Bango, the winningest horse in Churchill Downs history and a longtime resident of trainer Greg Foley’s barn, was retired this month, bringing the end to an era. But Foley also has a rising star in his barn in Troubleshooting, who gave the trainer his first career Grade 1 win in late summer and has kept rolling since. Troubleshooting will look to continue his own winning era in the Grade 3, $300,000 Commonwealth Turf for 3-year-olds on Saturday at Churchill Downs.
Troubleshooting, a Not This Time colt who races as a homebred for Donamire Farm, has won three of his last four starts. He picked up his first stakes win in the Dade Park Dash in July at Ellis Park, then was edged by a nose there in an allowance, which was designed to serve as a prep for the lucrative Kentucky Downs meet.
The plan panned out perfectly, as Troubleshooting won the Grade 1 Franklin-Simpson on Sept. 6 at Kentucky Downs. He stretched out from that race’s 6 1/2 furlongs – which plays slightly longer on the undulating Kentucky Downs course – to a mile next out, winning the Grade 3 Bryan Station on Oct. 25 at Keeneland.
“At Kentucky Downs, a $2 million pot and a Grade 1, and then to [win at Keeneland] back to back, it’s been a heck of a ride,” Foley said.
Tyler Gaffalione, aboard for those back-to-back graded wins, will ride Troubleshooting at a slightly longer 1 1/16 miles on Saturday. That extra bit of ground should be well within his scope, as Not This Time has sired everything from crack turf sprinters like Cogburn and Cy Fair to longer-distance champions on both dirt and turf like Epicenter and Up to the Mark.
“He just gets better all the time,” Foley said of Troubleshooting. “He’s a big, gorgeous horse. He’s a homebred. [Donamire] raised him, so give them all the credit.”
Troubleshooting will shoot for his third straight graded score against some familiar faces, as well as some new foes. In the Bryan Station, Giocoso was third, Simulate was 10th after steadying early, and Plensa was 11th. Those three also have seen plenty of one another. Giocoso, a visually impressive horse who’s also by Not This Time, finally put things together by winning the Grade 2 Secretariat in August at Colonial Downs, defeating Simulate. He then finished second to Plensa in the Gun Runner at Kentucky Downs before moving on to Keeneland.
Flying Mohawk, coming back from colic surgery, makes his long-awaited return to turf. His two career wins have come on that surface, including a maiden special weight last fall at Churchill Downs. A runner-up effort in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby on Tapeta at Turfway Park this year propelled him into the Kentucky Derby, where he finished 18th.
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Flying Mohawk’s connections then eyed turf stakes for 3-year-olds, but a series of misadventures ensued. He was scratched from the Pennine Ridge in June at Saratoga, then bypassed a start at Churchill Downs later that month in order to set him up better for the Grade 1 Belmont Derby. But he ultimately missed the Belmont Derby when he underwent emergency colic surgery on July 2 in Saratoga. An uncomplicated recovery had Flying Mohawk back on the work tab Oct. 9, and he has since posted six breezes.
Stakes winners California Burrito and Mansetti are making their turf debuts after success on Tapeta. California Burrito also is coming off a layoff after a busy spring campaign. He won the John Battaglia Memorial at Turfway, the local prep for the Jeff Ruby. However, he faded to seventh in the Jeff Ruby after taking a strange step in midstretch, apparently trying to jump tire tracks. He emerged from the incident unscathed but then finished eighth in the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile, a sloppy-track affair over a one-turn mile.
Mansetti has done his best work on synthetic at Woodbine, with three stakes victories this year, including the Grade 3 Marine and a Canadian classic in the King’s Plate.
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