Emmanuel, Skelly Headline Undercard Stakes at Churchill

WinStar Farm and Siena Farm's Emmanuel , scratched from the May 18 Dinner Party Stakes (G3T) due to soft ground at Pimlico Race Course, reappears in the $275,000 Arlington Stakes (G3T) June 1 at Churchill Downs.

The stakes race is one of six at the Louisville track on Saturday, four of them graded, during Stephen Foster Preview Day. Even the two ungraded stakes, the $275,000 Audubon Stakes and $275,000 Aristides, lured talented fields. Skelly , one of the fastest sprinters in the country, heads the latter race.

Emmanuel may catch the firm turf conditions he prefers in the Arlington. Dry weather is forecast in the lead-up to Saturday's race, though there is a 40% chance of rain on Saturday, per a May 28 report from the National Weather Service.

Regardless of the course condition, the five-time graded stakes winner for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, most recently fifth over soft turf in the Maker's Mark Mile (G1T), faces a challenge.

Breaking alongside him is Godolphin's talented turf specialist Ottoman Fleet , who has won group races overseas and a grade 2 in the United States. He is also grade 1-placed. The Charlie Appleby trianee, a 5-year-old gelding by Sea the Stars , was a last-out second May 4 in the Fort Marcy Stakes (G2T) at Aqueduct Racetrack, a race he won in 2023.

Flavien Prat is aboard Ottoman Fleet while Irad Ortiz Jr. rides Emmanuel, a son of More Than Ready.

Six other entrants are in the 1 1/16-mile turf race, among them Smokin' T  and Chasing the Crown .

Red Lane Thoroughbreds' Skelly will be a clear favorite in the six-furlong Aristides, owing to his 9-for-11 record in 2023-24.

After an initial loss in January 2023 for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, he rattled off six consecutive victories. It took a trip out of the country for him to lose, though he still ran well in defeat to finish second in the Riyadh Dirt Sprint (G3) on Saudi Cup Day, Feb. 24. He bounced back from his Middle Eastern travel to win two stakes at Oaklawn Park this spring.

Ricardo Santana Jr. rides the speedy 5-year-old Practical Joke   gelding

Late-running Tejano Twist , twice second to Skelly this year at Oaklawn, leads the opposition.

The 11th and final race on the card, the Audubon for 3-year-olds at 1/8 miles on turf, has a closely matched lineup.

Ten are entered, including the 2-3-4 finishers from the May 4 American Turf Stakes (G2T)—Formidable Man , Lagynos  and Cugino .

Formidable Man led for much of the American Turf before being passed by longshot winner Trikari  in the final furlong. Lagynos and Cugino were making up ground on him late in the 1 1/16-mile race over "good" turf.

The American Turf followed an allowance optional claiming win at Santa Anita Park from Formidable Man in late March at the 1 1/8-mile distance. Michael McCarthy trains the son of City of Light   for owners William and Suzanne Warren and Luis Saez rides.