Baby Talk Info & Intel: Churchill Downs – Races 1 & 5 – Thursday, June 19, 2025

Race 1

Nine fillies square off in this five furlong sprint on the turf. Six of these gals have never performed in the afternoon, and one of the three experienced runners has done it twice. On the sire side, we don’t have any First-Crop sires represented. Let’s see what we’ve got…

#1 Meringue 10/1 – A filly that never went through the sales ring and is a First-Time starter, this gal is by Frosted (14.4%). Mom, by Street Sense, was 0 for 2 on the racetrack, and this is her first foal. Trainer Rudophe Brisset has been prepping her since late April at Keeneland with seven morning works (27 furlongs), her last covered five furlongs. She’s had some interesting works with stablemate Kingsolver. On 5/22/25, she went a half mile in 47.8 seconds, breaking slowly from the gate, but then this gal moved at a great clip (7/54).

#4 Delightful Darling 7/2 – This filly is a homebred from Debby Oxley and she was sired by Flameaway (14.5%). Her unraced Bernardini dam has tossed seven other foals of racing age, with three having won MSW races as babies (two of those winning as firsters). Mark Casse (5/46, 10.9%) will be saddling this gal in the afternoon for the first time. She began her work at KEE with four works before heading west on I-64 for two more spins over the Churchill oval. All six workouts were done over four panels. No drills were available on video, but on 5/18/25, she went a half mile in 48 seconds flat from the gate (7/99).

#9 Vibora 5/2 – Wesley Ward (4/26, 15.4%) will saddle this filly as the Morning Line favorite. She has been out one time before. On 4/18/25, she finished a rather dull seventh at Keeneland. Hootenanny (4/11, 36.4%) is her sire, and Ghostzapper is her damsire, who ran in ten races and won three of those, netting $76,000. Mom has thrown four other foals of racing age, but three of those have yet to make it to the track in the afternoon. Ward put her right back to work after her debut, having breezed six times at KEE, all at a half mile. The only one that was available appeared to be a bit of a maintenance work with Diblasi, who recently won at Saratoga.

My Pick – Honestly, I’m struggling with this affair. However, true to form, I’m going to choose one (and only one) to win. My pick is #9 Vibora. Although I dislike picking the ML favorite, especially when it appears to be a wide open race, I’ve vowed to give horses that have previously started more credit. I also like that she worked with Diblasi and has six moves, 24 furlongs, since her one afternoon run. Let’s give her a shot and see if she can improve on her debut performance.

Race 5

This five furlong dash on the grass has 10 fillies that have been entered. Only three have raced, one of those having competed twice. Omaha Beach has two daughters set to go, along with one each from Authentic, American Pharoah, Tiz the Law, Connect, Twirling Candy, and Practical Joke. Let’s pull this field apart and break it down with details…

#5 Clowning Around 3/1 – The Morning Line favorite is conditioned by Wes Ward (he also owns and bred her) – 4/26, 15.4%, and this filly’s sire is also by Hootenanny (4/11, 36.4%). Mama is a French-bred mare by Orpen who won at first asking in France in April of her 2YO year and went on to win a total of four races from 13 starts and $161,000 in earnings. She’s produced four other foals of racing age, one of which won as a first in April of their juvenile year at KEE. This filly has run twice, once in early April at Keeneland and most recently at CD when she ran a stalking second. Ward then shipped her back to Lexington for work on 6/13/25 at KEE. That breeze covered a half mile, and this filly was situated a couple of lengths behind a good-looking Maclean’s Music filly. The final time was 47 seconds flat, a bullet move (1/50).

#6 Together Again (12/1) – A First-Time starter, this filly is a Tracy Farmer homebred and one of two trained by Mark Casse (5/46, 10.9%). She is sired by Connect (10.0%), and her dam is by Sky Mesa. Mom won twice in 11 starts with $142K in earnings. One of her victories was her second start as a baby at Saratoga, and she also scored in a stakes event while still a juvey. This is her first foal. Today’s competitor has worked four times, each time at half a mile, with her first two at Keeneland and most recent pair here under the Twin Spires. She had a very interesting workmate in her last breeze – a 6YO filly who has won eight times and $300K+ in purse money.

#9 Undercover Agent (5/1) – This Florida-bred filly is the second starter in this one for Mark Casse (5/46, 10.9%). She comes from Omaha Beach (15.3%), and her broodmare sire is Hook and Ladder. Mama won more than half of her starts (five for nine), including a score in her first race as a baby at Hollywood Park, and finished with $230K in the bank. She’s thrown eight other foals of racing again; however, none have been standouts. The hammer fell to D. J. Stable earlier this year when today’s runner was a 2YO for $385K (2/25). Today will be her debut, and to prep for that, Casse has worked her a half dozen times, all at four panels, with the first four at Keeneland and the last two at Churchill. The three works that are available to view have been very impressive, including her most recent on 6/11/25 at CD. On that day, she broke quickly from the gate and ended up running away from her workmate (and had a strong gallop out), finishing the half mile work in 48.2 seconds (11/65).

My Pick – is #9 Undercover Angel. She’s been working great, and I’m a big fan of Omaha Beach. The turf record of his babies in 2YO MSW events over the past five years is a respectible 11 for 79, 13.9%. Her female side is encouraging, too, with her mom having won as a firster. A bit concerned that mama hasn’t produced much, but this gal sold extremely well as a juvey, and I think she’s gonna win this one.