Heart to Heart Bids for Churchill Hat Trick

Terry Hamilton's Heart to Heart will seek a third Churchill Downs stakes win in the $100,000 River City Handicap (gr. IIIT) Nov. 26.

 

The 1 1/8-mile turf test drew nine contenders, including Knickerbocker Stakes (gr. IIIT) winner and 9-5 morning-line favorite Messi. The River City is scheduled as the 10th of 12 races on the holiday program with an approximate post time of 3:53 p.m. EST.

 

An Ontario-bred 4-year-old son of English Channel  , Heart to Heart is a fan favorite for both his on-track success and the distinctive heart-shaped star on his forehead. He comes into the race off a disappointing 10th-place run behind Grand Arch in Keeneland's Shadwell Turf Mile (gr. IT) on a yielding turf course, but he is unbeaten in two stakes outings at Churchill Downs.

 

In 2014, he won the Jefferson Cup (gr. IIIT) and Commonwealth Turf (gr. IIIT) in back-to-back efforts. A victory in the Oceanport Handicap (gr. IIIT) Aug. 14 at Monmouth Park is Heart to Heart's only victory in five races since his Churchill wins. He is tabbed as the 2-1 second choice.

 

"No doubt he'll be up front," trainer Brian Lynch said. "Hopefully there isn't too much speed in the race. His last race was run over a soft turf and he doesn't like that too much. He hasn't run his best races over the soft going. It seems like the firm turf suits him much better so hopefully we get that on Thursday."

 

Heart to Heart's effort to remain perfect on Churchill Downs' Matt Winn Turf Course will be challenged by a pair of accomplished rivals in European import Messi, the 9-5 morning line favorite, and Canadian shipper Are You Kidding Me, the 5-2 third choice.

 

Gestut Brummerhof's Messi started his career in Germany but has won three of four races since he arrived in the U.S. barn of Graham Motion. The 5-year-old New Approach gelding scored his first U.S. stakes victory with a nose victory in his most recent start in the Knickerbocker Oct. 10 at Belmont Park.

 

Ronald K. Kirk, John C. Bates, and Michael Riordan's Canadian invader Are You Kidding Me comes into the race off a half-length victory in the Autumn Stakes (Can-II) at Woodbine. Trained by Canadian Hall of Famer Roger Attfield, the 5-year-old son of Run Away and Hide also scored 2015 stakes wins in Woodbine's Eclipse Stakes (Can-II) and Nijinsky (Can-IIT).