First Mission Has Distance on His Side in Alysheba

Godolphin's First Mission , beaten a nose by Trademark  at Churchill Downs in last fall's Clark Stakes (G2), is favored to avenge that defeat beneath the twin spires when he again faces Trademark and eight others in the $750,000 Alysheba Stakes (G2) May 3.

A dual graded stakes winner, having captured the Lexington Stakes (G3) at Keeneland last year at age 3 and the March 23 Essex Handicap (G3) at Oaklawn Park in his most recent start this year, is the 8-5 morning-line choice. Just once in seven starts has the homebred son of Street Sense   finished worse than second, when he was ninth in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) this winter at Gulfstream Park.

According to trainer Brad Cox, First Mission did not care for the track surface at Gulfstream.

"He's training well. He likes it here at Churchill," Cox added. "He just had that one run in the Clark last year. I thought it was a very good race, pressed the whole way on the inside, and I think the only time he wasn't in front was right there at the wire."

First Mission is 3-for-3 at the Alysheba's distance of 1 1/16 miles on dirt. Florent Geroux rides.

FIRST MISSION ($4.20) was ultra impressive winning the $600,000 Essex Handicap (G3) at @OaklawnRacing. The colt by @DarleyAmerica's Street Sense was trained by @bradcoxracing with @flothejock in the irons!

Bet the lucky last: https://t.co/GefXVvzQkm pic.twitter.com/BgD2OeT2Rs

— FanDuel Racing (Formerly TVG) (@FanDuel_Racing) March 23, 2024

Returning to action for the first time this year is Whisper Hill Farm and Gainesway Stable's 4-year-old Tapit Trice , winner of the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at Keeneland and Tampa Bay Derby (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs in 2023. The Todd Pletcher-trained gray/roan son of Tapit   has not started since finishing third in the Travers Stakes (G1) last summer at Saratoga Race Course.

He enters the Alysheba off a steady series of workouts at Palm Beach Downs in South Florida. Irad Ortiz Jr. rides Tapit Trice for the first time.

Japan's T O Saint Denis a Longshot

A unique entrant is T O Saint Denis , a shipper from Japan with the same connections as Kentucky Derby (G1) competitor T O Password . Daisuke Takayanagi trains both for owner Tomoya Ozasa.

T O Saint Denis was outworked by T O Password in a joint breeze April 30 at Churchill Downs.

Ryusei Sakai—who will pilot another Japanese horse in the Derby, Forever Young —rides T O Saint Denis.

Sakai, who was in Kentucky to breeze Forever Young last week, noted that T O Saint Denis has only two wins in Japan. The 5-year-old horse has started 22 times.

"Class-wise, it might be a little hard. But he's got good speed and the distance suits," he said in remarks translated by Churchill Downs Asia representative Kate Hunter. 

"It's a great chance to be able to ride the surface before the Kentucky Derby; it's a unique opportunity," he added. "However, I will be riding to win."