Nelson McMakin’s homebred Hot Cha Cha will try to put the finishing touches on a terrific 3-year-old campaign in the $175,000 Mrs. Revere Stakes (gr. IIT) Nov. 17 at Churchill Downs, but she will have to take down an overflow field of improving sophomore fillies.
Hot Cha Cha enters the 1 1/16-mile Mrs. Revere off a sparkling 4 1/2-length victory in the Oct. 17 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (gr. IT) on the Keeneland turf. The daughter of
Cactus Ridge upset a solid field that included
Shared Account,
Gozzip Girl, and
Miss World to notch her fifth win of the season.
Along with Garden City (gr. IT) winner Miss World, Hot Cha Cha will carry top weight of 123 pounds. James Graham will keep the mount. A field of 14 and three also-eligibles was entered in the turf race.
Hot Cha Cha began the season in maiden claiming company for trainer Philip Sims and now is among the elite sophomore fillies in the nation. She garnered her first stakes win in the March 21 Bourbonette Oaks (gr. III) on the Turfway Park Polytrack and missed by a nose less than a month later in her first turf start—the Appalachian (gr. IIIT) at Keeneland. In September, she rallied to take the Pucker Up Stakes (gr. IIIT) on the Arlington Park turf course, where she defeated a pair of Mrs. Revere entrants—
Romacaca and
Single Solution, who were second and third, respectively.
Despite posting four wins in her first nine starts of the year and failing to hit the board just once, Hot Cha Cha was sent off at odds of 8-1 in the QE II. The dark bay filly stalked the pace and slid through an opening on the inside while rounding the final turn en route to her convincing score over soft ground.
Hot Cha Cha, the 3-1 morning-line favorite who will break from post 7, has earned $585,566 from 11 starts. She is out of the Broad Brush mare Reduced Sentence.
Waratah Thoroughbreds’ Miss World (4-1) was never a factor while finishing fourth by nearly seven lengths in the QE II. It was her first defeat after three consecutive victories, the last of which came in the Sept. 12 Garden City at Belmont when she was sent off at 13-1. Christophe Clement trains the daughter of Bernstein.
Five Mrs. Revere starters will return from the Oct. 23 Valley View (gr. IIIT) at Keeneland, a stakes that was split into two separate races due to considerable interest in the 1 1/16-mile event. The first of the two was won by Dell Ridge Farm’s
Bluegrass Princess, a daughter of
Dynaformer trained by Kiaran McLaughlin. Bluegrass Princess earned her first stakes victory during the two-length triumph and her second win in eight starts in 2009.
Also coming out of that race are the second and third place finishers, respectively, Single Solution and
Kiawah Cat.
Returning from the second leg of the Valley View is runner-up
Miss Keller and third-place finisher
Keertana. Three Chimneys Racing’s Miss Keller, an Irish-bred
Montjeu filly from the barn of Roger Attfield, was beaten only a head by Eye of Taurus after stalking the pace.
Ken McPeek, fresh off a training title at Keeneland, will saddle three in the Mrs. Revere—
Striking Dancer,
Redreamit, and
War Kill. The latter, a daughter of
War Chant, won the Beaumont Stakes (gr. IIT) at Keeneland in April at 16-1 odds. After a six-month freshening, she returned to run fifth in an optional claimer Oct. 23 at the Lexington track.
$175,000 Mrs. Revere (gr. IIT, Race 9, 4:37 p.m.), 3YO Fillies, 1 1/16 Miles (Turf)
PP. Horse, Jockey, weight, Trainer
1. C. S. Silk (KY), F C Torres, 117, D L Romans
2. Kiawah Cat (KY), S Bridgmohan, 117, W I Mott
3. Miss World (KY), R Maragh, 123, C Clement
4. Striking Dancer (KY), R Albarado, 117, K G McPeek
5. Mary's Follies (KY), K J Desormeaux, 117, R E Dutrow, Jr.
6. War Kill (KY), J K Court, 117, K G McPeek
7. Hot Cha Cha (KY), J Graham, 123, P A Sims
8. Bluegrass Princess (KY), J R Velazquez, 117, K P McLaughlin
9. Romacaca (FL), E T Baird, 117, D L Miller
10. Miss Keller (IRE), E R Da Silva, 117, R L Attfield
11. Keertana (KY), J L Castanon, 119, T F Proctor
12. Redreamit (KY), C H Borel, 117, K G McPeek
13. Obsequious (KY), W Martinez, 117, E Gray
14. Single Solution (KY), E E Perez, 117, C M Block
Also Eligibles:
15. Aaroness (KY), S Bridgmohan, 117, M R Matz
16. Alice's Smart (KY), L R Goncalves, 117, G R Arnold, II
17. Bum Bum (FR), C H Borel, 117, H G Motion
