Bell's the One, Sconsin Renew Rivalry in Open Mind

Two of the top female dirt sprinters in North America, Lothenbach Stables' Bell's the One  and Fred Schwartz' Sconsin , duel once again in the $300,000 Open Mind Stakes Sept. 18 at Churchill Downs.

Saturday's Open Mind is first of five stakes events on the evening card that also includes the $300,000 Iroquois Stakes (G3), $300,000 Pocahontas (G3), $400,000 Locust Grove Stakes (G3), and the $275,000 Louisville Thoroughbred Society Stakes.

Three months ago, Bell's the One and Sconsin faced one another in the $110,000 Roxelana Overnight Stakes where Bell's the One scored by three-quarters of a length at odds of 2-1. Trained by Neil Pessin, the accomplished mare Bell's the One has topped more than $1.1 million in purse earnings, punctuated by a last-out victory in the Honorable Miss Handicap (G2) at Saratoga Race Course.

"We're very proud how she ran at Saratoga," Pessin said. "She never really seems to get the accolades she deserves. She's 9-for-19 lifetime and tries so hard every time she runs. The spacing with Saturday's race seems to work better for her than running at Keeneland. This will give us an extra two weeks before the Breeders' Cup."

Corey Lanerie will ride Bell's the One who drew the outside post No. 5.

"She's a filly that does her best running outside of horses," Pessin said. 

Four-time winner Sconsin, trained by Greg Foley, was made the 7-5 favorite in the Roxelana but was passed in deep stretch by Bell's the One. Sconsin's 2021 campaign has included a victory in the $150,000 Winning Colors Stakes (G3) by 3 1/4 lengths under jockey Tyler Gaffalione. Her most recent start was a fourth-place finish behind Gamine  in the $500,000 seven-furlong Ketel One Ballerina Handicap (G1) at Saratoga. Gaffalione has the call from post 2.

The Open Mind field also includes two-time stakes winner Mundaye Call  and Honorable Miss pacesetter and third-place finisher Ain't No Elmers . 

In other ungraded action Saturday, Tamaroak Partner's homebred sprinter Bango  will attempt to extend his win total at Churchill Downs to seven in the Louisville Thoroughbred Society Stakes.

"I think it's going to take a darn good horse to beat him Saturday," trainer Greg Foley said. "He loves Churchill Downs, as do we, and the six-furlong distance suits him perfectly."

Bango enters Saturday's affair on a three-race win streak. 

"It sounds cliché but I just think he's getting better all the time," Foley continued. "He looks like a million bucks around the barn, dapples all over his body, the whole deal."

The Louisville Thoroughbred Society, named for the downtown Louisville-based club that opened its doors in March, was carded as Race 7 at 9:05 p.m.

Entries: Open Mind S.

Churchill Downs, Saturday, September 18, 2021, Race 3

• STK
• 6f
• Dirt
• $300,000
• 3 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 6:56 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Mundaye Call (KY)	Florent Geroux	120	Brad H. Cox	7/2
2	2Sconsin (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	122	Gregory D. Foley	8/5
3	3Ain't No Elmers (KY)	Adam Beschizza	122	W. Bret Calhoun	4/1
4	4Jungle Juice (IRE)	Alex Achard	120	Anna Meah	20/1
5	5Bell's the One (KY)	Corey J. Lanerie	124	Neil L. Pessin	7/5