Churchill Downs Picks | Audubon Stakes 2024

A wide-open cast of 10 3-year-olds, including Grade II winner Can Group, multiple graded stakes paced Cugino and American Turf (GII) runner-up Formidable Man, was entered in Saturday’s 5th running of the $275,000 Audubon Stakes (Listed), one of six stakes contests held on “Stephen Foster Preview Day” at Churchill Downs.

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The Audubon Stakes, a preview for the $250,000 American Derby (Listed) run Saturday, June 29 at Churchill Downs, will go as finale on the 11-race program with a post time of 5:58 p.m. Run at 1 1/8 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course, the Audubon Stakes is part of six stakes contests on the program. Along with the Audubon, the card also includes the $275,000 Arlington (Grade III), $275,000 Blame (GIII), $275,000 Regret (GIII), $275,000 Shawnee (GIII) and $275,000 Aristides (Listed). First post is 12:45 p.m.

Among the accomplished horses entered in the Audubon Stakes includes William and Suzanne Warren’s American Turf runner-up Formidable Man; HRH Sultan Bin Minshal Al Saud’s American Turf third-place runner Lagynos; D. J. Stable and Cash Is King’s Bourbon Stakes (GII) winner Can Group; and West Point Thoroughbreds and Jimmy Kahig’s Transylvania (GIII) runner-up and American Turf fourth-place finisher Cugino.

Augustin Stable’s Rushaway third-place finisher Twirling Point will scratch to instead run in the Jersey Derby at Monmouth Park.

Here is the field for the Audubon Stakes at Churchill Downs from the rail out (with jockey and trainer):

1. Nomos (Irad Ortiz Jr., Todd Pletcher)
2. Cugino (Robert Patt, Shug McGaughey III)
3. Cameo Performance (Tyler Gaffalione, Brendan Walsh)
4. Thomas Aquinas (Brian Hernandez Jr., Ian Wilkes)
5. Formidable Man (Luis Saez, Michael McCarthy)
6. Camaro Z (Irad Ortiz Jr., Greg Foley)
7. Rock’n a Halo (Edgar Morales, Tom Amoss)
8. Twirling Point (Frankie Dettori, Jonathan Thomas)
9. Lagynos (Cristian Torres, Steve Asmussen)
10. Can Group (Francisco Arrieta, Mark Casse)