Wise Dan to bypass River City for the Grade 1 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs
Morton Fink owned 4-year-old gelding Wise Dan was cross entered in the Grade 3 River City Stakes held at Churchill Downs on 19 November over at 1 1/8 miles on turf, and the Grade 1 Clark Handicap also held at Churchill Downs on 25 November, 2011, also run
over at 1 1/8 miles but on dirt.
The winner of three rich stakes will go on to bypass Grade 3 $100,000 River City Handicap and participate in the Grade 1, $500,000 Clark Handicap.
The Kentucky bred son of Wiseman’s Ferry, out of mare Lisa Danielle by Wolf Power, Wise Dan after a dismal first half of the 2011 season, picked it up a notch after the spring/summer season and posted his first win of the season over at a mile in Grade 2
Firecracker at Churchill Downs on 4 July, 2011.
Under jockey J Court, Wise Dan bounced back from three defeats to win the Churchill Downs feature by defeating Baryshnikov and Strike Impact, who finished second and third, respectively, while covering the mile long distance in 1 minute and 34.59 seconds.
It was then over Presque Isle Downs’s cushion track where Wise Dan over at a mile won the Presque Isle Mile on 9 September, 2011, defeating the favoured runner Stunning Stag who finished third and Jimmy Simms finished second on the day.
In the Clark Handicap, other known prospects at this early date include Flat Out, Ruler On Ice, and Mission Impazible.
The inclusion of all these main protagonists makes the job even harder for Wise Dan, who is coming off a win in the Grade 2 Fayette Stakes over Keeneland’s Poly Track under Julien Leparoux.
Ioya Bigtime and Workin For Hops finished second and third, respectively, while Wise Dan covered the 1 1/8 mile distance in 1 minute and 48.72 seconds.
The Grade 2 Fayette win was redemption for losing out to Gio Ponti, Get Stormy and Sidney’s Candy to finish fourth in the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland on 8 October, 2011.
Trainer Charles Lopresti announced that he will bypass the River City Handicap, and Tajaaweed could wind up at his place in the grade 3 event.
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