McKinzie Looks to Resume Winning Ways in Alysheba

When trainer Bob Baffert looked over the post position draw for the $400,000 Alysheba Stakes Presented by Sentient Jet (G2) and saw that McKinzie had landed the rail, for a moment he might have thought it was April 30 instead of April 29.



"Son of a gun," he said. "This horse gets the worst draws. It's unbelievable. I've probably drawn the rail 15 of the last 20 times I've entered a horse."



But then, after looking over the entries for a minute, he had a different outlook on what had just happened.



While he definitely did not want any part of the rail for any of his three Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) starters, landing the rail was not a bad spot for the 1 1/16-mile Alysheba on the May 3 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) card at Churchill Downs.



"Well, we're only going a mile-and-a-sixteenth, not a mile-and-a-quarter," the five-time Kentucky Derby winner said. "So that's not bad. You don't want to be outside in this race."



In this instance, with a short run to the first turn, the outside posts could be problematic in the Alysheba, but that has little to do with Baffert's multiple-grade 1 winning son of Street Sense , who will be nestled along the inside for a ground-saving trip with Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith.



Owned by Karl Watson, Mike Pegram, and Paul Weitman, 4-year-old McKinzie enters the Alysheba off a tough loss by a nose to Gift Box in the rescheduled Santa Anita Handicap Presented by San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino (G1) April 6 at Santa Anita Park and will face 10 challengers, including Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) runner-up Seeking the Soul.



"He did everything but win last time," Baffert said. "He got beat by a nose and has some tough losses this year. But he got beat by a nice horse (in the Santa Anita Handicap). We didn't get a perfect, perfect trip so hopefully things will work out Friday."



McKinzie was expected to be at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May for last year's Kentucky Derby but was sidelined by a bruised hock after winning three of his first four starts. He returned from a six-month break with a victory in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) and then finally made it to Churchill Downs, where he wound up a disappointing 12th in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1).



Following a victory in the Malibu Stakes (G1), his third grade 1 win, McKinzie's 4-year-old season began with a half-length loss to the Battle of Midway in the Feb. 2 San Pasqual Stakes (G2). Then, after drawing the rail in the Big 'Cap, he came out on the short of a tenacious stretch duel with Gift Box, losing by a nose.



Bred in Kentucky by Summer Wind Farm, McKinzie has five wins and three seconds from nine starts with career earnings of $1,243,000. He was purchased for $170,000 at the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.



Baffert said if all goes well in the Alysheba, the $1.2 million Runhappy Metropolitan Handicap (G1) June 8 at Belmont Park would be a likely next target for the colt named after his close friend, the late Los Alamitos executive Brad McKinzie.



Charles E. Fipke homebred Seeking the Soul will try to rebound from an eighth-place finish in the March 30 Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1) in a return to his home base where he owns a grade 1 victory.



Winner of the 2017 Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (G1) at the Louisville track, the homebred son of Perfect Soul  has three wins, two seconds, and three thirds in 10 starts at Churchill for trainer Dallas Stewart.



Prior to the Dubai World Cup, Seeking the Soul was in fine form, winning the Ack Ack Stakes (G3) in Louisville followed by a second in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), a third in the Clark, and a second in the Pegasus World Cup. With six wins, six seconds, and six thirds in 25 career starts, he has earned $2,951,042.



Though it's an 11-horse field in a grade 2 stakes, Bourbon Resolution is the lone starter exiting a victory. Bourbon Lane Stable's 4-year-old son of New Year's Day captured the April 13 Ben Ali Stakes (G3) at Keeneland in his last start.



Like McKinzie, DP Racing's Prime Attraction also shipped in from California. Fifth in the 1 1/4-mile Santa Anita Handicap after setting the early pace for trainer James Cassidy, he also raced in last year's Clark, fading to fourth in the stretch, finishing a little less than a length behind Seeking the Soul.



Tom R. Durant's Silver Dust has been no worse than second in his past six starts for trainer Bret Calhoun. Second by three-quarters of a length in the New Orleans Handicap (G2), he captured the Mineshaft Handicap (G3) before that, both at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.



G M B Racing's Tom's d'Etat brought a four-race winning streak into the Pegasus World Cup, but flopped in the slop and wound up a well-beaten ninth. In his last visit to Churchill, he beat two rivals by 7 1/4 lengths in a Nov. 4 allowance optional claimer that was washed off the turf course.



Copper Bullet and jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. wound up with the problem of breaking from the outside post in the field of 11. Owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing, Copper Bullet lost by a neck two starts ago in the Razorback Handicap (G3) at Oaklawn Park for trainer Steve Asmussen and then was fifth in the New Orleans at Fair Grounds March 23.



OXO Equine's Instilled Regard will return to the main track for trainer Chad Brown after a second-place finish on turf in an April 4 allowance race at Keeneland and a third in the Hollywood Derby (G1T). He owns a rather memorable lone start beneath the Twin Spires, finishing fourth in the 2018 Kentucky Derby in his final start for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.



The Alysheba, named after the 1987 Kentucky Derby winner and victor in the 1988 Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs, will be the seventh of 13 races on the Kentucky Oaks Day card with a post time of 2:00 p.m EDT.

Entries: Alysheba S. presented by Sentient Jet (G2)

Churchill Downs, Friday, May 03, 2019, Race 7

• Grade II
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $400,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 2:00 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1McKinzie (KY)	Mike E. Smith	118	Bob Baffert	8/5
2	2Tom's d'Etat (KY)	Shaun Bridgmohan	118	Albert M. Stall, Jr.	5/1
3	3Prime Attraction (KY)	Tyler Baze	118	James M. Cassidy	15/1
4	4Casino Star (KY)	Edgar Morales	118	Thomas L. Van Berg	30/1
5	5Bourbon Resolution (KY)	Chris Landeros	118	Ian R. Wilkes	15/1
6	6Instilled Regard (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	118	Chad C. Brown	8/1
7	7Hawaakom (KY)	Miguel Mena	118	Wesley E. Hawley	30/1
8	8Seeking the Soul (KY)	John R. Velazquez	118	Dallas Stewart	5/2
9	9Multiplier (KY)	Flavien Prat	118	William I. Mott	20/1
10	10Silver Dust (KY)	Jack Gilligan	118	W. Bret Calhoun	15/1
11	11Copper Bullet (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	118	Steven M. Asmussen	15/1