Homecoming Classic could be stepping stone to BC Classic for Cigar Street

Jake Ballis and Rashard Lewis' Grade 3 winner Cigar

Street is expected to ship to

Churchill Downs on Thursday

in advance of Saturday's $125,000

Homecoming Classic for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.

Cigar Street's second-place finish in an August 22 allowance at

Saratoga was his

first start in 17 months, since capturing the Skip Away at

Gulfstream in March

2013.

Sent off as the odds-on favorite, the Street Sense five-year-old got out to

an early lead on the muddy track, posting modest fractions of :24 4/5, :49 2/5

and 1:13 3/5. He held onto the lead until the final stages before being caught

by Pick of the Litter, who crossed the wire a half-length in front, and

re-opposes on Saturday.

"There really wasn't a plan for him in Saratoga since he

had been off for 17 months," Ballis said. "No one knew if he was going to like

the mud either, but he's always either been on the lead or lay pretty close.

"Before the race, (jockey) Johnny Velazquez just said he was going to let him

break and get in a comfortable spot. He said he wasn't going to beat him up down

the lane or anything; he just wanted to get him around and see how he would do

after 17 months. He ran as well or better than I expected him to run though."

Ballis said he would let the horse and jockey Shaun Bridgmohan dictate their

own running style on Saturday, but expects them to be close in the 1 1/8-mile

test.

"I think it will be a good stepping stone for him. I think it's good to have

him back in stakes-company even though it's not graded. We'll see how he does

and how he comes out of it and then we'll get a plan together for him for the

rest of the year and early next year."

Ballis said he would wait and see how the Homecoming

Classic goes before making a decision on his colt's next start, but that the

November 1 Breeders' Cup Classic was not out of the question. He also

mentioned that the 1 1/4-mile distance of the Classic would be ideal

for Cigar Street.

"He can run all day long," Ballis asserted. "I think a mile-and-a-quarter is

an ideal distance for him; he has a high-cruising speed. If he wins impressively

I don't think the Breeders' Cup Classic is out of the question. We'll see how it

goes."

Cigar Street has flashed serious talent in his stop-start career. A 13-length

maiden winner at Fair Grounds for Steve Margolis, he was a wide-trip fourth in

his stakes debut in the 2012 Louisiana Derby. The dark bay was sidelined for

nearly nine months before resurfacing with Mott at Gulfstream, where he reeled

off a three-race winning streak culminating in the Skip Away.

Also scheduled on Saturday at Churchill is the Grade 3, $100,000

Jefferson

Cup, and the one-mile grass will feature the turf debut of Chuck and Maribeth Sandford LLC's

Almost Famous.

The Unbridled's Song sophomore exits a fourth-place effort in the Smarty

Jones at Parx

Racing, which followed third-place runs in the Ohio Derby and Matt Winn.

"He's been doing great," trainer Pat Byrne said. "Unfortunately we haven't

been able to work him on the turf, but he has two siblings that have both won on

turf, so we're hoping he takes to it well."

Those half-sisters are A Shin Epona, a Curlin filly who races in Japan, and

the Tiznow juvenile Tiz Ladys Legs, who just broke her maiden at Del Mar August

31 for Neil Drysdale.

"We thought about some other races, but with this one being

restricted to three-year-olds, we figured we'd take a shot," Byrne said. "We'll see how it

goes. If he likes the grass he should be right there."

While Hall of Fame jockey Calvin Borel has ridden Almost

Famous in three of his five starts under the Twin Spires, Byrne said Joe Rocco

Jr. would get the call for Saturday's Jefferson Cup. Rocco was aboard when the

dark bay made his stakes debut a fourth-place effort in last October's Street

Sense under the Twin Spires.

"I think we're going to get Joe Rocco to ride him just to

mix things up," Byrne said. "He's been on him once before so hopefully he can

guide him to a win on Saturday."