Trainer Bill Mott Seeks His Third Elkhorn Victory

Red Knight (Trinity Farms), winner of last fall's Grade 3 Sycamore Stakes here, headlines a field of 10 turf marathoners entered for the 36th running of the $200,000 Elkhorn Stakes (G2) going 1½ miles on the grass at Keeneland Race Course on Saturday, April 17.

The Elkhorn will go as the ninth race on Saturday afternoon's 10-race program with a 5:30 p.m. post time. First post Saturday is 1:05 p.m.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, who is seeking his third Elkhorn Stakes victory, Red Knight will be making his 2021 debut Saturday after closing 2020 with a narrow loss to Elkhorn rival North Dakota in the Red Smith (G3) at Aqueduct. Red Knight finished second in the 2019 Elkhorn in his only other Keeneland start.

James Graham, who was aboard for the Sycamore victory, will have the mount Saturday and break from post 10.

Joseph Allen's North Dakota, fourth to Red Knight in last year's Sycamore, will be making his first start since finishing 10th in the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) in January in which he was beaten only 4¼ lengths.

North Dakota, trained by Shug McGaughey, will be ridden by John Velazquez and break from post seven. McGaughey has three wins in the stakes, including 1994 with Hall of Famer Lure when the race was 1 1/8 miles.

The field for the Elkhorn, with riders and weights from the rail out, is: Cross Border (Tyler Gaffalione, 120 pounds), Say the Word (Luis Saez, 123), Crafty Daddy (Brian Hernandez Jr., 118), Epic Bromance (Chris Landeros, 118), Monarchs Glen (GB) (Joel Rosario, 118), Tide of the Sea (Gerardo Corrales, 118), North Dakota (Velazquez, 118), Fantasioso (ARG) (Rafael Bejarano, 118), Channel Cat (Corey Lanerie, 118) and Red Knight (Graham, 118).

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Canadian Champion Say The Word Will Run In Elkhorn

Say the Word, a Sovereign Award winner as a Canadian champion, will make his fourth start for trainer Phil D'Amato in the 36th running of the $200,000 Elkhorn (G2) going 1½ miles on the grass.

After Say the Word won the Northern Dancer Turf (G1) Presented by Pattison at Woodbine last October for trainer Gail Cox and owner-breeder Sam-Son Farm, Agave Racing Stable of Mark Martinez purchased an interest in the gelding from Sam-Son.

"I give my input to Agave, but this was all Mark," D'Amato said. "I was just lucky enough to get him. He is a Grade 1 winner and I just try to do as good a job as the previous trainer."

It did not take long for Say the Word to make his presence felt in D'Amato's barn.

"He is one of the barn favorites," D'Amato said from his home base at Santa Anita, where Say the Word has been based since December. "(We) just keep feeding him peppermints and keep him happy and healthy."

For D'Amato, Say the Word was a close third in the Hollywood Turf Cup (G2) at Del Mar and in his most recent start was runner-up in the San Luis Rey (G3) at Santa Anita. In between those races was an 11th-place finish in the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream Park.

"We learned from the Pegasus: We took him out of his style and he didn't like it," D'Amato said. "Just let him do his thing early and let him fly home late. I imagine that is what he will do Saturday."

Now 6, Say the Word will be making his third Keeneland start on Saturday. He notched his first career victory here April 27, 2018, and a year later finished third in a 1-mile allowance test under the tutelage of Graham Motion.

"I had to look way down in his past performances (to find the Keeneland starts)," D'Amato said. "That's good. It shows he likes the course."

Say the Word has raced at 11 tracks in his career. D'Amato hopes a return to Del Mar in the fall is in the cards.

"He has rattled off a couple of triple-digit Beyer (speed figures) and that says a lot about him and suggests he fits," D'Amato said. "We are hoping for the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1) and he showed ability at Del Mar and that is a good gauge."