Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Art Collector returns in Kelly’s Landing
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Art Collector had the racing world at his feet last summer, and then everything came apart. A minor injury precluded the colt from starting as one of the favorites in the postponed Kentucky Derby in September, a disappointment further deepened by defeats in the Preakness and Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.
Not one to be discouraged, trainer Tommy Drury is hoping Art Collector can make amends during a 4-year-old season that begins Friday at Churchill Downs in the $110,000 Kelly’s Landing, a seven-furlong race that anchors the penultimate card of the 38-day spring meet.
“He seems to be doing as good as ever,” said Drury, who trains Art Collector for owner-breeder Bruce Lunsford. “We’re really excited to have him back in the entries.”
Art Collector, with Brian Hernandez Jr. riding, will break from the outside post in a field of nine older horses in the Kelly’s Landing, the 10th of 11 races on a card that starts at 12:45 p.m. Eastern.
“The post is a good one,” said Drury. “Brian can leave out of there and take order of the other speed and see what’s happening, let him get into his rhythm. Obviously we’d love to see him run like he’s been training, and that’ll set us up with plenty of options for the rest of the year.”
Art Collector ran himself into the top echelon of 3-yearolds last year in winning four straight races with big Beyer Speed Figures, including the Blue Grass Stakes (103) in July and the Ellis Park Derby (100) in August. But a nicked heel less than a week from the Derby kept him from being entered. The Bernardini colt quickly healed, only to run fourth in the Preakness and eighth in the BC Dirt Mile.
He’ll face some solid competition in his comeback, including Bango (post 6, Tyler Gaffalione), a last-out winner of the May 29 Aristides with an 89 Beyer. Bango, said trainer Greg Foley, “runs his best races here at home.”
“We were hoping to run him here one more time and this race worked out well on the calendar for us,” he said.
Other considerations in the 11th Kelly’s Landing include Strike Power (post 2, Ricardo Santana Jr.), second as the favorite in the Grade 3 Maryland Sprint last month, and a pair of last-out allowance winners in Home Base (post 5, Manny Esquivel) and Aloha West (post 7, Florent Geroux).
The Kelly’s Landing, named for the standout sprinter who earned more than $1.85 million from 2004-09, all for ownerbreeder Summerplace Farm, is part of the 20-cent Derby City 6 (races 6-11), which began this week with $123,086 in the jackpot. It’s a terrific sequence that starts with four straight allowances and ends with a maidenspecial sprint with a full field. Turf racing can be expected to proceed as scheduled, given another forecast of no rain and mid-80s highs.
Foster Day card set
Letruska figures as a decisive favorite and Maxfield an even bigger one in the two Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series races that help end the meet Saturday.
Letruska heads a field of six fillies and mares in the Grade 2, $300,000 Fleur de Lis, while Maxfield towers over the eight other older males in the Grade 2, $600,000 Stephen Foster. Both are 1 1/8-mile Win and You’re In events toward the Nov. 5-6 Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar.
Entries for the other five closing-day stakes also were drawn Wednesday. They are the Grade 2, $300,000 Wise Dan for older turf horses, along with four $150,000 races – the War Chant and Tepin for 3-year-olds going a mile on turf, and the Grade 3 Bashford Manor and Debutante for 2-year-olds going six furlongs.
First post for a 12-race Saturday card is 12:45 p.m. Fox Sports 2 will have full coverage from 12:30 to 6:30.