McPeek Packs a Loaded Punch in CD Juvenile Stakes

Trainer Kenny McPeek holds a strong pair of aces in both the $200,000 Street Sense Stakes (G3) and $200,000 Rags to Riches Stakes Oct. 29 at Churchill Downs. Staged for 2-year-olds, both races serve as point prep races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks. The points are awarded to the top five finishers in a 10-5-3-2-1 fashion.

The feature race of the Churchill Downs Fall Meet opening day is the Street Sense, contested over 1 1/16 miles on the main track for juvenile males. McPeek's Generous Tipper  and Northern Flame , the 3-4 finishers from the Oct. 7 Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland, skipped the Breeders' Cup in anticipation of this race.

Generous Tipper ran a sneaky good race when third in the Breeders' Futurity for Walking L Thoroughbreds. The son of Street Sense   has been on a steady path of improvement in his last four starts. After flopping first time out on the turf, he was a good second to Iroquois (G3) winner West Saratoga  before drawing away by 7 1/4 lengths in a mile Ellis Park maiden special weight. His stablemate Northern Flame was third.

Facing stakes company in the Breeders' Futurity, Generous Tipper trailed the field early before rounding five-wide on the turn and catching Northern Flame at the wire to complete the trifecta. The colt, who broke his maiden in front-running style, showed a dangerous versatility last out that will make him tough to beat on Sunday. Brian Hernandez retains the mount.

John Oxley, Harold Lerner, and AWC Stables' Northern Flame, a $425,000 son of Flameaway  , ran an encouraging fourth at 49-1 odds in the Breeders' Futurity. The colt had previously captured a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight at Churchill Sept. 15 in workmanlike fashion. Julien Leparoux has the call.

Apart from a group of last-out maiden winners, led by the Todd Pletcher-trained Moonlight , who bulldozed the field by eight lengths in an off-the-turf Aqueduct maiden special weight Sept. 28, Liberal Arts  looms a potential threat to the potent McPeek duo.

Trained by Robert Medina for Stephen and Evan Ferraro, Liberal Arts graduated at Ellis Park in August before running a solid third in the Iroquois after a troubled trip down the lane. With clear passage, the Arrogate colt could be one to watch out for if he gets a clean run to the wire.

V V's Dream a Heavy Favorite in Rags to Riches

As of Oct. 26, trainer Kenny McPeek was still on the fence about whether Pocahontas (G3) winner and Alcibiades Stakes (G1) runner-up V V's Dream  would compete in either the Rags to Riches or the Nov. 3 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Santa Anita Park. If the Mitole filly were to run in the Rags to Riches, she would be a short-priced favorite against seven other 2-year-old fillies in Sunday's race.

Highly regarded from her eye-catching Churchill debut in May, the filly with a penchant for the Louisville oval enters the 1 1/16-miles Rags to Riches off a tough defeat to Candied  in the Alcibiades at Keeneland. Ahead of that effort, she was a scintillating winner of Churchill's Pocahontas, dusting her foes by 8 lengths.

Campaigned by MJM Racing and Magdelena Racing, V V's Dream will be partnered by regular pilot Brian Hernandez Jr.

V V's Dream's barnmate, Shimmering Allure , ran on to get fourth in her stakes debut in the Alcibiades for Walking L Thoroughbreds. Failing to find the winner's circle in three starts sprinting, the daughter of Enticed   broke through with a 2 1/4-length maiden score Sept. 20 at Churchill prior to her Alcibiades effort.

The Churchill Downs fall meet runs 21 days every Wednesday-Sunday through Nov. 26. The average daily purses are $1,090,000 with maiden special weight races sporting a $120,000 purse while allowance races range from $127,000 to $141,000. All purses, including claiming races, include prize money from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund. Fifteen stakes races comprise the fall meet, which is capped by the $600,000 Clark Stakes (G1) Nov. 24.