Departing, Carve Set for Homecoming Classic

Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider's Departing and Michael Langford's Carve, both based at Churchill Downs, are among six entered in the $125,000 Homecoming Classic for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles Sept. 27 at the Kentucky racetrack.

The inaugural Homecoming Classic, run last year for $175,000, was won by Fort Larned  , who used the race to prep for the Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I).

Departing, a 4-year-old War Front   gelding trained by Al Stall Jr., won an allowance race in late April at Churchill in his first start of 2014. He followed up with a third-place finish in the Stephen Foster Handicap (gr. I) at Churchill, and then finished a disappointing eighth in the Whitney Handicap (gr. I) at Saratoga Race Course.

At 3, Departing won the West Virginia Derby and Super Derby (both gr. II), and the Illinois Derby (gr. III).

"He threw a clunker in his last race; for whatever reason, we don't know," Stall said. "He has been physically and mentally fine since. We expect him to bounce back nicely in the Homecoming Classic, where he can run right out of his stall, so we're looking forward to it."

Carve, who moved into the barn of Brad Cox this year, has four wins, a second, and a third in seven starts in 2014. The 4-year-old gelding by First Samurai   gave Cox his first graded stakes victory when he captured the Cornhusker Handicap (gr. III) at Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino in late July.

In his last two starts Carve won the West Virginia Governor's Stakes and finished second in the grade III Ack Ack Stakes at Churchill.

Cox said if Carve wins the Homecoming Classic, he probably would point him toward the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (gr. I).

"I don't think he wants to go much further than 1 1/8 miles," Cox said. "So if he runs a big one and we decide to go to the Breeders' Cup, we'd probably point him to the Dirt Mile over the Classic."

Crossed Sabres Farm's Pick of the Litter (by Kitten's Joy  ) and Jake Ballis and Rashard Lewis' Cigar Street (by Street Sense  ), a grade III winner, finished one-two Aug. 22 in an allowance event at Saratoga. The former finished behind second behind Carve in a Churchill allowance race in May.