On paper, Bango drops in class on Friday at Churchill Downs. He will be making his first start outside of stakes company in more than two years in a $148,000 allowance/optional claimer for 3-year-olds and up who have not won four other-than, or who have not won $58,000 twice other-than in 2024, or who are entered for a claiming tag of $175,000.
But the field of five in the six-furlong sprint includes last-out Grade 1-placed Angkor, stakes winner Minnesota Ready, and the streaking Disco Ball. If Bango wants to finally claim the Churchill modern-day win record, he’ll have to earn it.
The 7-year-old Bango, a Tamaroak Stable homebred trained by Greg Foley, is seeking sole possession of the record as the winningest horse at Churchill. He is currently tied with Ready’s Rocket with 11 wins. Ready’s Rocket scored all of his wins here at the claiming or starter-allowance level. In a career spanning from 2005-12, Ready’s Rocket won 20 of 74 starts.
Bango has won 14 of 37 career starts and has earned more than $1.5 million. Although he is a stakes winner at Ellis Park and Turfway Park, and is graded stakes-placed at Keeneland, the majority of his success has come at Churchill. His local wins include the 2021 and 2022 editions of the Aristides Stakes, the 2021 running of the Kelly’s Landing, the 2022 Bet On Sunshine, the 2023 St. Matthews, and the 2023 Louisville Thoroughbred Society.
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Bango, however, is looking to get back in the winner’s circle for the first time since tying the win mark in the Louisville Thoroughbred Society in September 2023. He finished that season with a solid third, beaten a length, in the Grade 2 Phoenix at Keeneland, then was third in the Bet On Sunshine.
The popular gelding returned to the races off a six-month layoff in the St. Matthews the first week of May and faded to fourth after prompting the pace. His most recent start came in the Kelly’s Landing on June 29, when he showed little while finishing eighth.
A brief break from the races while the Kentucky circuit moved to Ellis for the summer seems to have agreed with Bango. He has fired two strong works this month at Churchill in preparation for his return, most recently going a half-mile in 46 seconds last Saturday, the fastest of 99 at the distance.
“He’s shown us in the morning that he’s still training like he was when he was at the top of his game,” Foley said. “He had a great work on Saturday – a half-mile in 46 flat, out five furlongs in 58 and 3. He was rolling right along. We’re hoping the old guy can right the ship and get the record.”
Bango is drawn on the rail under Tyler Gaffalione, and will need to show the early foot he has in the past. Angkor, the morning-line favorite with Rafael Bejarano in the irons, is well drawn to prompt the pace from post 5 – as he did when finishing third in the Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga last out behind Mullikin and Gun Pilot.
Earlier this year, Angkor showed good form at Churchill for trainer Phil Bauer, whose barn is off to a solid start at this meet. Angkor was second in the Kelly’s Landing to Closethegame Sugar, who he had previously defeated in a salty local allowance/optional-claiming race in May.
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Minnesota Ready switched to Tom Amoss’s barn earlier this year when sold as part of the dispersal of the late Robert Lothenbach. He has since won twice from six starts, taking the Colonel Power at Fair Grounds and the Speightstown Sprint at Lone Star Park, and has placed in two other stakes. Coming off an eighth-place finish going a mile at Kentucky Downs, he is getting back to a more preferred surface and distance.
Disco Ball, in for the claiming tag here, should provide early company for Bango. He was second by a neck in his first two starts this year, but has since won four straight at claiming and optional levels for three different trainers, currently David Jacobson.
Spankster, an allowance winner in May at Churchill, completes the field.
Due to an editing error, Bango's 2023 victory in the Kelly's Landing was incorrectly listed among his Churchill victories. The Kelly's Landing was run at Ellis Park in 2023.
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