There is something about racing at Churchill Downs that seems to bring out sparkling performances from My Mane Squeeze. The 3-year-old Audible filly, who won the Eight Belles Stakes (G2) beneath the twin spires in the spring, added a second graded win Sept. 21 in taking the $269,335 Dogwood Stakes (G3).
She raced seven furlongs in 1:22.27 on a fast track under Luis Saez following fractions of :22.39 and :45.05 set by Neom Beach. The favorite, she returned $5.04 for a $2 win wager.
Coming off a troubled trip in the Charles Town Oaks (G2) when second after being carried wide into the first turn, My Mane Squeeze experienced fewer difficulties in the Dogwood, though she was between horses early in a tight pack, racing in seventh, two lengths behind the early leader. Shedding traffic on the turn, she advanced into fourth while three wide under Saez and left her opponents behind in the stretch. She crossed the wire five lengths clear of Audubon Oaks winner Fibber.
Legadema ran third.
My Mane Squeeze, trained by Mike Maker for owners William "Buck" Butler and WinStar Farm, made her return to Churchill after racing in the Northeast in late spring and summer. In addition to her runner-up finish in the Charles Town Oaks, she ran fourth in the June 7 Acorn Stakes (G1) at 1 1/8 miles at Saratoga Race Course and third in the Aug. 3 Test Stakes (G1) there.
A homebred for Butler out of his top broodmare In Spite of Mama, My Mane Squeeze is a New York-bred daughter of WinStar Farm stallion Audible, who stood this past season for $15,000 in Kentucky. One of two graded stakes winners for her sire this year, she has a 6-1-3 record from 12 starts.
Video: Fasig-Tipton Dogwood S. (G3)
Batten Down Dominant in Bourbon Flight
In other stakes action on the Saturday card at Churchill Downs, Juddmonte's Ohio Derby (G3) winner Batten Down controlled the $287,500 Bourbon Flight Stakes from start to finish. Setting fractions of :23.19, :47.07, and 1:11.04 in the 1 3/16-mile dirt race, the Bill Mott trainee outclassed the opposition through the lane while pulling clear for a 5 3/4-length score over runner-up Hades. Ridden by Junior Alvarado, he was timed in a track-record 1:54.66 over the infrequently used distance.
Elephants Ear showed.
Coming off a fifth-place finish in the Travers Stakes (G1), Batten Down, a 3-year-old son of Tapit , was the heavy favorite in the ungraded Bourbon Flight and returned $3.06 to win. The colt is the fourth winner from four foals to race out of Juddmonte's grade 1 winner Close Hatches, and is a full brother to grade 2 winners Tacitus and Scylla.
"He's still trying to figure things out and I think will continue to get better with age," Alvarado said. "We went a little fast early in the race but he was doing things very comfortably. I could tell I had a lot of horse when we turned for home, and he just cruised down the stretch."
Video: Bourbon Flight S. (BT)
In the seven-furlong Harrods Creek Stakes two races later, Chris Hartman trainee Henro closed from last to win by 1 1/4 lengths going away. Winner of the Iowa Derby earlier this season, the Collected gelding was coming off a fourth-place finish in the West Virginia Derby (G3) for owners JD Thoroughbreds and Joey Keith Davis. Henro, bred in Kentucky by Brereton C. Jones, improved his record to 4-1-0 in nine starts with earnings of $545,889.
Video: Harrods Creek S. (BT)
Three-year-old filly Miss Justify led home a 1-2 finish for trainer Todd Pletcher in the $171,750 Seneca Overnight Stakes. The Justify filly piloted by Luis Saez prevailed by a half-length over stablemate Life Talk with pacesetting Chatalas in third. Final time for the 1 1/16-mile race was 1:43.14. Owned by Twin Oaks Bloodstock, Joseph Bulger, Will Campbell, and IEE Racing Stables, Miss Justify earned her second stakes win and fourth victory overall from seven starts.
