Front-runners Skelly and World Record, respectively coming off rapid six-furlong victories in 1:08.15 and 1:07.84, square off at Churchill Downs May 31 in a seven-horse renewal of the $275,000 Aristides Stakes (G3).
Each of the two is in pursuit of a first graded stakes win of 2025 after having captured such races in prior seasons. Red Lane Thoroughbreds' Skelly, a 6-year-old, won the Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) in 2023 and 2024 at Oaklawn Park at the Aristides' distance of six furlongs, and World Record, owned by WinStar Farm and BBN Racing, took the 6 1/2-furlong Amsterdam Stakes (G2) at Saratoga Race Course last year as a 3-year-old.
Both horses are perfect in limited action this year, with the Steve Asmussen-trained Skelly winning an allowance optional claiming race by 5 1/4 lengths in his season debut April 11 at Oaklawn, before splashing to a 10 1/2-length victory in his most recent start in the May 2 Lake Hamilton Stakes there.
He earned a 120 Equibase Speed Figure that afternoon for blazing away from the competition in 1:08.15. Only five other horses have earned a 120 ESF or higher across North America this year.
Though World Record, trained by Rudy Brisset, posted a faster final time in his lone start this season, taking a third-level allowance optional claimer May 1 at Churchill Downs in 1:07.84, he did so on a fast surface and received a 111 ESF. He smoked his opening half-mile in :43.91.
Skelly, a Practical Joke gelding, has broken sharply in his two starts this year, unlike in some of his outings in 2024, which contributed to him having more runner-up finishes (four) than wins (three) last year.
Regular jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. rides the 12-time winner from 21 starts. Skelly is 1-3-0 in four starts at Churchill Downs, with one of those runner-up finishes coming in last year's Aristides.
Santana noted the improvement from Skelly out of the gate this year after riding him to victory in the Lake Hamilton, in which his mount needed only the slightest of urging. He won under confident handling.
"This horse is doing better and better and better," he said.
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Reigning Eclipse Award-winning jockey Flavien Prat is aboard World Record, a son of Gun Runner who is drawn on the far outside, just to the outside of Skelly. World Record is 2-0-1 in three starts at Churchill.
Giant Mischief and Happy Is a Choice are threats to the leading duo, with the former dropping in class after fading to ninth in the seven-furlong May 1 Churchill Downs Stakes (G1) and the latter appearing to be the strongest late finisher in a field inundated with speed.
As part of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Dozen Bonus Series, the Aristides Stakes will award $30,000 to the winner, $15,000 to the runner-up, and $7,500 to the third-place finisher to apply toward entry fees for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 31, 2025, Race 6Entries: Aristides S. (G3)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Champlin (KY) Luis Saez 118 Gregory D. Foley 6/1 2 2Durante (KY) Jose L. Ortiz 118 David Jacobson 15/1 3 3Giant Mischief (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 118 Brad H. Cox 4/1 4 4Happy Is a Choice (KY) Reylu Gutierrez 118 John Alexander Ortiz 6/1 5 5Here Mi Song (KY) Alex Achard 118 William Stinson, Jr. 15/1 6 6Skelly (KY) Ricardo Santana, Jr. 120 Steven M. Asmussen 7/5 7 7World Record (KY) Flavien Prat 118 Rodolphe Brisset 3/1
