Conquest Tsunami, Far Right face off in Street Sense; Rags to Riches draws 11

Conquest Tsunami, Far Right face off in Street Sense; Rags

to Riches draws 11

Churchill Downs will raise the curtain on its

26-day fall meet on Sunday and focus its racing spotlight on

Thoroughbred racing's rising stars in the first of two popular "Stars of

Tomorrow" racing cards devoted exclusively to two-year-olds. Ten races are

scheduled on the program and a pair of $58,000, one-mile stakes

-- the

Street Sense for colts and geldings and the

Rags to Riches for

fillies -- headline the action.

Racing fans and horsemen enthusiastically welcomed the

"Stars of Tomorrow" concept when it was introduced in 2005. The second of the

meet's racing days comprised solely of races for horses that could emerge as

contenders for next spring's

Kentucky Derby and

Kentucky Oaks is scheduled for November 29.

Conquest Tsunami and Far Right, both exiting graded events,

head a field of seven colts entered in the Street Sense. The pair will meet for the second

time in their young careers after running first and second, respectively, at Keeneland on April 25 in a 4

1/2-furlong maiden race that served as the respective career debut for both colts.

Conquest Tsunami rolled to 6 1/4-length victory for trainer

Mark Casse over Keeneland's former Polytrack surface that day, then traveled to

Woodbine for three consecutive victories that included wins in the

Victoria and Colin Stakes over Polytrack and an allowance win on turf. He

suffered his first loss in five career outings when finishing sixth on Keeneland's new dirt surface in the 1 1/16-mile Breeders' Futurity

(G1) three weeks ago.

The son of Stormy Atlantic finished 14 lengths behind the winner in that 12-horse field, but assistant trainer Norman Casse said Conquest Tsunami

has trained well since that setback.

"We really thought he ran a solid race in the Breeders' Futurity," Casse said.

"We figured he was going to get a little tired; being his first start on the

dirt going two-turns. But we think we'll get a truer gauge on what he really is

by running him in the Street Sense."

Jockey Shaun Bridgmohan will ride Conquest Tsunami, who shoulders the high

weight of 122 pounds, from

post 6.

The Ron Moquett-trained Far Right brings a 1-2-0

record from four races into the Street Sense, including a fourth-place run in the

Grade 2 Futurity on October 5 at Belmont Park. Moquett said

his colt was the victim of a moderate pace in the Futurity, but he expects

better from son of Notional at Churchill Downs, where Far Right was a maiden

winner on September 13.

"You can't give those types of horses 23-second quarters and think that you

can catch them at the end," Moquett said. "He made a mental move to try and make

up some of it and he was able to make up about five lengths toward the end, but

it just wasn't enough to punch on through after giving those guys that kind of

easy first half."

Others that figure to attract solid backing in the Street

Sense include Handy Candy and Instant Replay.

Handy Candy, a dark bay son of Candy Ride, recorded two runs during the September

meet for trainer Ian Wilkes comprising a 33-1 upset win in his

career debut and a fourth-place effort in a one-mile allowance race. Instant Replay, a Lemon Drop Kid

bay colt, won at first asking

for trainer Wayne Catalano on September 23 at Parx Racing.

The Street Sense field is completed by Nun the Less, a

Candy Ride colt who broke his maiden on Arlington's Polytrack by six lengths

prior to a half-length score over Keeneland's dirt on October 3; Risetotheoccasion,

a 6 1/2-length maiden scorer at Indiana Grand last out on September 23; and

Jumps for Bucks, who will be making his first start for trainer Ben Delong after

breaking his maiden under Derrick Bright's tutelage at Indiana Grand on October

7.

Catalano, who earned his first leading trainer title at Churchill when

he tied for that honor in the recent September meet, trains three -- West Coast Belle, Movie Mystery and

Four Inch Heels -- of the 11 fillies entered in the Rags to Riches.

The members of the Catalano-trained trio in the Rags to

Riches are each coming off a victory in their lone career start. Two of the

fillies -- West Coast Belle and Four Inch Heels -- were winners at Monmouth Park, while Movie Mystery was

victorious at first asking at Parx Racing.

The trainer said there was a chance that one of his trio could be scratched, though all

could be competitive.

"West Coast Belle is a nice filly," Catalano said. "She only went

five-and-a-half furlongs in her first start but I think she's ready to handle

going a little further. But I like her a lot and she's been training great. Four

Inch Heels is a similar story. She's been doing everything right."

Channing Hill was named as the rider for both West Coast

Belle and Movie Mystery, and Florent Geroux will ride Four Inch Heels. If both West

Coast Belle and Movie Mystery run, they will compete as a coupled entry.

While Catalano has strength in numbers, a filly from the

high-powered stable of trainer Todd Pletcher could attract strong support in the

Rags to Riches. Hopefaithjoy comes into the race off a 3

3/4-length maiden romp going 1 1/16 miles at Keeneland after a solid third-place run

in the mud in her racing debut at Saratoga. The daughter of Lookin at Lucky will break from

the outside post as she turns back to a one-turn mile distance.

Jockey Rosie Napravnik will ride.

Another contender could be Silver Allure, who was an easy winner at Indiana

Grand in July before she finishing a

good second to Paige in a roughly run allowance at Churchill in

September.

"She did really well in that last allowance race here,"

trainer Steve Hobby said. "The filly that beat her, Paige, came back and ran

third in the (Grade 1) Alcibiades at Keeneland, so that kind of made us

feel better about getting beat there. She seems to like Churchill; her works

since the last race have been excellent and we're looking forward to seeing what

she can do here Sunday."

Streetheart finished in a

dead-heat for the victory in a seven-furlong maiden race on

September 27 under the Twin Spires, and could be among the fans' choices in

Sunday's race. The daughter of Street Sense is trained by Eddie Kenneally and

keeps Julien Leparoux in the irons.

Another possible contender in the Rags to Riches is Winding Bay, an unbeaten

Malibu Moon filly co-owned by trainer Wesley Ward and Kent Spillman. She was a 7

1/2-length winner at Indiana Grand in her only career start but is

cross-entered in the Chelsea Flower at Belmont Park on Saturday.

Tiz Sexy Now, Taylor S, Simply Confection and Flexible Ethics -- all maiden

winners -- complete the field.

The 2014 Churchill Downs fall meet consists of 26 days of

racing through its conclusion on November 30. Post time for Sunday's "Stars

of Tomorrow I" opening day is set for 12:45 p.m. (EDT) and admission gates are

scheduled to open at 11:30 a.m. The track will operate on a

Wednesday through Sunday schedule during the last of its three 2014 racing

sessions.

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