Prairie Meadows features 6 stakes races on Saturday’s Iowa Oaks / Derby Day card, none bigger than the $300,000 Grade 3 Cornhusker. Post time for the 1-1/8 miles Cornhusker, a potential springboard in the Breeders’ Cup Classic or Dirt Mile divisions, is set for 10:37 pm ET.
Let’s meet the contenders for the Cornhusker Handicap (Race 9):
#1-MINE THAT STAR: Third-place finisher in the Rasmussen Stakes, Prairie Meadows’ local prep for the Cornhusker. Three-time stakes winner in New Mexico in 2023 has won 10 of 28 lifetime, but winless in 4 starts this year. Expected to show early speed from the rail. Could match Sir Bear and Jonesboro as the oldest Cornhusker winners at age 7.
#2-ESCAPOLOGIST: Oaklawn allowance winner hasn’t hit the board in 2 prior starts starts. Trainer Kenny McPeek turns reins over to Julien Leparoux, who twice won aboard this son of Good Magic. Deep closer will appreciate the distance and may need a fast pace for his best.
#3-UNLOAD: Trainer Steve Asmussen won the 2013 and 2017 Cornhusker and can tie the record for wins in his race with a third. Late-blooming speedster has won 2 of his last 4 starts, including a Lone Star allowance on May 18. Gun Runner gelding has made the lead in 4 of his last 5 starts and will take them as far as he can in his first stakes attempt.
#4-VELOCITOR: Red-hot gelding has won 3 of his last 4, including a Fair Grounds allowance, a Fonner stakes and Prairie Meadows’ top local prep, the Rasmussen, as the favorite. Last year won Canada’s middle jewel to its Triple Crown, the Prince of Wales, on dirt at Fort Erie. Expect this Gary Scherer trainee to press the pace under David Cohen.
#5-RED ROUTE ONE: Late-running winner of the 2023 West Virginia Derby and 2024 New Orleans Classic. His $1.6 million earned easily tops the field. Fourth-place finish last out in the Pimlico Special was flattered last week when the Grade 1 Stephen Foster 1-2 finishers also came out of that race. Trainer Steve Asmussen won the 2013 and 2017 Cornhusker and can tie the record for wins in his race with a third.
#6-HIT SHOW (pictured): Four-year-old returned from a September layoff with a Churchill allowance victory over this 9-furlong distance on May 11 and has been firing bullet workouts since. Trainer Brad Cox is tied for the record for most wins in the Cornhusker, which dates back to 1966, with 3. The 2023 Withers winner added a fifth-place Kentucky Derby effort and a fourth-place Belmont Stakes run a year ago.
#7-GUNTOWN: $80,000 claim in March struggled since in stakes bids at Oaklawn and Churchill, but rebounded well last out with an allowance runner-up in Louisville. Must race without Lasix again, notable considering his prior poor finishes without it. The Mike Maker barn seeks a second Cornhusker, having also won this in 2011.
#8-AIN’T LIFE GRAND: Trainer Kelly Von Hemel seeks his first Cornhusker win, a race previously won by his father, Don, and his brother, Donnie (twice). This Iowa-bred has won 8 of 18 and bagged more than $700K, including a rallying third in this race last year as the favorite. The ’22 Iowa Derby winner is 7-for-11 over the track.
#9-TRADEMARK: Millionaire earner upset Churchill Downs’ Grade 2 Clark last fall at 13-1 odds, but has been well-beaten in 3 stakes starts this year. Cross-entered Saturday at Horseshoe Indianapolis in the Schaefer Memorial, a race that he won a year ago. Seems likely to defend that title than try this for trainer Victoria Oliver.
#10-HEROIC MOVE: Grade 3 Steve Sexton Mile winner at Lone Star Park stretches out in distance to a trip in which he delivered a second-place finish in the 2023 Manitoba Derby at Assiniboia Downs. Jockey Harry Hernandez returns, and he’s won 3 times aboard this Quality Road colt. Stalking running style in danger of wide trip from this post.
#11-SPEED BIAS: Recent Churchill allowance winner for Ron Moquett seeks his first stakes win, but has placed in races like the Grade 3 Pimlico Special and Grade 2 Fayette at Keeneland. Uncle Mo colt’s victory June 6 snapped a 12-race losing streak. Expected to be pressing the pace or competing for the lead despite an outside draw.
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