Churchill Downs Stakes 2021 Results: Flagstaff gets the nod

Going into the Churchill Downs Stakes there is little doubt that the sentimental favorite was Whitmore. This eight-year-old had a fine win at Keeneland last November in the Breeders' Cup Sprint having raced four years on the spin in the same race - he finally got the win in 2020. Sentiment though doesn't win races and he'll be happy C Z Rocket isn't in the field.

Our picks for this one were Tap It to Win for both J.N. and myself. The Mark Casse four-year-old has a very nice looking bloodline and had a nice 2021 debut run at Tampa Bay Downs in March to get his campaign going. He moved into the favorite position Pre-Race. Sean has found some value with Endorsed.

'Another reason for his (Endorsed) sudden turnaround could be the general potency of Bill Mott horses at Gulfstream this winter, but while I was initially dubious of Mott runners as they ventured away from South Florida in the spring, there’s been no such drop off. Whatever the case may be, I believe the new and improved Endorsed is here to stay, and at a juicy 12-1 on the morning line I think he’s a reliable contender in this chaotic race.' Sean wrote in his preview.

What we got was another absolutely fantastic finish. We thought Jackie's Warrior and Dream Shake gave us something to enjoy earlier in the Pat Day but with a sixteenth of a mile to go they were four wide and with ten strides left in the race there were still three. Lexitonian, Whitmore and Flagstaff were the three all vying for the win. It was the one in the middle - Flagstaff - who got the nod on the line to win under a great job of jockeying from Luis Saez.

Lexitonian was a very big-priced second with Whitmore third. The Breeders' Cup Sprint winner from a year ago showed that he still has it and will be a contender for the big sprint races this year despite running without Lasix.

Flagstaff paid out $11.80 for the win with the Place for Lexitonian a whopping $37.40. If you had the Exacta then enjoy your $715.20 payout for a $2 stake and the Superfecta - well $405,179.50 would be quite the pay day for anyone who nailed that. Well played.

*The Kentucky Derby is coming up later this Saturday late-afternoon/early evening and you can bet on the race and get all our views on the 19 horses set to run via our Derby hub-page below...