O'Neill Ships Pair for Bashford Manor, Debutante

A pair of $225,000 listed stakes for 2-year-olds are among the highlights of the June 29 meet-closing card at Churchill Downs, which features five stakes races. The Bashford Manor Stakes for 2-year-olds going six furlongs on the dirt drew a field of seven, and one race later the Debutante Stakes for 2-year-old fillies attracted nine going the same distance. Both purses include $50,000 from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund.

Southern California-based trainer Doug O'Neill shipped a Santa Anita Park debut winner for each—Saul Elliott  for the Bashford and Light Won Up  in the Debutante.

"The purses in Kentucky are excellent—that is part of it—but also if you get lucky enough and win one or the early baby races in California, there's nowhere to go for a while. So these races fit good on the calendar, and both horses are doing very well and acting like they want to run again," O'Neill said. "Now the big question for us is how are they gonna ship and how will they handle the new surroundings.

"It's hard to gauge 2-year-olds this time of their careers, but both of these acted better than average before they started and they both ran accordingly. The paddock will tell a lot in terms of who's feeling it and then the gate break is key."

Saul Elliott is a California-bred colt by first-crop sire Listing , a stakes winner on dirt, grade 3 winner on turf, and son of former leading California sire Square Eddie . Owned by Here We Go Brothers, Seymour Jukie, and Jack Stable, Saul Elliott was bet down to 1.50-1 favoritism in a May 25 maiden special weight for Cal-breds. He pressed the pace and drew off late for a 2 1/4-length workmanlike win. His debut rider Antonio Fresu makes the trip to Louisville, Ky., for the mount.

"The colt is very laid back and he acts like the farther the better," O'Neill said.

Romeo , a Maryland-bred colt by Honor A. P.  , is the only Bashford Manor entrant who has run more than once. Trained by John Robb, Romeo won first out May 3 at Laurel Park by 10 1/4 lengths, then ran a distant third in the Tremont Stakes June 5 at Saratoga Race Course.

Peter E. Blum Thoroughbreds' Password  is the only maiden in the field, finishing behind fellow Bashford Manor entrant Comport  in a June 1 Churchill Downs maiden race. Joseph Sutton's Comport, by Collected  , pressed a solid pace and won by 2 1/4 lengths that day, but Password should not be overlooked. The Uncle Mo colt trained by Rodolphe Brisset was steadied and shuffled back at the start before finishing full of run for second.

Spice Runner , a Gun Runner   colt who won his debut for Winchell Thoroughbreds and Steve Asmussen May 23 at Churchill, adds blinkers from the rail.

Debutante

O'Neill's entry in the Debutante, Purple Rein Racing and Mark Davis' Light Won Up, by City of Light  , won her debut going 4 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita May 16.

"She's very precocious. She acts like she's gonna be quick out of there and she's all racehorse," O'Neill said.

J. Kirk and Judy Robison's Essential Coffee , a Nyquist   filly trained by Asmussen, crossed the wire 8 1/2 lengths in front in her May 30 debut at Churchill in the slop but was disqualified and placed second for interference. She also looks like a pace factor from the rail.

CKDS Racing Stable's Color Comin' In  won her debut by three lengths May 15 at Churchill. Trained by Norm Casse, Color Comin' In was the first winner for the Candy Ride   son Rock Your World  , who led all first-crop sires with four winners through June 27.

The filly who finished second in that race—Gary Barber and D. J. Stable's Curlin   filly Americathegreat —looks like a major improvement candidate as she gets more distance. She rallied from 11 lengths back early and was finishing strongly going five furlongs.

Paradise Farms and Case Chambers' Lilies N Paradise , by first-crop sire Maxfield  , won her debut June 6 at Churchill. Trained by Mike Maker, she beat Lael Stables' Pulstar , trained by Wesley Ward, by a head in a driving finish.