Blessed Flyer tackles Street Sense off layoff

Blessed Flyer sprung two narrow upsets during the spring, including a 31-1 shocker in the Bashford Manor S., Churchill Downs’ signature two-year-old event during the first half of the year.

Sunday, on the first Stars of Tomorrow card of the Churchill fall meet, Blessed Flyer will return from a four-month spell to compete in the $200,000 Street Sense (G3) over 1 1/16 miles.

The Street Sense, which offers Kentucky Derby (G1) qualifying points of 10-5-3-2-1 to the respective top five finishers, attracted a field of eight. Blessed Flyer, who landed his debut by a head going 4 1/2 furlongs at Keeneland in April, runs for the first time beyond six furlongs as well as with blinkers.

Blessed Flyer’s main challengers all exit impressive maiden wins. Card Man, runner-up to eventual Breeders’ Futurity (G1) third Q B Rocket on debut, rebounded to graduate by five lengths going a mile at Belmont Park for Chad Brown.

Mystik Bayou was similarly impressive at Belmont, scoring second out by 4 1/4 lengths going 1 1/16 miles. In his debut, Mystik Bayou had finished third, beaten more than 15 lengths, by eventual Champagne (G1) hero U. S. S. Valor.

Staunch is another recent maiden winner, having won by four lengths going 7 1/2 furlongs during the September portion of Churchill’s fall season. Another to keep an eye on is the stakes-placed Jas, a son of Justify who has run exclusively on turf to date.

The sister race to the Street Sense, the $200,000 Rags to Riches S., is also a 1 1/16-mile affair. It will offer Kentucky Oaks (G1) qualifying points of 10-5-3-2-1 to the respective top five finishers.

The field of seven includes two Godolphin entries, the Bill Mott-trained Wharfie and the Brad Cox-conditioned First Laugh. Exiting a distant third-place finish in the Alcibiades (G1) is Oh She Said Yes, an auction maiden graduate at Churchill on Sept. 20.