Asmussen barn does it again

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Steve Asmussen is sorry to see the 2019 Triple Crown go. Not that his stable was a factor in any of the trio of classic races, but the surrounding events proved real bonanzas for the Hall of Fame trainer.

“Without winning a classic, we did have some good weekends,” a smiling Asmussen said early Monday when back at his Churchill Downs barn from New York.

On Kentucky Derby weekend at Churchill, Asmussen won three Grade 1 races. On Preakness weekend at Pimlico, he won two Grade 3 races. And Saturday at Belmont Park, he won two Grade 1 races on the Belmont Stakes undercard.

Those latest winners, Midnight Bisou in the Ogden Phipps and Mitole in the Met Mile, have emerged as two of the brightest stars in racing today. Both were to return Monday to Churchill to regroup ahead of their likely next starts at Saratoga.

“I wanted to bring them back here where they’re comfortable and where you’ve seen them train the most and see how much this weekend’s races took out of them,” said Asmussen, adding he had yet to pinpoint a respective next race for either horse.

Asmussen has more immediate action upcoming at Churchill as he and the rest of the racing world now turn their attention to the second half of the racing season, which kicks off with the Stephen Foster card Saturday night.

Asmussen said Monday he had decided that Tenfold, winner of the Grade 3 Pimlico Special, will be part of a terrific lineup in the Grade 2, $600,000 Foster after breezing a halfmile Sunday in 50 seconds.

“I’m happy with the way he came out of the race and the energy he’s shown,” he said.

Tenfold, with Ricardo Santana Jr. back to ride, will be one of the favorites for the 1 1/8-mile Foster behind Gift Box, who was scheduled to arrive here Tuesday from California. Joel Rosario, fresh from a victory aboard Sir Winston in the Belmont, has the call for trainer John Sadler on Gift Box.

Other Foster notables are Yoshida, Quip, Seeking the Soul, and Tom’s d’Etat, while the balance of a big field was expected to include Alkhaatam, Draft Pick, Exulting, King Zachary, Rated R Superstar, Silver Dust, and Thirst for life. As many as 14 can go. Entries were to be drawn Wednesday.

The Foster is the highlight of a Downs After Dark program that also will include the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis, Grade 2 Wise Dan, Grade 3 Matt Winn, and Grade 3 Regret, as well as the Grade 1 President of the United Arab Emirates Cup for Arabians.

The Foster and Fleur de Lis are both Win and You’re In events in their respective divisions (Classic and Distaff) for the Nov. 1-2 Breeders’ Cup, and both are being run under allowance conditions after many years as handicap events. They’ll be the focus of a 90-minute telecast (8:30 to 10 p.m. Eastern) on NBCSN. TVG also will have live coverage.

Asmussen’s other Downs After Dark starters are expected to include She’s a Julie for the Fleur de Lis, Hot Springs for the Wise Dan, and Limonite for the Matt Winn.

Asmussen, the leading trainer at the current spring meet with 20 wins, is closing swiftly on the all-time Churchill leaders. Into Thursday, Dale Romans leads with 724 wins, followed by Bill Mott (713) and Asmussen (696).

Foley wins her first Grade 1

Vickie Foley called on a higher power Saturday when it appeared possible that Hog Creek Hustle would be disqualified from victory in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens at Belmont Park.

Foley is the daughter of the late Dravo Foley, a popular local trainer whose footsteps she closely followed in a career she started in 1981.

“I was standing out on the racetrack and I said, ‘Please, Dad, don’t let them take this horse down,’ ” she recalled. When the Belmont stewards kept the number up, “I got a lot of help,” she surmised.

Foley said Hog Creek Hustle, her first Grade 1 winner, will point to the Grade 1 Allen Jerkens on the Aug. 24 Travers card at Saratoga but that she hasn’t decided whether the Overanalyze colt will have an in-between start.

Before Saturday, the biggest win for Foley had come with She Says It Best in the Alcibiades at Keeneland in 2005, when it was still a Grade 2 race. In 2007, the Alcibiades was elevated to Grade 1 status.

Pair of Thursday allowances

Back-to-back allowances anchor an eight-race Twilight Thursday card that kicks off another four-day week at Churchill with a 5 p.m. first post. The deepest of the co-features is race 7, a $99,000, second-level turf sprint for older horses. Fast Boat, with Adam Beschizza riding for trainer Joe Sharp, won at this same level last month when entered for an optional claiming tag and figures as one of the favorites in an attempt to repeat.

Race 6 is a $97,000, first-level race on the main track. A foursome of favorites – Graceful Princess, Aife, Sundays at the beach, and Golden Curl – comprise half the field of fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles.

◗ Miguel Mena is being allowed to ride with a formal appeal pending of a three-day suspension stemming from the disqualification of his mount, Johnny Obvious, from first in the fifth race Friday.

With 11 days remaining at the spring meet, Mena is three wins behind Corey Lanerie (27-24), who leads the jockey standings. Julien Leparoux is next with 22.