Built & Midnight Martini Step Up On Thurby
Following a strong start to an active week at Churchill Downs, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners will look to carry that momentum into Thursday’s “Thurby” program, featuring a pair of runners in back-to-back stakes races.
Built headlines the action in the $200,000 St. Matthews Stakes, where the Hard Spun colt is expected to be a leading contender off his well-documented track-record performance last out at Fair Grounds. Trained by Wayne Catalano, Built has been given time to recover from that standout effort and returns in a six-furlong sprint that could serve as a springboard into graded stakes company this summer.
Drawn in post 2, Built will be ridden by Jared Loveberry and has looked sharp since arriving at Churchill Downs, appearing well-prepared for his return to stakes competition.
One race later, Midnight Martini will take on a deeper challenge in the $300,000 Mamzelle Stakes (G3), a competitive 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint for 3-year-old fillies. The daughter of Yaupon returns to the grass after her lone defeat came over the synthetic surface at Gulfstream Park.
Midnight Martini impressed in her debut with a strong speed figure, prompting a private acquisition, and now steps into graded stakes company in just her third career start. Trained by Mark Casse, she will break from post 7 under Javier Castellano.
While the Mamzelle represents a class test, a competitive performance or graded stakes placing would mark a meaningful step forward for the promising filly.
Built and Midnight Martini represent two of five Eclipse runners set for stakes competition during Derby week at Churchill Downs—including Midnight Martini as one of four in graded stakes—and eight overall from the stable slated to run in Louisville. Eclipse started the week with a bang when Roja—the first runner of the week—impressively captured her comeback race against allowance company on Wednesday.