Majestic Affair calls on class

Majestic Affair was in for a claiming tag three months ago, but don’t be fooled. The 6-year-old horse has plenty of stakes experience and is giving off signs he’s ready to win one again.

“He’s doing extremely well,” trainer Brad Cox said this week from Saratoga. “He had a fantastic breeze this past weekend, and I believe he’s set up for a big effort.”

Majestic Affair, with Shaun Bridgmohan to ride, will be looking to add to his field-high bankroll of $511,167 when he breaks from the outside post Sunday in the $50,000 Good Lord at Ellis Park in western Kentucky. A field of eight older horses is entered in the 6 1/2-furlong feature.

After coming into Cox’s care at Oaklawn Park over the winter, Majestic Affair won a $40,000 claiming sprint April 22 at Keeneland. The effort bore something of a resemblance to the old days, when he was competing with regularity in East Coast stakes for former trainer Chad Brown.

“He’s an old class horse,” said Cox, who’s on pace yet again to set career highs in wins and stable earnings. “He can get the job done when he’s right.”

Among the chief opposition is Smart Spree (post 1, Edgar Morales), the likely pacesetter; Concord Fast (post 5, Martin Chuan), in off a sharp victory at Churchill Downs; and Control Stake (post 7, Corey Lanerie), a tactically proficient gelding with a combined 18 wins and seconds from 29 career starts.

The Good Lord goes as the eighth of nine races on a Sunday card that also includes a $43,000 allowance (race 5) and two maiden-special events (races 6 and 7). First post is 12:50 p.m. Central, with the feature going at 4:10.

Through 2017, the Good Lord was known as the Don Bernhardt, and this is the 41st running. Now it’s named for the sprinter who earned $803,305 from a remarkable 84 starts – nine of them at Ellis – all for owners Thomas Shank and Stan Young. The gelding made his final start in September 2016 at age 9 for trainer Forrest Kaelin, who also recently retired after nearly 70 years on the racetrack.

After Sunday, Ellis goes dark for four days before another three-day week resumes Friday. The next stakes date at this 30-day meet is Aug. 5, when a quartet of $100,000 previews toward the Sept. 1-13 Kentucky Downs meet will be run.