BARN NOTES 01/09/2020 – SILVER DUST HAS FINALLY TURNED THE CORNER

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Grant LaGrange
Racing Media Relations Coordinator
Work: (504) 948-1255
[email protected]

Barn Notes: Thursday, January 9, 2020
• Silver Dust Eyes Return Run in Louisiana Stakes
• Impressive Maiden Winner Digital to Stretch Out
• By My Standards Working Towards February Return
• Aubrie Green Day-to-Day with Ankle Injury

 

SILVER DUST HAS FINALLY TURNED THE CORNER

Second in last year’s edition, Tapit gelding eyes a return run in the Louisiana Stakes

New Orleans (Thursday, January 9, 2020) – One year ago and some 17 races into his career, Tom Durant’s talented underachiever Silver Dust was still in search of a breakthrough performance. A winner just once from his first 15 starts, the now 6-year-old son of Tapit had graded stakes talent, but more often than not he found a way to beat himself.
Fast forward a year as he eyes a return run in the Louisiana Stakes at Fair Grounds on January 18, Silver Dust is now a two-time graded stakes winner with a pair of placings in such events also on the resume.
“He’s always had that kind of ability but his antics stunted his progress,” Calhoun explained. “He was bad in the paddock, bad in the gate, tough to ride. We gelded him last summer, but even that wasn’t a cure-all. Two races after the procedure, he flipped in the gate and had to be scratched. It’s just taken him a long time to mature. He still pulls his stunts at times. He’s gotten pretty smart and knows the difference between the mornings and afternoons. He can be perfect when schooling, but you still can’t trust him on race day.”
The winner of a first-level allowance in November of 2018 at Churchill, Silver Dust, with jockey Jack Gilligan aboard for the first time that day, followed up with another allowance score at Fair Grounds. With Robby Albarado aboard, a game second in the locally run Tenacious Stakes would follow, and the performance was good enough to earn him a crack in the Mineshaft (G3) four weeks later. Reunited with Jack Gilligan, Silver Dust pulled off the minor 5/1 upset. Gilligan has maintained the mount every since.
“I can’t say enough about the job Jack has done with this horse,” Calhoun said. “He’s learned how the horse needs to be ridden and has made good decisions at critical times in some of those big races. He always seems to put the horse in a good position and is just a passenger when he needs to be.”
In his most recent start on September 28, Silver Dust finished a game second in the Lukas Classic (G3) at Churchill. According to Calhoun, a local six furlong breeze in 1:12 3/5 should have the screws tightened.
“We gave him a freshening since the race at Churchill,” Calhoun said. “Just a little breather, but we’ve had him back on the work tab for a little while now. He’s ready to go. He’s been training really well and we ‘re excited about the new year with him.”
The newly 6-year-old Silver Dust has a career record of 24-5-7-2 with earnings of $642,277.

 

SHARP MAIDEN WINNER DIGITAL TO STRETCH OUT IN NEXT START

According to trainer Bret Calhoun, Tom Durant’s Digital, a sharp maiden sprint winner at second asking at Fair Grounds on December 28, will be asked to tackle a route of ground in his next assignment.
“We’re going to point him towards a two-turn allowance race at Fair Grounds on January 17,” Calhoun said of a race he will enter for on Friday. “If that race doesn’t ‘go’ we’ll think about going in the Lecomte (G3 the following day). I don’t necessarily want to go in the Lecomte just because he’s never been two turns. I don’t want to have that (tough race) be his first (two-turn) experience. It is a possibility though.”
A “buzz” horse on the Churchill backstretch before he had ever competed in the afternoon, the 3-year-old son of Into Mischief was bet all the way down to 6/5 favoritism against 11 rivals on debut, but he settled for second behind his 24/1 longshot stablemate Mailman Money.
“We expected him to win that race first time out (at Churchill),” Calhoun said. “He just broke slow and got left on a sloppy and speed biased track and the winner ran a really good race.”
Odds-on in his follow-up start four weeks later at Fair Grounds, Digital was not to be denied. Sitting fourth of nine early on behind hot fractions on a muddy track, he made a bold move in the stretch and ran by Brilliant Racing, LLC & J S Stables, LLC’s Steely Danza to win by 1 ¾ lengths.
“I thought his (maiden) win was impressive,” Calhoun said. “He has always been a very forward type horse, so we were actually a little surprised (with the way he did it). It was really professional it looked like he did it easily within himself. He sat just off them and cruised down the lane.’
“I like what Brian [jockey Hernandez, Jr.] told me when he got back,” Calhoun said. “He said this horse can and wants to go farther. That’s always the hope with a talented, young horse like this, but until they do it you just don’t know. Brian’s a good judge of horse flesh and has a pretty good idea of their distance capabilities.”
In his first work back off the maiden win, Digital breezed an easy half mile in :50 4/5 on Thursday morning at Fair Grounds.

BY MY STANDARDS WORKING TOWARDS FEBUARY RETURN

Allied Racing Stable LLC’s 2019 Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) upsetter By My Standards posted his fifth local work since late November on Thursday morning as eases his way into his 4-year-old campaign for trainer Bret Calhoun.
In his second consecutive five furlong breeze, the son of Goldencents stopped the timer in 1:00 4/5 over a fast track.
“We’re not exactly sure yet where he’s going to show up,” Calhoun said. “I do know he’s training great right now and is doing everything we ask him to very easily. I think a return sometime in February is most likely for him.”

AUBRIE GREEN DAY-TO-DAY WITH ANKLE INJURY

Aubrie Green took off all of her Thursday mounts as a result of an ankle injury suffered in the final race on Sunday. Her mount Stang’s Galaxy flipped in the gate and was scratched. X-rays on Green’s ankle were negative.
“I have a sprained left ankle,” Green said. “I tried to work some horses this morning, but I’m just not 100%. I need to give the ankle a little more rest so I can give my owners and trainers a good ride.”
Green has five wins from 88 mounts at the current Fair Grounds’ stand, including a stakes score with Pound for Pound in the Louisiana Champions Day Classic. She is considered day-to-day.

 

 

OTHER RECENT WORKS OF NOTE

Monday, January 6, 2019

Chestertown (Steve Asmussen) – Five furlongs in 1:01 B. New York-bred 3-year-old colt. $2 million March OBS 2-year-old in training buy. Broke his maiden at Aqueduct last out in career start number two. Early bird nominee to Fair Grounds’ Road to Derby series, which includes the Lecomte (G3) on January 18 and Risen Star (G2) on February 15.

Finite (Asmussen) – Five furlongs in 1:00 4/5 B. 3-year-old filly. Recent winner of the Golden Road (G2) at Churchill Downs. Nominated to the Silverbulletday at Fair Grounds on January 18.

Gold Street (Asmussen) – Five furlongs in 1:02 ¾ B. 3-year-old colt. Recent winner of the Sugar Bowl Stakes at Fair Grounds.

Gun It (Amussen) – Five furlongs on in 1:01 B. 4-year-old colt. Most recently second behind Warrior’s Charge in a second-level allowance at Fair Grounds. Nominated to the Louisiana Stakes at Fair Grounds on January 18.

Pass the Plate (McGee) – Five furlongs in 1:00 4/5 B. 3-year-old filly. Recent winner of a first-level allowance at Churchill. All three starts on turf, but nominated to the Silverbulletday at Fair Grounds on January 18.

Silver Prospector (Asmussen) – Five furlongs in 1:01 B. 3-year-old colt. Recent winner of the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) at Churchill Downs over the highly regarded Tiz the Law (3rd). Early bird nominee to Fair Grounds’ Road to Derby series, which includes the Lecomte (G3) on January 18 and Risen Star (G2) on February 15.

Halo Again (Asmussen) – Five furlongs in 1:01 B. 3-year-old Canadian-bred colt. Winner of the restricted Coronation Futurity last out. Early bird nominee to Fair Grounds’ Road to Derby series, which includes the Lecomte (G3) on January 18 and Risen Star (G2) on February 15.

Tenfold (Asmussen) – Five furlongs in 1:02 3/5 B. 5-year-old horse. Graded stakes winner. Most recently fourth in the Tenacious Stakes. Nominated to the Louisiana Stakes on January 18.

Tuesday, January 7, 2019

Go Google Yourself (McGee) – Five furlongs in 1:00 3/5 B. 5-year-old mare. Graded stakes winner, most recently finished second in the Falls City Stakes at Churchill.

Wednesday, January 8

Nothing of note

Thursday, January 9

Comical (Asmussen) – Four furlongs in :52 4/5 B. 3-year-old filly. Winner of the Schuylerville (G3) at Saratoga and third in pair of Grade I’s. Most recently seventh in Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Santa Anita. Nominated to the Silverbulletday at Fair Grounds on January 18.

Hog Creek Hustle (V. Foley) – Four furlongs in :49. 4-year-old colt. Winner of the Woody Stephens (G1) at Belmont. Most recently fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) at Santa Anita. Probable for the Duncan F. Kenner at Fair Grounds on January 18.

Hotshot Anna (H. Robertson) – Four furlongs in :50 4/5. 6-year-old mare. Multiple graded stakes winner and winner of five straight races, including the Richie Scherer Memorial at Fair Grounds. Possible for Nelson J. Menard Stakes at Fair Grounds on January 25.

-30-

About Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots: Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, one of the nation’s oldest racetracks, has been in operation since 1872. Located in New Orleans, LA, Fair Grounds is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global
Select Market: CHDN); it also operates a slot-machine gaming facility and 13 off-track betting parlors throughout southeast Louisiana. The 148th Thoroughbred Racing Season – highlighted by the 107 th running of the Louisiana Derby – will run from November 28, 2019 through March 29, 2020. More information can be found online at www.FairGroundsRaceCourse.com.
Information set forth in this press release contains various “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Act”) provides certain “safe harbor” provisions for forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements made in this press release are made pursuant to the Act. The reader is cautioned that such forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time and/or management’s good faith belief with respect to future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in the statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statement was made. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking information to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the use of terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “will,” and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently.
Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include the following: the effect of economic conditions on our consumers’ confidence and discretionary spending or our access to credit; additional or increased taxes and fees; public perceptions or lack of confidence in the integrity of our business; loss of key or highly skilled personnel; restrictions in our debt facilities limiting our flexibility to operate our business; general risks related to real estate ownership, including fluctuations in market values and environmental regulations; catastrophic events and system failures disrupting our operations, including the impact of natural and other disasters on our operations and our ability to obtain insurance recoveries in respect of such losses; inability to identify and complete acquisition, expansion or divestiture projects, on time, on budget or as planned; difficulty in integrating recent or future acquisitions into our operations; legalization of online real money gaming and sports wagering in the United States, and our ability to capitalize on and predict such legalization; the number of people attending and wagering on live horse races; inability to respond to rapid technological changes in a timely manner; inadvertent infringement of the intellectual property of others; inability to protect our own intellectual property rights; security breaches and other security risks related to our technology, personal information, source code and other proprietary information, including failure to comply with regulations and other legal obligations relating to receiving, processing, storing and using personal information; payment- related risks, such as chargebacks for fraudulent credit card use; compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or applicable money-laundering regulations; compliance with payment processing and payment transmission regulations; work stoppages and labor issues; difficulty in attracting a sufficient number of horses and trainers for full field horseraces; inability to negotiate agreements with industry constituents, including horsemen and other racetracks; personal injury litigation related to injuries occurring at our racetracks; the inability of our totalisator company, United Tote, to maintain its processes accurately, keep its technology current or maintain its significant customers; weather conditions affecting our ability to conduct live racing; increased competition in the horseracing business; changes in the regulatory environment of our racing operations; declining popularity in horseracing; seasonal fluctuations in our horseracing business due to geographic concentration of our operations; increased competition in our casino business; changes in regulatory environment of our casino business; the cost and possibility for delay, cost overruns and other uncertainties associated with the develop.m.ent and expansion of casinos; concentration and evolution of slot machine manufacturing and other technology conditions that could impose additional costs; impact of further legislation prohibiting tobacco smoking; geographic concentration of our casino business; changes in regulatory environment for our advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; increase in competition in the advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; inability to retain current customers or attract new customers to our advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; uncertainty and changes in the legal landscape relating to our advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; and failure to comply with laws requiring us to block access to certain individuals could result in penalties or impairment in our ability to offer advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming.

-30-

About Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots: Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, one of the nation’s oldest racetracks, has been in operation since 1872. Located in New Orleans, LA, Fair Grounds is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global
Select Market: CHDN); it also operates a slot-machine gaming facility and 13 off-track betting parlors throughout southeast Louisiana. The 148th Thoroughbred Racing Season – highlighted by the 107 th running of the Louisiana Derby – will run from November 28, 2019 through March 29, 2020. More information can be found online at www.FairGroundsRaceCourse.com.
Information set forth in this press release contains various “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Act”) provides certain “safe harbor” provisions for forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements made in this press release are made pursuant to the Act. The reader is cautioned that such forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time and/or management’s good faith belief with respect to future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in the statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statement was made. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking information to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the use of terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “will,” and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently.
Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include the following: the effect of economic conditions on our consumers’ confidence and discretionary spending or our access to credit; additional or increased taxes and fees; public perceptions or lack of confidence in the integrity of our business; loss of key or highly skilled personnel; restrictions in our debt facilities limiting our flexibility to operate our business; general risks related to real estate ownership, including fluctuations in market values and environmental regulations; catastrophic events and system failures disrupting our operations, including the impact of natural and other disasters on our operations and our ability to obtain insurance recoveries in respect of such losses; inability to identify and complete acquisition, expansion or divestiture projects, on time, on budget or as planned; difficulty in integrating recent or future acquisitions into our operations; legalization of online real money gaming and sports wagering in the United States, and our ability to capitalize on and predict such legalization; the number of people attending and wagering on live horse races; inability to respond to rapid technological changes in a timely manner; inadvertent infringement of the intellectual property of others; inability to protect our own intellectual property rights; security breaches and other security risks related to our technology, personal information, source code and other proprietary information, including failure to comply with regulations and other legal obligations relating to receiving, processing, storing and using personal information; payment- related risks, such as chargebacks for fraudulent credit card use; compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or applicable money-laundering regulations; compliance with payment processing and payment transmission regulations; work stoppages and labor issues; difficulty in attracting a sufficient number of horses and trainers for full field horseraces; inability to negotiate agreements with industry constituents, including horsemen and other racetracks; personal injury litigation related to injuries occurring at our racetracks; the inability of our totalisator company, United Tote, to maintain its processes accurately, keep its technology current or maintain its significant customers; weather conditions affecting our ability to conduct live racing; increased competition in the horseracing business; changes in the regulatory environment of our racing operations; declining popularity in horseracing; seasonal fluctuations in our horseracing business due to geographic concentration of our operations; increased competition in our casino business; changes in regulatory environment of our casino business; the cost and possibility for delay, cost overruns and other uncertainties associated with the develop.m.ent and expansion of casinos; concentration and evolution of slot machine manufacturing and other technology conditions that could impose additional costs; impact of further legislation prohibiting tobacco smoking; geographic concentration of our casino business; changes in regulatory environment for our advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; increase in competition in the advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; inability to retain current customers or attract new customers to our advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; uncertainty and changes in the legal landscape relating to our advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; and failure to comply with laws requiring us to block access to certain individuals could result in penalties or impairment in our ability to offer advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming.