Lord Nelson Could Rule Kentucky Jockey Club

Peachtree Stable's Lord Nelson, an easy winner of a stakes race at Santa Anita Park in his previous start, will take aim at his first graded victory when he faces an expected 11 other 2-year-olds in the $200,000 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (gr. II) on Saturday, Nov. 29 at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Bob Baffert, Lord Nelson drew off in the stretch of the Speakeasy Stakes Oct. 13 at Santa Anita to post a 6 3/4-length win. The son of Pulpit won his debut July 19 on the Polytrack at Del Mar before finishing fourth to stablemate American Pharoah in the FrontRunner Stakes (gr. I) Sept. 27 at Santa Anita.

"He was coming back so quick, but he sort of needed the race," Baffert said after the Speakeasy. "He got a little tired (in the FrontRunner). I didn't run him towards the end there at Del Mar. He'd been working well and he's got a lot of speed, but he's ready to go further.

"(Peachtree owner) John Fort wants to go to the Kentucky Derby badly. The horse will go long. He's fast. He really needed that race (in the FrontRunner). He's a heavy horse. He'll get better with age."

Baffert will be looking for his third victory in the Kentucky Jockey Club, a race he won in back-to-back years with Captain Steve in 1999 and Exploit in 1998.

Meanwhile Steve Asmussen, who last year picked up his second Kentucky Jockey Club win with Tapiture, will try to make it two in a row when he sends out the field's only graded stakes winner on dirt, Lucky Player. Jerry Durant's son of Lookin At Lucky   won the Iroquois Stakes (gr. III) at Churchill in September and enters off an eighth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) at Santa Anita.

A pair of runners who failed to hit the board in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (gr. IT), International Star and Imperia, will try dirt in the Kentucky Jockey Club. Ken and Sarah Ramsey's International Star finished second in his lone dirt start, a stakes for New York-breds at Belmont Park, and won the Grey Stakes (Can-III) on the Polytrack at Woodbine. Godolphin Racing's Imperia closed with a fury to win the Pilgrim Stakes (gr. IIIT) two starts back on the turf at Belmont.

Zayat Stables El Kabeir, by Scat Daddy  , will look for his first stakes win after finishing second in the Nashua Stakes (gr. II) Nov. 2 at Aqueduct Racetrack. 

Other promising starters in Saturday's race include John Oxley's Sky Hero, who posted a clear win in an allowance/optional claiming race at Churchill Nov. 8 and will start from the rail Saturday; and William S. Farish's Eagle, a son of Candy Ride   who enters off a clear victory in an October allowance race at Keeneland.

"He's a lovely colt, and so far he's been doing real well," said Eagle's trainer Neil Howard. "He had a little bit of growing up to do, but he made tremendous strides and I've been very pleased with him."

The Kentucky Jockey Club is a "Road to the Kentucky Derby" points race, offering 10-4-2-1 points for the winner through fourth place.