Effinex Looks for His Highlight Win in Clark

While Triple Crown winner American Pharoah   secured all of the headlines by closing out his career with a victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) Oct. 31 at Keeneland, grade II winner Effinex outran his 33-1 odds that day to finish second.

On Friday, Nov. 27 at Churchill Downs, the Tri-Bone Stables runner will try to nail down the first grade I victory of his career when he faces an expected eight other horses in the $500,000 Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare. Since winning the Suburban Handicap (gr. II) July 4 at Belmont Park, the 4-year-old Mineshaft   colt has factored in three grade I races, finishing fourth in the Woodward Stakes and third in the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes before his runner-up Classic finish.

Trainer Jimmy Jerkens thinks Effinex has continued to move in the right direction going into the 1 1/8-mile Clark.

"He's really risen to the occasion," Jerkens said. "He's beat some real good horses this year. At this point you just have to hope that we're as good as we were last time."

Effinex is not the only Clark horse entered off a Classic run, as Donegal Racing's Keen Ice drew the rail off his fourth-place finish in the Oct. 31 Classic. Keen Ice, who defeated American Pharoah in winning this year's Travers Stakes (gr. I), will be starting at his Churchill Downs base for a third time in his career after earning his maiden win in September 2014 and finishing seventh in this year's Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).

Trainer Dale Romans fully committed to the Clark after Keen Ice, a 3-year-old son of Curlin  , delivered a pair of nice works at Churchill, going four furlongs in :48 1/5 Nov. 15 before completing five-eighths in 1:01 1/5 Nov. 21. Romans is looking forward to the Clark, noting that Keen Ice just continues to improve.

"What I think you'll see at this time next year is a horse that will be talked about as Horse of the Year or Champion Older Male. He's doing that well and moves forward so much every time he runs that at the end of his 4-year-old year, you'll see an even better Keen Ice and a special horse that goes down in history," Romans said. "He's one of the few horses that I've had that the more he does, the better he gets. A lot of horses I can maintain, but you see very few prove the way he has."

The other key race for this year's Clark is the Fayette Stakes (gr. II), run a day before the Classic at Keeneland, as it has produced three Clark starters in winner Race Day  , runner-up Hoppertunity, and fifth-place finisher Protonico. In last year's Clark, Hoppertunity registered a half-length win over Protonico.

A defense of his 2014 Clark victory would provide an exclamation point in a season of near-misses for Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman's Hoppertunity. The runner-up finish in the Fayette marked the fifth graded stakes placing without a win since opening the season with a victory in the San Pasqual Stakes (gr. II) for the 4-year-old son of Any Given Saturday.

Race Day and Protonico are both conditioned by Todd Pletcher. Matthew Schera's Race Day registered his third graded stakes win of the season in the Fayette after taking a pair of graded stakes earlier this season at Oaklawn Park. The 4-year-old son of Tapit   will be aiming for his first grade I victory. Sumaya U. S. Stables' Protonico also will be looking for his first career grade I race after finishing second in last year's Clark. The 4-year-old Giant's Causeway   colt also won this year's Alysheba Stakes (gr. II) at Churchill.

G. Watts Humphrey Jr. grade II-winning homebred mare Frivolous, by Empire Maker  , has been cross-entered in the Clark and the Falls City Handicap (gr. II) Nov. 26 against fillies and mares at Churchill and will make her final career start in one or the other.