Iroquois Stakes

Notes:
The road to the 2015 Kentucky Derby officially begins right where it will end, under the Twin Spires at Churchill Downs, where nine were entered in the first juvenile stakes of the year to offer qualifying points for the Run for the Roses. A total of 17 Derby points are up for grabs and will be awarded to the top four finishers on a 10-4-2-1 scale. All of the starters will pick up at least 1,000 in non-restricted stakes earnings, which serve as the Derby tie-breaker should one be needed. Two-time graded stakes runner-up Mr. Z broke his maiden over this course in June then settled for second in the G3 Sanford S. and G2 Saratoga Special at the historic Spa in upstate New York. Originally pointed to Saratoga s 7F closing day G1 Hopeful S., trainer D. Wayne Lukas opted to try the son of Malibu Moon around two turns instead. Judging from the 4F bullet Mr. Z smoked over this surface on Sept. 1, the colt is happy to be back in the Blue Grass state. Hashtag Bourbon figures to be a popular play in the distillery-filled Commonwealth. The Bourbon Lane Stable color-bearer was third behind Mr. Z when he debuted with a slow start and wide trip. The son of 2010 Derby champ Super Saver shipped to West Virginia for his next start, a convincing win in the Mountaineer Juvenile S. on Aug. 2. Lucky Player displayed an affinity for Churchill with a winning debut in May. He returned to the track in the G3 Bashford Manor on June 28 but could only manage a distant fourth after bumping. Lucky Player then traveled to Iowa for a narrow miss in the Aug. 9 Prairie Meadows Juvenile Mile S. Cleveland Sound was also a winner at first asking, having taken a maiden race at Delaware Park. He came back to run a respectable fourth at more than 25/1 in the Saratoga Special despite repeated trouble during the race. The Graham Motion trainee will receive first-time Lasix in this spot. Bold Conquest will join stablemate Lucky Player in the gate for the Steve Asmussen barn. A son of his trainer s two-time Horse of the Year, Curlin, the colt won in his second try, a 6 F maiden race at Saratoga last month. Danny Boy launched his career with a win in a 1m Ellis Park maiden race on the grass, the same path used last year by trainer Dale Romans and owner Donegal Racing to prepare Cleburne for a victory in this race. Holy Frazier also used a 1m turf race at the Henderson oval to set up for his initial stakes, though he needed three attempts to get his picture taken. The Gorilla Man was three lengths behind Holy Frazier when the pair completed the superfecta at Ellis on July 11. But the After Market gelding found success when switched to the main track there for a 6F maiden special weight on July 26. Dekabrist was absolutely smashing when he started his career with a 15-length romp at Gulfstream Park on May 11, but the Kodiak Island S. hero s speed figures have regressed in every start since and plummeted when he was trounced in Monday s Hopeful at Saratoga. It s difficult to imagine just what prompted trainer Gennadi Dorochenko to enter here on a five-day turnaround.