Ragtime rides to victory in the G3 Dogwood, Credit Kurtis Coady
Churchill Downs Press
Godolphin’s talented 3-year-old filly Rag time returns to Churchill Downs to headline the 40th running of the $300,000 Chilukki presented by Resolute Racing (Grade III), part of next Saturday’s 11-race schedule that also includes the 27th Claiming Crown, showcasing eight supercharged starter allowance races for North America’s top working horses.
The action starts at 1:00 PM (all time Eastern) with the first of eight Claiming Crown races going on as Race 4 at 2:28 PM. The one-mile Chilukki for fillies and mares goes on as Race 3 at 1:58 PM.
Trained by Bill Mott, Ragtime has never finished outside the trifecta in the first five starts of her career with three wins, a second and a third. Among her three victories was a score of 2 ¼ lengths in the September 20 Dogwood Stakes presented by Resolute Racing (GII) at Churchill Downs. The daughter of Union Rags breaks from post No. 7 under Junior Alvarado.
The Chilukki Stakes (with jockey and trainer):
Drive (Florent Geroux, Brad Cox)
Shred the Gnar (Luis Saez, Brian Lynch)
Literate (irad Ortiz Jr., Brad Cox)
Runaway diva (Jose Ortiz, Michelle Hemingway)
Zadorsky (Joe Ramos, Whit Beckman)
One magical Philly (Tyler Gaffalione, Brendan Walsh)
Rag time (Alvarado, Mott)
One of the extra features on Saturday’s card is the $300,000 Claiming Crown Jewel, which will run as Race 10 at 5:55 p.m. The Claiming Crown event will be held at 1 1/8 miles and will feature a wide-open cast of 12 horses racing for a claiming prize of $35,000 or less in 2024-25, including Dede McGehee’s 2024 Jewel third-place Welaka; Point Dume, Bush Racing Stable’s recent Parx stakes winner; Kenwood Racing and Kelly Breen’s Claiming Crown Jewel Preview Winner Cadet Corps; and local fee winners Ron Hendrickson’s Bernin Hot and BAG Racing Stables, Miller Racing, Derek Paul, Mathis Stable, Paul Braverman and Timonthy Pinch’s Navajo Warrior.
The Claimant Crown Jewel (with jockey and trainer):
Gilded Craken (Jose Ortiz, Joe Sharp)
Cadet Corps (Junior Alvarado, Kelly Breen)
Happy strike (Manny Esquivel, Dewaine Loy)
Exaggeration (Luan Machado, Kenny Miller)
Alternate reality (Brian Hernandez Jr., Joe Sharp)
He got angry (Adam Beschizza, Kelsey Danner)
Double your money (Melvis González, Benjamin Dunn)
The Gray (Axel Concepcion, Rudy Rodriguez)
Carolo Rapido (Ben Curtis, Eddie Kenneally)
Bern is hot (Luis Saez, Rohan Crichton)
Dance some Mo (Francisco Arrieta, Tom Van Berg)
Navajo warrior (Irad Oritz Jr., Saffie Joseph Jr.)
Point Dume (Tyler Gaffalione, Tim Kreiser)
American law (Jaime Torres, Sarah Shaffer)
A.E. Brilliant person (Gabe Saez, Jade Cunningham)
A.E. Dr. Storm (Eduardo Gallardo, Edgar Espinoza)
Other major races on the Claiming Crown include the $175,000 Emerald Stakes for horses started in 2024-25 for a claiming tag of $25,000 or less.
The final will be run at 5:55 PM on 1 1/16 miles on artificial grass. Among the oversubscribed field is Echo Lane, Anthony Rogers’ 2024 Emerald winner. Echo Lane, trained by Rohan Crichton, scored a half-length victory last year. The Florida-bred Treasure Beach son (GB) won seven of his 24 starts, including two victories at Churchill Downs. The four-year-old colt will break from post No. 9 under Luis Saez, who was on board for last year’s victory.
The Claiming Crown Emerald (with jockey and trainer):
Gewuztraminer (Manny Esquivel, Cipriano Contreras)
Goes the Clown (Irad Ortiz Jr., Mike Maker)
Risk manager (Tyler Gaffalione, Mike Maker)
Nantasket Beach (Julien Leparoux, Lauren Robson)
The stroke of midnight (Ben Curtis, Milton Nunez)
Azoi (Callege, Ismael Collection)
Mr. Abarrio (Jose Ortiz, Saffie Joseph Jr.)
Grounded (Rosario Montanez, Scooter Davis)
Echo Lane (Luis Saez, Rohan Crichton)
King Curlin (Chris Emigh, Brittany Vanden Berg)
Swiss slang (Oscar Villarreal, Yoni Orantes)
Old man (Jose Ferrer, Sebastian Pulgarin)
A.E. Protonic forceR (Julio Felix, Armando Hernández)
AE A Josf Franz (Jose Ortiz, Glenn Wismer)
A.E. Rancho (Joe Ramos, Rey Hernandez)
In total, Saturday’s card features three Pick 5s starting in Races 1, 4 and 7. The middle and late Pick 5s include all of the Claiming Crown races.
These are the other fields for the Claiming Crown, in order of post positions (with jockey and trainer):
The $150,000 Tiara (Race 5 at 2:57 PM):
Settlement of storm (Mario Gutiérrez, Pavel Matejka)
Our Liberty Belle (Manny Esquivel, Joe Sharp)
Escape Palace (Francisco Martinez, Ruperto Perez)
Story hour (Keith Asmussen, Steve Asmussen)
Angel wines (Walter Rodrig, IJsmael Bahena)
Do not destroy (Jose Ortiz, Mark Casse)
He appreciates (Rotoz
Lady in blue (Frankie Pennington, Michael Matz)
Morning miracle (Jaime Torres, Jordan Blair)
Windy walk (Luis Saez, Chris Davis)
Goats on a tree (Tyler Gaffalione, Mike Maker)
Cairo street (Forest Boyce, Lacey Gaudet)
A.E. Seat at the table (Junior Alvarado, Phil Antonacci)
A.E. Show off (Francisco Arrieta, Fausto Gutierrez)
A.E. Otherwise (Joseph Trejos, Bentley Combs)
A.E. Ask Amanda (Oscar Villarreal, Ismael Bahena)
The $150,000 Canterbury Tom Metzen Memorial (Race 8 at 4:25 PM):
Speed figures (Irad Ortiz Jr., Kelly Breen)
Spoke (Marcelino Pedroza Jr., Jose Camejo)
Sosua summer (Luis Saez, Victor Barboza Jr.)
Icy view (Abel Cedillo, Joël Berndt)
Final verdict (Tyler Gaffalione, Edward Barker)
Form Note (Jose Ortiz, Mike Maker)
Chiseler (Christopher Emigh, Brittany Vanden Berg)
Pinfire (Axel Concepcion, Mike Tomlinson)
chiringo (Manny Esquivel, Genaro Garcia)
Vinsanity (Luan Machado, Rudy Rodriguez)
Bad beat Brian (Erik Asmussen, Steve Asmussen)
Fluid situation (Jaime Torres, Kevin Rice)
A.E. High front (Keith Asmussen, Steve Asmussen)
A.E. All jokes aside (Luis Saez, Anna Meah)
A.E. Chromed impulse (Francisco Arrieta, Nik Goodwin)
YES. Mr. Melo follows (Jann Hernandez, Rey Hernandez)
The $125,000 Rapid Transit (Race 9 at 4:55 PM):
Daddy me (Tyler Bacon, Chris Hartman)
Mia comet (Mario Gutiérrez, Gustavo Esquivel)
American outlaw (Cristian Torres, Norm Casse)
Never (Francisco Martinez, Elliot Martinez)
Spinning trolley (Emmanuel Esquivel, Jordan Blair)
Lemon drop shot (Francisco Arrieta, Fernando Bahena)
My noble knight (Jose Ortiz, Tom Amoss)
Takes the lead with a smile (Tyler Gaffalione, Charlton Baker)
Freedom attitude (Corey Lanerie, Matt Kordenbrock)
Global sensation (Axel Concepcion, Tom Molloy)
Gilmore (Luis Saez, Joe Sharp)
Sharp cat (Brian Hernandez Jr., Randy Morse)
Nation (irad Ortiz Jr., Bob Hess Jr.)
Unlimited potential (Jaime Torres, Mertkan Kantarmaci)
A.E. Penrod (Jaime Torres, Dana Hancock)
A.E. Air Cav (Walter Rodrig, IJsmael Bahena)
A.E. Overdrilled (Alex Achard, Kevin Fletcher)
A.E. Bottles (James Graham, Matt Kordenbrock)
The $100,000 Ready’s Rocket Express (Race 4 at 2:28 PM):
Swaggish (Luis Saez, Joe Sharp)
Illini (Gabe Saez, Destin Heath)
Spotted bull (Jordan Tunon, Jonathaniel Badillo)
Raymond (Tyler Bacon, Tim Martin)
Excited (Jose Ortiz, Librado Barocio)
Sharp warning (Larren Delorme, Kayla Warren)
Concrete glory (Irad Ortiz Jr., Saffie Joph Jr.)
Panther (Brandon Tapara, Michelle Winters)
Tap Formation (Francisco Martínez, Irving Rodriguez)
The best of the empire (Amanda Poston, Joe Roberts)
The $100,000 Kent Stirling Memorial (Race 6 at 3:26 PM):
King River (Ismerio Villalobos, José Magana)
The Perfect (Ben Curtis, Andy Rogers)
Money running (Tyler Gaffalione, Peter Miller)
Shotshell (Amanda Poston, Joe Roberts)
Time for trouble (Corey Lanerie, Jeff Hiles)
Curlins Malibu (Luis Saez, Joe Sharp)
Freedom Road (Irad Ortiz Jr., Richard Sillaman)
Metatron’s muse (Tyler Bacon, Chris Hartman)
Dad righteous (Manny Esquivel, Greg Foley)
Gangster (Cristian Torres, David Jacobson)
I Feelucky Tonite (Dexter Schelvis, Jacinto Solis)
Beam beam (Jose Ortiz, Luis Ramirez)
A.E. Synstatic (Eduardo Gallardo, Martin Escobar)
A.E. Liam the Brave (Mario Gutiérrez, Gustavo Esquivel)
A.E. Swiss Guard (Francisco Arrieta, Steve Manley)
A.E. Knox (Emily Ellingwood, Chad Summers)
The $100,000 Glass Slipper (Race 7 at 3:55 PM):
Oops and downs (Assael Espinoza, Dan Ward)
On the way to Saturday (Tyler Gaffalione, David Jacobson)
Angela’s party girl (Francisco Arrieta, Nik Goodwin)
Pink Rose (Abner Adorno, Ernesto Padilla-Preciado)
Cheering Joanie (Irad Ortiz Jr., Rick Dutrow Jr.)
What if (Callege, Ismael Collection)
Two-hearted (Julio Felix, Max Quinonez)
Savannamarie (Abel Cedillo, Nery Alvarez)
Sadie the Goat (Alexander Chavez, Nestor Rivera)
Beautiful sun (Erik Asmussen, Steve Asmussen)
Next girl (Jose Ortiz, Robert Bailes)
Like Rolling Stone (Manny Esquivel, Antiono Arriaga)
Grace Warren (Brian Hernandez Jr., Joe Sharp)
Happy Ana (Oscar Villarreal, Sergio Donjuán)
#Ragtime #returns #Chilukki