As consolation prizes go, a $600,000 stakes race still presents a sizable financial opportunity.
That is what is in front of Lucky Seven Stable's Rattle N Roll, who faces nine rivals in the Clark Stakes (G2) Nov. 29 at Churchill Downs. Earlier this month, he failed to draw into the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar after shipping west and not drawing in from the also-eligible list.
Though he would have been a longshot in the Classic, likely one of the highest on the odds board, the early tempo of the 1 1/4-mile Classic would have suited late-running Rattle N Roll, if not the company. Splits of :22.43, :44.96, and 1:09.44 kickstarted the rally of victorious Sierra Leone, who stopped the clock in 2:00.78.
As for the pace makeup of the 1 1/8-mile Clark, entrants Most Wanted and Cooke Creek regularly go to the lead, and others such as Bolzy, who adds blinkers, and Grand Aspen have inside posts from which their riders may utilize their position to go forward.
If some of them mix it up early, Rattle N Roll may get sufficient pace and be primed for a top closing performance under Brian Hernandez Jr., trainer Kenny McPeek's go-to rider.
A 5-year-old son of Connect , Rattle N Roll took the 2021 Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland as a 2-year-old. At age 3, he won three stakes, and then last year at age 4, he captured three grade 3s in the spring before running second in the Stephen Foster Stakes (G1) at Churchill Downs. But he would tail off after that in the fall of 2023 and did not reappear until after a year layoff when third in the Sept. 28 Lukas Classic Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs.
Beaten 3 3/4 lengths by victorious Hit Show, one of the Clark favorites, and 3 1/2 lengths by runner-up Cooke Creek, McPeek looks to have Rattle N Roll close that gap with a comeback race advancing his horse's fitness.
Wathnan Racing's Hit Show is one of two streaking prospects for trainer Brad Cox, the other being Gary and Mary West's Most Wanted. Both are sons of Candy Ride .
Hit Show has won three stakes in a row, with the Oct. 26 Fayette Stakes (G2) at Keeneland following the Lukas Classic and the Aug. 4 West Virginia Governor's Stakes (G3) at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort preceding it.
The 3-year-old Most Wanted is unbeaten in four starts. His two stakes triumphs came in the Aug. 11 Ellis Park Derby at Ellis Park and the Sept. 29 Oklahoma Derby (G3) at Remington Park.
"The Clark is always a marquee race in the fall, and both horses fit the race well," Cox told Churchill Downs publicity. "We're expecting top efforts from them both."
Florent Geroux, who has been riding both colts this year, stays aboard Most Wanted, while Tyler Gaffalione picks up the ride on Hit Show.
Cox called Hit Show "a really good horse and has trained well going into this race. He's won three in a row, and we're very proud of what he's accomplished so far in his career."
The Clark, downgraded from a grade 1 to a grade 2 beginning in 2023, did not lure any Breeders' Cup competitors to return on a little less than four weeks of rest. All but Oct. 20 allowance optional claiming winner Piroli come off last-out races in grade 2s or grade 3s.
Churchill Downs, Friday, November 29, 2024, Race 11Entries: Clark S. presented by Norton Healthcare (G2)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Bolzy (KY) Lanfranco Dettori 121 Donnie K. Von Hemel 12/1 2 2Grand Aspen (KY) Gerardo Corrales 121 Jonathan Thomas 20/1 3 3Crupi (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 123 Todd A. Pletcher 4/1 4 4Piroli (KY) Edgar Morales 121 Michael W. McCarthy 20/1 5 5Most Wanted (KY) Florent Geroux 120 Brad H. Cox 7/2 6 6Hit Show (KY) Tyler Gaffalione 123 Brad H. Cox 3/1 7 7Rattle N Roll (KY) Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. 121 Kenneth G. McPeek 5/1 8 8Red Route One (KY) Cristian A. Torres 123 Steven M. Asmussen 8/1 9 9Cooke Creek (KY) Luis Saez 121 Michael J. Maker 6/1 10 10Uno Mas Bourbon (KY) Francisco Arrieta 118 Ian R. Wilkes 20/1
