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Spice Route Solid favorite in Louisville Handicap - 05-23-09
May 23 - Going into today's $100,000 Louisville Handicap (Gr 3) at Churchill Downs Racecourse in Kentucky, British-bred Spice Route will be the well-backed favorite, given the five-year-old's excellent form of late, including a notable victory in last month's $200,000 Elkhorn Stakes (Gr 2) at Keeneland.
Spice Route, who is based at Woodbine in Toronto, Canada, will start today's 1 1/2 mile outing on turf with top jockey Shaun Bridgmohan aboard, and is expected to dominate the 9-horse race. Trained by the respected Roger Attfield, Spice will go into the Louisville Handicap with the top weight of 121 pounds.
The trainer will clearly be hoping that Spice Route delivers a repeat performance of his victory in the Elkhorn Stakes, where he pulled away coming down the straight to cross the line two lengths clear. Kentucky has been good to the thoroughbred, which bodes well for the continuing of his winning streak.
Even other trainers with horses in the Louisville Handicap have acknowledged Spice Route's strength. Buff Bradley, for instance, who will send out talented runner Brass Hat, said, 'Spice Route is definitely the main competition. But Brass is ready to go. He's feeling good and has been coming off the track playing.'
While Spice Route won in Kentucky last month, Brass Hat's chances are not looking too shabby either. Having accrued over $1.8 million during his long career, he will most probably pose the largest threat to Spice Route. Also in his favor, is the fact that today he'll have champion jockey Calvin Borel aboard.
Borel, you may recall, notched up a magnificent win aboard Rachel Alexandra in last week's prestigious $1 million Preakness Stakes (Gr 1) at Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore. And a few weeks before that, he caused a major upset by winning the 135th Kentucky Derby aboard 50-1 longshot, Mine That Bird.
Other runners that could be worth a wager or three in today's Louisville Handicap include the promising Why Tonto (trained by Todd Pletcher) and recent French-import Thabazimbi (trained by Bill Mott). Both horses are known for their speed which means either will likely set the pace from the start today.
Other Articles:
Mr. Hot Stuff Unlikely Tip For Belmont Stakes - 05-27-09IHFA Announces World Thoroughbred Rankings - 05-27-09Borel Chalks Up Fourth Big Win On Brass Hat - 05-26-09US Jockey Undergoes Surgery After Fall - 05-25-09Strong Stablemates to Contest Milady Handicap - 05-22-09Jockey Greg Cheyne Gets Lucrative Sponsorship - 05-21-09Mine That Bird Preps For Belmont Stakes Win - 05-20-09Shocking Colt Aimed at Hydrogen Handicap - 05-19-09
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| | 2009/11/20 11:35:15 AM |
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