Mitole Gets Acid Test in Upgraded Churchill Downs

[Wandering Eyes]

There arguably is not a more exciting sprinter in the country than L. William & Corinne Heiligbrodt’s Mitole (Eskendereya), who has blown away the competition in his last five starts with staggering ease. His greatest triumph is a Grade III, however, and the 4-year-old will get his sternest test to date in Saturday’s GI Churchill Downs S., which has been upgraded from a Grade II for this year’s running.

A dominant 10-length graduate third out last winter at Oaklawn, the bay suffered his most recent defeat with second in the Gazebo S. next out there. Two starts later, he annexed the Bachelor S. by nine lengths. Then came a 6 1/4-length destruction of the Chick Lang S. at Pimlico. Sidelined for over nine months after that, the $140,000 OBS April buy has come back no worse for the year, easily annexing an optional claimer in Hot Springs Mar. 2 and picking up his first graded tally and a career high-equaling 107 Beyer in the GIII Count Fleet Sprint H. last out Apr. 13. Mitole has come home in under :24 seconds, a rare feat on the dirt, in four of his last five outings, while going :24 flat in the other one. In addition to his first Grade I try, the seven-furlong Churchill Downs will be the Steve Asmussen trainee’s initial foray beyond six panels.

Robert Baron’s Promises Fulfilled (Shackleford) returns home after a somewhat disappointing trip to Dubai. Capturing three straight graded stakes last summer and fall, highlighted by a popular score in the GI H. Allen Jerkens S., the chestnut dueled on the pace in the GI TwinSpires Breeders’ Cup Sprint here before fading to finish fourth. Not breaking smoothly in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen, he finished a non-threatening fourth.

Horse for the course Limousine Liberal (Successful Appeal) returns to defend his title. Six-for-nine lifetime over this track, he scored by a head in the Grade II version of this race last year, but has won just once in six subsequent starts, a neck conquest of the GII Belmont Sprint Championship. He was most recently a good third closing into a slow pace in the GIII Commonwealth S. Apr. 6 at Keeneland.

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