Twelve Volt Man Powers Into Claiming Crown Jewel

A total of 95 of some of the nation’s top claiming-level horses, including seven also-eligible entries, have been entered in the 24th Claiming Crown, a group of eight starter stakes staged Nov. 12 at Churchill Downs for the first time.

The Claiming Crown features lucrative prize money for horse racing’s blue-collar athletes as they compete for $1.05 million in purses over eight races with starter allowance conditions. The event will bring together claiming-level horses from around the country as horses based in 11 different states are represented: Kentucky, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. Saturday's races provide additional purse incentives for Kentucky-breds.

The marquee event, the $175,000 Claiming Crown Jewel at 1 1/8 miles for 3-year-olds and up that started for a claiming price of $35,000 or less in 2021-22, includes last year's winner, Magic Cap Stables’ Twelve Volt Man .

Trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., Twelve Volt Man has competed for the majority of his 10-race career in South Florida with the exception of a third-place finish in the $100,000 Jazil Stakes at Aqueduct in New York. The 4-year-old gelded son of Violence   started for a $35,000 claiming tag on Oct. 14, 2021, to become eligible for the Claiming Crown.

In last year’s Jewel at Gulfstream Park, Twelve Volt Man finished three-quarters of a length in front of Hanalei's Houdini  to spring the 10-1 upset victory under jockey Edwin Gonzalez. Saturday’s Jewel will be the first start for Twelve Volt Man since winning a starter handicap at Gulfstream Park Aug. 28. The Florida-based Gonzalez will be in town to ride.

One of the top local hopes in the Jewel is multiple stakes-placed Intrepid Heart . Owned by Jack Wagon Stables and trained by Joe Sharp, Intrepid Heart finished a hard-fought second to stablemate Twilight Blue  in the Fort Larned Stakes Aug. 13 at Churchill. The former $25,000 claim sports an overall record of 8-7-4 from 27 starts with earnings of $520,382. Since Sharp claimed Intrepid Heart on Sept. 24, 2021, the 6-year-old gelded son of Tapit   has only finished off the board once and hasn’t finished worse than second in his last seven starts. 

"He's got a little bit of seconditis; he's a touch camera-shy," Sharp said. "We're hoping we can get the trip and turn in the tables in the big one. He's been an ultra-consistent horse, and you wish you had a barn full just like him."

Also entered is Happy Got Lucky Stable’s Maryland Million Classic Stakes winner Ournationonparade . Trained by Parx-based conditioner Jamie Ness, Ournationonparade was claimed off locally-based Chris Hartman for $50,000 on Sept. 28 and went on to win the Maryland Millions Classic by 5 3/4 lengths.

Three of the eight Claiming Crown races are scheduled to be contested over Churchill Downs' troubled turf course, used sparingly over the summer and fall after track officials suspended its use in the spring, citing immaturity and a desire to strengthen its root system. It was laid down as sod last fall.

There is a threat of rain beginning in the evening of Nov. 10 and continuing through midday Nov. 11 before skies are expected to clear amid cooler temperatures Saturday.

The Claiming Crown will be staged in Kentucky for only the second time, having been at Ellis Park in 2007. The event has been at Gulfstream Park in Florida for the past 10 years.

The Claiming Crown, a partnership between the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, is "the Breeders' Cup for claiming horses," Sharp said.