JC / Railbird

Iroquois Stakes

First Impressions

The lights are impossible to miss. Heavy poles with banks of high-powered bulbs circle the racetrack, evenly spaced without exception for the iconic twin spires view. I stood among the apron box seats on Sunday with Ernie Munick, taking my first long look at Churchill Downs, at the winner’s circle and finish line familiar through TV. “You can’t watch races from the rail,” he said. Caught between my naive surprise that Churchill was more modern than I anticipated and awe at standing only a few feet away from the oval over which generations of Kentucky Derby winners have run, I sighed. “What’s a railbird to do?”

Watch from the balcony, of course. That’s Astrology on the inside, winning the G3 Iroquois Stakes by 2 3/4 lengths. “He’s a beautiful colt, and he has a ton of ability,” trainer Steve Asmussen told Gary West after the race, the fourth start for the 2-year-old colt. It’s just taken him some time to put it all together.

Disclosure/promotion for the week ahead: I’m at Churchill working on Breeders’ Cup 360. We’re streaming the Breeders’ Cup draw live on Tuesday! And I’ll be tweeting, etc. from the backstretch. You can follow here.

Posted in Racing on October 31, 2010 / Tagged Astrology, BC360, Breeders' Cup, Churchill Downs, Iroquois Stakes, Juveniles, Twin Spires