Scully: Pick 3 play on Stephen Foster Preview Day

Saturday is Stephen Foster Preview Day at Churchill Downs, offering six prep races for the Stephen Foster (G1) program on June 28. And for the most part, the stakes action features depth and quality.

The $275,000 Blame (G2) is the main event, a 1 1/8-mile test for older horses that has attracted 10 runners, including 2024 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mystik Dan, but I will focus on the three stakes leading into the Blame for my Pick 3 play.

My single will come in the middle leg of the sequence, the $275,000 Shawnee (G3) for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on the main track. #7 Gin Gin’s (7-2) three-year-old season came to an end with a troubled last-place effort in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) last spring, and she clearly needed a race when returning with an unplaced effort at Fair Grounds earlier this year following a 7 1/2-month rest.

The four-year-old filly turned things around spectacularly while making her first start for trainer Brendan Walsh in the Doubledogdare (G3) at Keeneland, opening a commanding lead with a powerful turn of foot on the far turn and rolling to a 5 1/4-length decision, and Gin Gin was flattered when third-placer Candied came back to post a convincing win in the Allaire Du Pont over Preakness (G1) weekend.

Gin Gin will return to Churchill, where she ran well when breaking her maiden by open lengths and finishing second in the Rags to Riches S. as a juvenile, and she easily registered the top last-out Brisnet Speed rating (99) while netting a career-best in the Doubledogdare. I expect to see Gin Gin carry her form forward with another strong showing, and she projects her to leave the starting gate at much shorter odds than the 7-2 morning line price.

$5 Pick 3 ticket (races 7-9)

3,4,6 with 7 with 5,9 ($30)

Here are my thoughts on the other races.

Race 7 – Audubon S.

#6 World Beater (9-2) switched to turf with a pair of solid placings at Gulfstream and Keeneland, and the Will Walden-trained Oscar Performance colt broke through with an eye-catching performance on the Kentucky Oaks (G1) undercard, splitting rivals in the stretch to win going away. The chestnut could have more to offer here.

Stakes winner #3 Scipio (7-2) rates as a serious win contender dropping down from a seventh in the American Turf (G1), and I also will include #4 Mesero (10-1) following a commendable allowance triumph at Keeneland.

Race 9 – Arlington (G3)

#9 Brilliant Berti (7-2) started to come on last summer and concluded his three-year-old season with a pair of strong wins. Throw out his comeback in March – the middle-distance specialist isn’t as effective at nine furlongs or longer – and focus upon his sharp win in the Opening Verse S. on Kentucky Derby week; Brilliant Berti improved to 4-for-4 on Churchill’s turf and appears poised to keep developing at age four for Cherie DeVaux.

#5 Lagynos (9-2), who wound up a clear second in the Opening Verse, rates as a viable win contender for Steve Asmussen in his second turf attempt this season. Winner of the Commonwealth Turf (G3) last fall, the four-year-old stalker is eligible to get first run on the deep closers with Flavien Prat.

Join us on June 7 for a rematch that will shake the stands. Many top Kentucky Derby contenders return for the Belmont S. (G1) to fight for the finish, including probable contender Journalism, winner of Preakness 150, and Sovereignty, winner of Derby 151. Who will stand in the winner's circle for Belmont?

Stay with us throughout Belmont Day during stakes races as we bring you the latest horse racing news, live odds, expert picks, and more. It is sure to be an exciting day of racing!