Grade 1 Winner Restless Rider Aims for Golden Rod

Three Chimneys Farm and Fern Circle Stables' Restless Rider will try to add to her already impressive 2-year-old season when she starts in the $200,000 Golden Rod Stakes (G2) Nov. 24 at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Ken McPeek, Restless Rider enters Saturday's test off a second-place finish to Jaywalk in the $2 million Tito's Handmade Vodka Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Churchill. Like the Juvenile Fillies, the Golden Rod is contested at 1 1/16 miles. Besides the consistency of the grade 1-winning filly, McPeek said some factors in her favor helped in the decision to return off three weeks' rest.

"She's still good out of the Breeders' Cup, it's on our home track—we didn't have to go very far—and it's a chance to add to her résumé," McPeek said. "It's a good spot for her."

In fact, the turnaround is similar to McPeek's previous Golden Rod winner, Kathmanblu, who finished third in the 2010 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G2T) at Churchill before winning the Golden Rod 22 days later.

Before this year's Breeders' Cup, Restless Rider secured a grade 1 victory in her first two-turn start when she drew off in the stretch for a 2 1/2-length score in the Darley Alcibiades Stakes (G1) Oct. 5 at Keeneland. That successful stretch-out followed a strong run in the Spinaway Stakes (G1) Sept. 1 at Saratoga Race Course, where she rallied from sixth to finish second despite racing three or four wide in the turn.

Restless Rider will be making her fourth Churchill start. Besides the Breeders' Cup effort, the filly won her maiden debut June 8 before later that month overwhelming seven rivals in the Debutante Stakes with an 11 1/4-length victory. The lone stakes winner entered in Saturday's field, the daughter of Distorted Humor  has finished first or second in her five starts and earned $741,360.

McPeek said the plan after the Golden Rod is to give Restless Rider the rest of the year off and ship to Florida at some point. The trainer will then plot out a couple of prep races to the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) in the spring. The Golden Rod awards qualifying points (10-4-2-1 to the top four finishers) on next year's Road to the Kentucky Oaks.

On Saturday, Restless Rider will face a familiar rival in Impact Thoroughbreds and Madaket Stables' Reflect, who was off the board in the Juvenile Fillies after a runner-up finish in the Alcibiades and a sixth-place effort in the Spinaway. Reflect, who will try for her first stakes win Saturday, is trained by Keith Desormeaux.

The expected field of eight also includes a pair of impressive debut maiden winners in Klaravich Stables' Break Curfew, who scored a frontrunning win Oct. 24 at Belmont Park for trainer Chad Brown, and Michael House's Gold Credit, who rallied from sixth to win Oct. 18 at Keeneland.

Trainer Ian Wilkes will send out a pair of fillies off recent wins in allowance conditions at Keeneland in Princess Causeway and Champagne Anyone. Rounding out the field are stakes-placed High Regard and maiden winner Liora.

Entries: Golden Rod S. (G2)

Churchill Downs, Saturday, November 24, 2018, Race 9

• Grade II
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $200,000
• 2 yo Fillies
• 4:57 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Gold Credit (KY)	John R. Velazquez	119	Ignacio Correas, IV	8/1
2	2High Regard (KY)	Corey J. Lanerie	119	Victoria H. Oliver	15/1
3	3Reflect (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	119	J. Keith Desormeaux	12/1
4	4Champagne Anyone (KY)	Chris Landeros	119	Ian R. Wilkes	10/1
5	5Restless Rider (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	119	Kenneth G. McPeek	7/5
6	6Liora (KY)	Channing Hill	119	Wayne M. Catalano	12/1
7	7Princess Causeway (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	119	Ian R. Wilkes	8/1
8	8Break Curfew (KY)	Javier Castellano	119	Chad C. Brown	9/5