Warrior's Club Takes Aim at Churchill Downs Stakes

Warrior's Club has already well surpassed his expectations.

As the first ever horse purchased by the Churchill Downs Racing Club in 2016, the main hope for the son of Warrior's Reward  was that he would help draw some new blood into the game by being the vehicle by which Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas taught his new group of clients the intangibles of ownership.

Someone forget to tell dark bay colt, however, the Racing Club is supposed to be a non-profit venture. Twenty-two starts, one graded stakes victory, and more than $518,000 in earnings later, Warrior's Club is aiming to further enhance what has already been an experience of a lifetime for his 200 owners by giving them the thrill of watching their horse potentially win on the first Saturday in May.

There would be no more fitting race for a Churchill Downs Racing Club-owned horse to win than the Churchill Downs Stakes presented by Twinspires.com (G2). On May 5 as part of the undercard of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), Warrior's Club will try and do just that when he starts against nine rivals in the $500,000, seven-furlong test.

The first incarnation of the Churchill Downs Racing Club consisted of 200 individuals making a one-time contribution of $500 with benefits including free parking, admission, as well as the thrill of saying they have a horse with one of the sport's most legendary trainer. Since being purchased by Lukas privately as a 2-year-old, Warrior's Club has gone on to win five of 22 starts with his most recent triumph coming when he held off Limousine Liberal by a neck in the April 7 $250,000 Commonwealth Stakes (G3) at Keeneland.

"This club ran the red light on the profit margin a long time ago," Lukas laughed after the Commonwealth. "We bought him off a video. I saw him in motion and I thought he was a great mover and said 'I think we'll take a chance.' I've won a few Derbies and I've never seen a crowd react like they react, these people. This is a wonderful concept. That's what it's all about."

Warrior's Club has already provided some on-site thrills for his owners when he captured the Spendthrift Stallion Stakes at Churchill Downs in October 2016 and went on to finish third in that year's Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2).

Katherine Ball's Limousine Liberal prevailed in last year's edition of the Churchill Downs Stakes and will try to become the fifth horse to win the race in consecutive years. Trained by Ben Colebrook, Limousine Liberal has won five of seven starts in his career at Churchill Downs. A sixth win Saturday would make him the first horse since Sovereign's Ace (1986-87) to repeat in the race.

The Churchill Downs also attracted Raymond Mamone's Imperial Hint. Trained by Luis Carvajal, Imperial Hint closed 2017 with a runner-up finish in the Twinspires Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) and opened 2018 with a five-length romp in a stake at Tampa Bay Downs as the 1-5 favorite.

Entries: Churchill Downs S. presented by Twinspires.com (G2)

Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 05, 2018, Race 8

• Grade II
• 7f
• Dirt
• $500,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 2:45 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Whitmore (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	120	Ron Moquett	6/1
2	2Chief Cicatriz (KY)	Gary L. Stevens	118	Shawn H. Davis	20/1
3	3Imperial Hint (FL)	Javier Castellano	118	Luis Carvajal, Jr.	9/5
4	4Conquest Windycity (KY)	Joel Rosario	118	Michael J. Maker	20/1
5	5Outplay (KY)	John R. Velazquez	118	Todd A. Pletcher	10/1
6	6Awesome Saturday (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	118	W. Bret Calhoun	20/1
7	7Limousine Liberal (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	118	Ben Colebrook	4/1
8	8Warrior's Club (KY)	Luis Contreras	118	D. Wayne Lukas	15/1
9	9Unbridled Outlaw (KY)	Luis Saez	118	Dale L. Romans	30/1
10	10Awesome Slew (FL)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	118	Mark E. Casse	5/2