Hall of Fame trainers Bobby Frankel and Bill Mott will face off Saturday at Churchill Downs in Saturday's $150,000-added Mrs. Revere Stakes (gr. IIT) on the turf.
The 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-old fillies has attracted a full field of 12 fillies headed by Flaxman Holdings' European import Glia, a Frankel-trained filly who romped in the Pebbles Handicap at Belmont Park in her lone American start. A trio of stakes-tested fillies trained by Mott – Darley Stud's Showlady, Lewis Lakin's High Maintenance and Team Valor, Dream With Me Stable and Gary Barber's Stylelistick – could provide the biggest obstacle to Frankel's hope.
The race is named for Dr. Hiram Polk and Dr. David Richardson's Mrs. Revere, one of the most popular horses to race at Churchill Downs in the last 25 years. Her victories under the track's famed Twin Spires in the mid-1980's included the Cardinal, Regret, and Dogwood Stakes. Drs. Polk and Richardson provide the trophy that is presented each year to the winner of the Mrs. Revere.
Glia, a regally-bred daughter of 1992 Horse of the Year A.P. Indy, started her career in France and competed against star European turf fillies Zenda, Turtle Bow and Sophisticat. She came to the United States to join Frankel's powerhouse stable in early autumn and made a splashy American debut with a 3 1/4-length romp in the Pebbles, her only race in the U.S.
Javier Castellano will travel from New York to ride Glia, who has been installed as the 5-2 morning line favorite by Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia. She will carry 119 pounds and breaks from post number five.
The Mott trio is headed by Showlady, a daughter of Theatrical and a half-sister to dirt champion Escena, formerly trained by Kiaran McLaughlin. She finished eighth of nine in the Queen Elizabeth Challenge Cup (gr. IT) last time out, but won the Big Spruce Breeders' Cup (gr. III) at the Meadowlands in her previous start. The Mrs. Revere will be her first start for Mott.
Stylelistick won the Appalachian at Keeneland and was third in the Regret (gr. III) at Churchill Downs. High Maintenance, a British-bred Irish import, won a pair of minor stakes races at Delaware and Rockingham Park before she finished third in the Valley View (gr. III) at Keeneland last time out.
"It's the end of the year and the last opportunity the majority of them will have to run against straight 3-year-olds," said Ralph Nicks, the assistant trainer who handles Mott's Churchill stable. "We'll try to take our best shot. With three of them, hopefully somebody will get there; maybe we'll run a relay."
Other major contenders for the Mrs. Revere include Pin Oak Stable's Bedanken and Waterville Lake Stable's Mariensky, the 1-2 finishers in the Valley View. First Quarter, a Jim Day-trained daughter of turf champion Sky Classic, won Woodbine's Carotene last time out.
$150,000-added Mrs. Revere (gr. II), 1 1/16th mile on turf, 3-year-old filliesPP. Horse, Jockey, M/L Odds
1. Heyahohowdy, Shane Ellis, 20-1
2. Showlady, Pat Day, 8-1
3. Stylelistick, Shane Sellers, 8-1
4. Caught In The Rain, Eddie King, 20-1
5. Glia, Javier Castellano, 5-2
6. High Maintenance, Mark Guidry, 3-1
7. First Quarter, Robert Landry, 15-1
8. Sweetwater Promise, Calvin Borel, 50-1
9. Ntombi, Jon Court, 15-1
10. Mariensky, Rene Douglas, 4-1
11. Lush Soldier, Robby Albarado, 10-1
12. Bedanken, Don Pettinger, 7-2
