but now has two wins in a row. In his last outing, he led from gate to wire in a one-mile turf event at Santa Anita, drawing off at the end to win by 3 1/4 lengths.

Winfromwithin , an Into Mischief   colt from the Todd Pletcher barn, was last seen winning the Columbia Stakes at one mile at Tampa Bay Downs—his second win in two starts on the 2021 season. Those were both on the grass after he went winless in three starts on the dirt last summer in New York.

Royal Prince  and Holy Vow  return to action for the first time since running 1-2 in the Bayou City Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park April 3. Royal Prince, a Cairo Prince   colt trained by Brad Cox, also won the Black Gold Stakes on the Fair Grounds turf. Holy Vow saw his modest, two-race win streak snapped.

Hidden Enemy , Next , and Excellent Timing  offer some variety in the mix.

Hidden Enemy, a Galileo  colt, finally got the job done in his sixth start, winning a one-mile maiden at Fair Grounds for trainer Steve Asmussen. He had been knocking on the door in two previous starts, including a second in the race in which the aforementioned Palazzi broke his maiden.

Next, a Not This Time   colt handled by the red-hot Wesley Ward, notched his first win last September on the unique Kentucky Downs turf layout. An 11 3/4-length victory in an off-the-turf allowance at Keeneland was enough to convince Ward to start Next next in the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1), where he finished last, beaten more than 40 lengths. He has not raced since.

Excellent Timing, also by Not This Time, won his last two starts at Aqueduct by margins of 7 1/4 and 6 3/4 lengths. Those efforts, however, came against fellow New York-breds. With Chad Brown taking over his care, he makes his first start on the grass.

Entries: American Turf S. presented by Derby City Gaming (G2T)

Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 01, 2021, Race 9

• Grade IIT
• 1 1/16m
• Turf
• $500,000
• 3 yo
• 3:40 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Excellent Timing (NY)	UMBERTO RISPOLI	118	Chad C. Brown	10/1
2	2Winfromwithin (KY)	Luis Saez	118	Todd A. Pletcher	8/1
3	3Chess's Dream (FL)	Jose L. Ortiz	120	Michael J. Maker	12/1
4	4Annex (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	118	William I. Mott	7/2
5	5Du Jour (KY)	Flavien Prat	118	Bob Baffert	5/1
6	6Royal Prince (KY)	Javier Castellano	118	Brad H. Cox	12/1
7	7Dyn O Mite (KY)	James Graham	118	J. Keith Desormeaux	15/1
8	8Barrister Tom (KY)	Drayden Van Dyke	118	Michael Ann Ewing	30/1
9	9Holy Vow (KY)	Sophie Doyle	118	John Alexander Ortiz	30/1
10	10Next (KY)	John R. Velazquez	118	Wesley A. Ward	20/1
11	11Hidden Enemy (IRE)	Mike E. Smith	118	Steven M. Asmussen	30/1
12	12Lucky Law (IRE)	Florent Geroux	118	Patrick L. Biancone	10/1
13	13Scarlett Sky (KY)	Joel Rosario	120	Claude R. McGaughey III	4/1
14	14Palazzi (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	118	Mark E. Casse	10/1