Stakes Spot Plays for Ellis Park Sunday, Aug. 2

A handful of black-type events will close out the huge Sunday card at Ellis Park, and I have horses of interest in four of the contests. 

Race 6 – Pucker Up S. 

An octet of sophomore fillies will run 1 1/8 miles over the grass in the first stakes event of the afternoon. #8 Infinite Sky (9-2), one of two in the group for trainer Brad Cox, missed by a neck in third in an allowance race here in her 2026 debut and will be super tough with even slight improvement under Luan Machado. The Grade-2 placed daughter of Not This Time will be rolling home in the stretch in her second run of the season. 

Race 7 – Water Tower S. 

A well-matched field of three-year-old males will go nine grassy furlongs with a group of nine signed on. #8 Black Hornet (6-1) was outrun in a pair of graded races in the spring but comes in fresh in a more realistic spot for trainer Brendan Walsh. The gray son of Essential Quality beat a few nice runners in his first pair of lifetime runs on the sod and will be a major contender with his best showing beneath Tyler Gaffalione. 

Race 8 – Tri-State Turf Sprint S. 

A full field of grassy dashers will vie in arguably the most competitive race of the day. #9 Golden Afternoon (10-1) is a high-quality turf runner who is likely better going longer, but the stalker will get a nice trip in a field with a lot of pace, and the addition of blinkers might vault this one forward, too. The Goldencents gelding has fired two bullet morning drills leading up to this one, and Jaime Torres will be in the silks. 

Race 9 – Sunkissed S. 

The ladies will go one mile on the sod in this affair, and numerous runners look live in the deep group. I’ll take a shot with #5 Vive Veuve (9-2) for trainer Joe Sharp. Collected mare is not especially consistent, but the five-year-old is very capable on her best day, and the chestnut will get a healthy pace to rally into at a fair price under Brian Hernandez, Jr.