CC Canterbury
$150.000 5 1/2 Furlongs Turf
Three Year Olds And Upward.
Have Started for Claiming Price of $25.000 or Less Since 1/1/24
Churchill Downs November 15, 2025
The Claiming Crown series of stakes races is unique and theoretically provides a stakes opportunity for talented horses away from the monsters of the game. A requirement for entry is that you must have been in a claiming race at some point within the last months. I say theoretically because it is not unusual in our game to see some of our biggest races won by horses who were smartly plucked out of claiming races. As such, these races are full of very talented horses, and they draw overflow fields. Ironically, these races turn out to be some of the toughest races to win all season long.
1. South Star (Onlineracingclub.com/J. McKee) Claimed for only $10.500 in June of 2024. Has started twelve times since that time and has won five times since then and only been outside of the top three only once. One of those races was this same race a year ago and he finished third only missing by less than a length. He drew post fourteen last year and draws post one this year which gives him the perfect chance to use his early speed and come away with a win.
2. Conspiracy Theory (Jormav/G. Corrales) Lightly raced five-year-old gelding that was just recently claimed for $25.000 one month ago. Claimed from the powerhouse Mb Stables you have to think Jormav might have had this race in mind. Mb rarely lets a good one go but this horse has never been off the board and is still showing speed in morning works so might not be done yet. His two wins have been while sprinting on grass so he could provide an immediate return for his new trainer.
3. Marcus Antoninus (Mojica Racing/J.L. Ortiz) Claimed for $10.000 back in February and was a State bred stakes winner in his very next start for Mojica Racing. Did not disgrace himself in a G1 effort going long but has seen his success at shorter distances. He is in good form coming off of a win in his last start at SA and just missing by a neck in an open stake race the start before that. Very strong contender.
4. Kings Path (La Canada Racehorses/S. Sanjur) He was claimed for $13.000 in September last season and has been productive for his new trainer. He was stakes placed earlier in the year and has been very competitive and a winner in higher level optional claiming races. Dropped down to a $20.000 claiming level in his last race and he picked up a confidence boosting win. On form alone I might not put him on top, but you cannot ignore the scorching works.
5. Greek Knight (Mb Stables/I. Ortiz Jr.) Has only been to the starting gate six times and was put at risk for only a $6.250 claiming tag in his second start. He won that race by six lengths and his owner has kept him protected since. He finished right with the rival in post 3 here while closing fast in a Saratoga turf sprint stakes race this past summer. His last race had to be a disappointment but that was on a wet track so you might draw a line through it since his trainer gives him another stakes chance here.
6. Law Of The Land (Maxmillion Farm/A. Cedillo) Was in a claiming race as low as $14.000 but was privately sold for $25.000 in May. Maximillion almost scored a state bred stakes win immediately in his next start and then aggressively entered him in the G2 Woodford so there is confidence there. He did not threaten in that event but he started from post eleven so he may have had too much to overcome in that one.
7. The Manhunt (Simmer Down Stable/T. Gaffalione) He was claimed for $25.000 in April and has since hit the winners circle three times for his new connections. However, the three times he has not won he did not hit the board and those were all in stakes company. He has been struggling to make his mark in stakes company but given the condition for entry here he may find the going more to his liking.
8. Roswell (Mb Stables/D. Davis) The second entry from the perennial leading trainer. He was claimed for $40.000 in July of 2024, and his current trainer has protected him ever since which speaks volumes. He comes to the end of eligibility for this race as he has not been in a qualifying claiming race since March of last year. He has been carefully handled (as you would expect) and was a successful allowance level performer before jumping up and gaining a stakes win in August at the prestigious Saratoga meet. That encouraged entry in the G2 Nearctic where he acquitted himself well finishing fifth but only losing by a half a length while putting up a triple digit SRF speed figure. Is not in this one to lose.
9. Cambridge (Spb Racing/F. Geroux) Hardly ever runs a bad race. With that said you have to realize that the company he has been keeping is definitely not the caliber he will be facing here. His speed figures are solid, and his works are good. I think he will be forwardly placed as is his usual approach, but I don’t know if he is going to prove strong enough in this race.
10. Our Holiday (Night Rider Stables/A. Beschizza) Comes by his qualifying for this race via entry in a $25.000 claiming race in January of 2024. He has competed well in high level claiming races and conditional allowances. He also is just a neck shy of being a graded stakes winner when he missed taking the Highlander Stakes at Woodbine in June finishing second to Whoa Bo who went on to just lose the BC Turf Sprint by a length (finishing ninth in the way of HRP so qualify that). It understandably encouraged his trainer to keep him competing at that graded level, but he failed to impress in his following two G2 races. His last was good in a high-level optional claimer at Aqueduct when back to showing early speed so he probably comes in here sharp and back to his front running ways.
11. Neon Delite (Temulac Farm/M. Gutierrez) Purchased privately for $100.000 in July. Competed in BC Sprint in 2024 after winning the G2 Phoenix so this is a rags to riches claiming success story as he was claimed for $20.000 in May of last year. His trainer comes in off of an incredibly successful and savvy freshmen season and has placed his new acquisition well since the purchase. He has finished two close up thirds in stakes races and most recently won an open allowance at Parx. He has not run a bad race yet for these connections but isn’t not helped by his outside draw.
12. Sweeping Star (Black N Gold Stable/T.W. Bacon) Claimed for just $18.000 in June he missed winning the G2 Nearctic in his last race by just a head with a gaudy 102 SRF as a result. He definitely has the speed to get a forward position from his outside post but in a race filled with a lot of quality early speed it is a big ask and could take too much out of him to employ that tactic, but I don’t see what his options are. However, if you look down his past performance there is hardly ever a race where he isn’t a factor when they come to the wire. Have to consider him off of his last race alone.
13. Onebreathatatime (La Canada Racehorses/L.R. Rivera) Qualified for this race off of his debut entry at the $15.000 claiming level and his follow up maiden win at that same level. Trainer has kept him safe since and he has won five of fifteen starts and been second another five times. Two of those runner-up finishes were in his only two stakes efforts and you can’t blame his trainer for taking a shot here although he has to be a little disappointed with the draw given that he is also being asked to face a tougher field on the surface of things.
14. Imposing Scenario (The Sidley Stud/I. Castillo) Five-year-old gelding was claimed for $6.250 last summer and has been a graded stakes performer almost exclusively since the end of last season. He has finished in the money at that higher level four times so he can compete with the best. Won the AQU Turf Sprint Championship in his last race and he overcame post ten to boot so he comes in sharp and is an obvious contender, but he was able to get out early and control the pace in his last race and he will not get that luxury here.
AE. Dead Cat Bounce (Asgar/TBD) State bred stakes winner in 2023 but hasn’t been able to repeat that kind of success since. Won an open allowance in his last so may be rounding back to his best form.
AE. Hooligan (Invicta Group Llc/TBD) Has been running successfully in claiming events since being sold privately for $1.000 in July, but this would be a massive step up in class.
It is hard to discount any entrant in this field, and no one would be a massive surprise. I would look for someone in this race who can stalk and pounce since this seems filled with speedy sorts who a speed duel seems most likely. Given that pace scenario my pick in this one goes to Roswell. Yes, he finished behind Sweeping Star in their last, but he gets the better draw here and I think his running style gives him an edge. Sweeping Star would be my second pick with Kings Path as my dark horse outsider for third.
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded