Three Diamonds Farm's Atone aims to continue the follow-up success of Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T) winners in the Muniz Memorial Classic Stakes (G2T) when he races in the $300,000 event at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots March 25.
Since the Gulfstream Park Turf Stakes morphed into the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational in 2019, two winners that made their way to New Orleans for the Muniz Memorial scored further victories: Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar in 2019 and Colonel Liam in 2021. Zulu Alpha in 2020 and Colonel Liam (after a second Pegasus win in 2022) made their subsequent starts racing elsewhere.
The appeal of the Muniz for trainer Mike Maker is obvious. It is at 1 1/8 miles on grass, the distance of this year's Pegasus World Cup Turf, and comes a month and a half before the $1 million Turf Classic (G1T) on Kentucky Derby Day at Churchill Downs.
"He had a hard race in the Pegasus—so gave him just under two months," Maker said of Atone. "And now, six weeks to the Derby (Day race)—so timing's good."
Atone breaks from post 1 in a field of 10 Saturday, facing mostly locally-stabled runners, led by Two Emmys and Spooky Channel, stakes winners over the still-recovering Fair Grounds' turf course, which sustained pre-meet treatment damage. Two Emmys captured the Muniz Memorial in 2022.
Atone, with Luis Saez aboard, has never raced at Fair Grounds, though his trainer, Mike Maker, has won the Muniz Memorial, taking it in 2017 with Enterprising.
Maker said Atone's breakthrough stakes win in the $981,400 Pegasus World Cup Turf was overdue after some near misses in rich stakes.
"He had been a hard-luck horse. One of those horses you'd like to add a couple lengths to his career (form)," Maker said.
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A 6-year-old gelding by Into Mischief , Atone is now 7-4-4 in 23 starts with more than $1.1 million in earnings. He is riding a two-race win streak after taking an allowance optional claimer at Aqueduct Racetrack Nov. 10 in advance of the Pegasus World Cup Turf.
Most of his earnings have come for Three Diamonds Farm, who purchased Atone for $130,000 from breeder and original owner Godolphin from the Brookdale consignment at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton July Horses of Racing Age Sale.
Second favorite on the morning line behind 5-2 favorite Atone is 3-1 choice Two Emmys. A wire-to-wire winner of the Muniz in 2022, he also won the 2021 Mr. D. Stakes (G1T) (formerly the Arlington Million) at now-shuttered Arlington International Racecourse and was second to Colonel Liam in that year's Muniz Memorial.
A 7-year-old gelded son of English Channel campaigned by owner/trainer Hugh Robertson and co-owner Wolfe Racing, he can gain millionaire status with a victory Saturday. He has a 7-9-1 record in 24 starts.
James Graham rides the front-runner.
Atone, who has won races on the lead and from several lengths off the pace, would appear to be one of the few horses with the tactical speed to occupy Two Emmys early.
Joel Rosario picks up the ride on NBS Stable's Spooky Channel. After winning the Buddy Diliberto Memorial Stakes Dec. 26 on firm ground following a 14-month layoff, the English Channel gelding ran third over soft turf in the Jan. 28 John B. Connally Turf Cup Stakes (G3T) at Sam Houston Race Park for trainer Jason Barkley.
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, Saturday, March 25, 2023, Race 10Entries: Muniz Memorial Classic S. Presented by Horse Racing Nation (G2T)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Atone (KY) Luis Saez 124 Michael J. Maker 5/2 2 2Rising Empire (KY) Florent Geroux 118 Brendan P. Walsh 20/1 3 3Gentle Soul (KY) Reylu Gutierrez 122 W. Bret Calhoun 5/1 4 4English Tavern (KY) Deshawn L. Parker 118 Michelle Lovell 12/1 5 5Spooky Channel (KY) Joel Rosario 122 Jason Barkley 9/2 6 6Two Emmys (KY) James Graham 122 Hugh H. Robertson 3/1 7 7Another Mystery (IL) Flavien Prat 118 Chris M. Block 6/1 8 8Tiz the Bomb (KY) Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. 118 Kenneth G. McPeek 10/1 9 9Risk Manager (KY) Ricardo Santana, Jr. 118 Sarah Nicole Davidson 20/1 10 10Native Thunder (KY) Mitchell Murrill 118 Dallas Stewart 30/1
