Tiger Moth eyes 3rd stakes win in row

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – There’s a noticeable lack of early speed in the Grade 3 Locust Grove, the first of four straight stakes Saturday at Churchill Downs, but trainer Brad Cox isn’t overly concerned.

Cox will send out the laterunning Tiger Moth as the one to beat in a field of seven fillies and mares in the 34th running of the $100,000 Locust Grove at 1 1/16 miles.

“She ought to be able to lay a little closer than usual, the way it shapes up,” said Cox. “We’ve got her going real good right now.”

Tiger Moth, bred and owned by John Gunther, comes off back-to-back come-from-behind stakes wins in the Mari George at Indiana Grand and the Grade 3 Groupie Doll at Ellis Park. Cox said he merely wants to see the 5-year-old mare maintain her sharp recent form, especially in light of her having failed to hit the board in three prior starts at Churchill, her home track.

“She trains great over this track, and I can’t say why she’s never really fired here,” he said. “Hopefully she’ll get a good trip and that’ll all change Saturday.”

Corey Lanerie, the leading jockey at 13 of the last 15 Churchill meets, has a return call on Tiger Moth. If they’re compromised by how the pace unfolds, the top candidates for a minor upset include Blue Prize, narrowly beaten last out in a restricted stakes at Saratoga; Mo d’Amour, the George runner-up at Indiana; and Romantic Vision, who tends to do her best over Kentucky tracks.

The Locust Grove, named for the historic mansion located just east of downtown Louisville, goes as the eighth of 11 races and leads off an all-stakes pick four wager (races 8-11).

Mayla, Ivy Bell head Open Mind

With divisional standout Finley’sluckycharm headed to the Oct. 7 Thoroughbred Club of America at Keeneland, her stablemate Mayla will vie for favoritism with Ivy Bell in the $100,000 Open Mind (race 9) at six furlongs.

“She’s finally not in there having to chase Finley,” said Bret Calhoun, who trains both Mayla and Finley’sluckycharm for Carl Moore. “She runs well here at Churchill. Hopefully Saturday is her day.”

Mayla, who finished behind Finley’sluckycharm three times at the Churchill spring meet, is a useful mare in her own right, having earned nearly $300,000 in 22 starts. She will have Gabriel Saez aboard when she breaks from post 2 in a field of six fillies and mares in the Open Mind, which honors the 2011 Hall of Fame inductee.

Ivy Bell (post 4, Brian Hernandez Jr.) comes as the main threat for trainer Billy Denzik after finishing first in four of her last five starts, including three in a row at Churchill. She notched her first stakes victory in her last start, which came on the West Virginia Derby undercard at Mountaineer.