Factor This Too Good in Muniz Memorial Classic
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Joe Kristufek/Grant LaGrange
Racing Analyst/Media Relations
Alicia Hughes provided copy – [email protected]
Factor This Too Good in Muniz Memorial Classic
Brad Cox-trained 5-year-old wires
second consecutive Fair Grounds’ stakes
(New Orleans – March 21, 2020) – For the second race in a row, Factor This headed into the Fair Grounds starting gate overshadowed by some of the bigger names alongside him. And for the second straight time, Gaining Ground Racing’s 5-year-old horse stole every bit of spotlight on his way to the wire.
In a virtual replay of his first graded stakes triumph at the New Orleans track last month, Factor This headed every point of call Saturday to capture the $300,000 Muniz Memorial Classic Stakes (G2) by three lengths and stamp himself as a major player in turf male division.
After opening his 2020 campaign with a third-place run behind Dontblamerocket in the Colonel E. R. Bradley on Jan. 18, Factor This took his form to another level when he made all the going in the $150,000 Fair Grounds Stakes (G3) Feb. 15. The Brad Cox-trained runner was allowed to set the pace as he pleased that day and he again faced little pressure in the 1 1/8-miles Muniz – with results to match.
“Big performance. Looks like he almost broke the track record,” Cox said of Factor This, who was sent off at 9-1 odds in the Muniz after going off at 8-1 in the Fair Grounds Stakes. “Last time he showed up to run. He obviously loves this track. That’s two graded stakes in a row for him. He ran a great race going a 1 ½-miles in Kentucky Downs last summer (fourth in the Grade 3 Kentucky Turf Cup Stakes). That showed us that he was a good horse. With everything going on we will probably back off a little bit and hopefully he can run later in the spring or this summer.”
Where his stablemate Dox Matrix reared and missed the break, Factor This got away without issue out of post 9 to lead Marzo and the rest of his 11 challengers as they raced past the stands for the first time. The son of The Factor was clear by about 1 ½ lengths as he cruised down the backstretch through fractions of :23.49 and :47.94 and faced his only real challenge when Marzo got up to his flank around the far turn.
That would be as much drama Factor This would allow. When he cut the turn under jockey Shaun Bridgmohan, he opened up daylight in the lane on his way to stopping the teletimer in 1:47.21 over a course rated firm.
“He ran his eyes out today. Brad and everyone did a good job,” Bridgmohan said. “I reaped the benefits, they are the ones that did all the hard work. He is a very cool horse to ride because basically he does all the work.”
Dontblamerocket made a game run to finish second, three-quarters of a length clear of Rockemperor (IRE) in third.
“We had a great trip. We were right behind the winner,” said Julien Leparoux, jockey of Dontblamerocket. “Everything went for me in the stretch to make him run. Just couldn’t catch the winner, that’s it.”
Aquaphobia was fourth with 2018 Muniz winner Synchrony fifth and 2-1 race favorite Instilled Regard sixth.
Factor This was bred in Kentucky by Maccabee Farm out of the Singspiel (IRE) mare Capricious Miss (GB). He now has nine wins from 28 career starts with $725,030 in earnings.
Quotes:
Winning trainer Brad Cox – “Big performance. Looks like he almost broke the track record. Last time he showed up to run. He obviously loves this track. That’s two graded stakes in a row for him. Shaun did a great job. Obviously knows him well. He ran a great race going 1 ½-miles in Kentucky Downs last summer. That showed us that he was a good horse. With everything going on we will probably back off a little bit and hopefully he can run later in the spring or this summer.”
Winning jockey Shaun Bridgmohan – “He ran his eyes out today. Brad and everyone did a good job. I reaped the benefits, they are the ones that did all the hard work. He is a very cool horse to ride because basically he does all the work.
Julien Leparoux, jockey of 2nd place Dontblamerocket – “We had a great trip. We were right behind the winner. Everything went for me in the stretch to make him run. Just couldn’t catch the winner that’s it.”
Joel Rosario, jockey of 3rd place Rockemperor – “I thought we had a good trip and he ran a good race. He put in his run but the winner just got away from us on the lead. He will build off this and be better next time.”
-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.
