Baby Talk Info & Intel: Churchill Downs – Race 1 – Friday, June 6, 2025
Nine fillies are set to square off in this 4 ½ furlong dash on the dirt. Only one gal has been out in the afternoon, and she’s done it twice. Maxfield is the only First-Crop sire represented, but we’ve also got runners in this one from Practical Joke, Maclean’s Music, Authentic, and American Pharoah. Let’s peel this onion back and break it down…
#2 Nanzig (20/1) – John Ennis (6.1%) saddles this homebred filly, who is by Maclean’s Music (13.5%). Her mom, by Grand Slam, won only once from nine starts and has foaled ten other babies of racing age. This gal has two races under her belt – her first was a disappointing effort at Keeneland, and her most recent was here under the Twin Spires in mid-May. On that day, she pushed the pace, but was beaten by nine lengths with a third-place finish. She only earned a 59 Equibase Speed Rating for that effort. Her tab hasn’t shown any workouts since her last outing.
#3 Lilies N Paradise (9/2) – This filly is by Debut Sire Maxfield and is thrown by a Yes It’s True mare. Mama was only one for nine while a racer, but she has two other foals of racing age, with one winning in her first outing as a 2YO at DelMar. Her only other career race was a runner-up performance in a Grade 2 affair while still a juvenile. Mike Maker (2/16, 12.5%) will saddle her up for her debut run today, and to prep for it, she’s drilled on five morning occasions (18 total furlongs), all here at Churchill.
#4 Pulstar (3/1) – The Morning Line favorite comes out of the Wes Ward barn (4/26, 15.4%). She’s sired by Kantharos (12.3%), and her broodmare sire is Quality Road. On the track, her dam won two races from the seven that she started and cashed in for $57,000. She has one other foal of racing age, an unnamed three-year-old. Today’s runner never went through a ring at public auction, and this will be her first afternoon outing. She’s worked five times (19 furlongs), all at KEE. Interestingly, her fastest workout was her first. On 4/30/25, she traveled three panels in 35.8 seconds from the gate to earn a bullet (1/11). Her second breeze was 5/9/25 when she went a half mile in 48 seconds flat (7/66).
#5 Spa Prospector (4/1) – A filly whose stallion is the Triple Crown winning Authentic (8.5%), this gal comes from a Bernardini mare that scored twice in three starts on the track, banking $73,000. She has two other foals of racing age, both won as babies. One was a first-out winner at the Spa, and the other was victorious in their third effort at IND. Today’s competitor was a $100K RNA as a weanling in 2023, but then brought $450K last year as a yearling. Trainer Tom Amoss (10/31, 32.3%) started working her in Lexington at Keeneland on 4/29/25, and she took three morning spins there before a van ride west on I-64 to Churchill for two more (for a total of 18 furlongs). Her two drills at CD were both accomplished in 48.4 seconds for four panels (2/7 & 4/13), with her most recent coming out of the gate.
#7 What’s a Good Name (6/1) – The first of two that Steve Asmussen (26/108, 24.1%) will send out is a homebred from J. Kirk and Judy Robison, and comes from a cross of Grazen and Diabolical. Her New Mexico-bred dam has produced five other foals of racing age – one ran 43 times and was the victor on 11 occasions, earning over half a million dollars, and boasts a win as a First-Time starting 2YO at Zia Park. Another offspring scored as a juvey in their fourth start. Mom won five times from nine tries and contributed nearly $300K to the Robison’s bank account. Five KEE spins and one recently at CD (22 total furlongs) represent the worktab for today’s filly. On 5/14/25 at Keeneland, she zipped four poles from the gate in 46.6 seconds for a bullet effort (1/50).
My Pick – This is a decent field, but I very much like the dam side of #5 Spa Prospector – she’s my pick. In a perfect world, I’d like to see a more successful sire, but Amoss is a wrecking ball in the Spring at Churchill with the babies, and this filly has been working solidly, although not wickedly fast.