Common bonds theme in allowance

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The lone allowance on a nine-race Sunday card at Churchill Downs might be something of a lesson in recent history.

Eliminating a few of the 10 starters in the body of the 1 3/8-mile turf allowance from your handicapping calculations might seem simple, but the first horse you see is a longshot ridden by Sonny Leon and trained by Eric Reed for owner Rick Dawson and you might think, “Uh oh … I’ve seen this before.”

Indeed, with a gray 4-year-old named Common Bond, the nowfamous jockey-trainer-owner combination will be trying to pull their second mega-upset of the 44-day spring meet. A no-threat seventh in the same April 24 turf marathon in which several of his Sunday rivals also ran at Keeneland, Common Bond will be looking to emulate the result – albeit on a far less dramatic scale – pulled off by stablemate Rich Strike in the May 7 Kentucky Derby.

“We know the distance isn’t going to be a factor,” Reed said early Friday about Common Bond, repeating what he told the few who were listening before the Derby about 80-1 shot Rich Strike.

Many Churchill horseplayers, however, will take their chances that lightning won’t strike twice when they back a few others in this $127,000 firstlevel allowance. The respective second- through fifthfinishers from the common race at Keeneland – Hard Rye Guy, Cool Rags, High Deff, and Jarreau – are all back and each deserves consideration in what shapes up as an extremely competitive rematch.

The Sunday forecast calls for a 60 percent chance of rain and a high temperature of just 73. If turf racing is forced to the dirt because of weather (and this particular race then would be run at 1 1/4 miles), then Kuchar will draw in as a major threat as a main-track-only designate, even as a 3-year-old facing older rivals for the first time. Trained by Rudy Brisset, Kuchar is named for the standout golfer Matt Kuchar, who was on pace to be competing in the final round of the PGA Championship at the same time Sunday in Oklahoma.

Reed said he wouldn’t mind the rain coming down Sunday, given that the only victory for Common Bond came last summer at Delaware Park in an off-the-turf race he won by 12 lengths.

“He may actually move way up,” said Reed, whose first of two wins from his first four starts at this meet came with Enchanted Nile at 6-1 on the Tuesday of Derby week. “Even if it stays on turf, I think he’ll run well. He was back too far on a slow pace in the Keeneland race and I think he’ll be closer this time.”

First post is 12:45 p.m. Eastern, with the feature going at 4:22. Two starter allowances on the main track (races 5 and 7) and a maiden-special turf sprint (race 4) are part of the undercard.