Grade 1 winner Further Ado is the even-money favorite in the $500,000 Matt Winn Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs but those odds don't reflect the stout competition he'll face June 7 in the 1 1/16-mile test.
Spendthrift Farm's son of Gun Runner has already had a sparkling year with trainer Brad Cox that includes winning the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at Keeneland by 11 lengths ahead of the Kentucky Derby (G1), where he left the gate as the favorite. Further Ado advanced up to fourth in the Derby after 6 furlongs but then the rough traffic took its toll and he faded to 11th.
While Further Ado has done his best running at Keeneland, he also won the 1 1/16-mile Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) at Churchill last November. He will break from post 7 in the Matt Winn with Irad Ortiz Jr. in the irons, just as he was in the Blue Grass.
Further Ado will face in the Matt Winn two other contenders who endured similar fates in the Kentucky Derby and, though they are not grade 1 winners, enjoyed successful runs up to the premier American classic. They include Speedway Stables' morning-line second choice Potente and Reddam Racing's homebred Pavlovian.
Potente, a son of Into Mischief and a $2.4 million sales yearling, won the San Felipe Stakes (G2) before running second in the Santa Anita Derby (G1) to So Happy. Potente is trained by Bob Baffert, who said the colt that made his racing debut in January might have been rushed into the Derby "a little bit."
"He's lightly raced, rushed him into the Derby a little bit," Baffert told Daily Racing Form. "Sometimes you got to hit the reset button once the Derby is over."
Potente will break from post 2 and be ridden by Florent Geroux.
Pavlovian won the Sunland Park Derby before running second by a head to Emerging Market in the Louisiana Derby (G2). Trained by Doug O'Neill, Pavlovian has the most racing experience in the eight-horse Matt Winn field with 11 career starts, in which he's finished in the money seven times. The colt is a son of Pavel , who stands at Reddam's Ocean Breeze Ranch in Southern California.
Outside of the Kentucky Derby contenders, a few others have shown some ability to be competitive.
Winchell Thoroughbreds and owner/breeder Stonestreet Stables have entered Taptastic, a son of Tapit out the grade 1-placed, graded stakes winner Valadorna. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Taptastic ran third in the Arkansas Derby (G1) before running a close fourth May 2 in an allowance-level 1 1/16-mile race at Churchill Downs. The colt has been working solidly at Churchill since his last start. Jose Ortiz has the mount.
Allied Racing Stable will test its homebred Our Moneyman in open stakes company for the first time. Bret Calhoun trains the son of Mr. Money who has finished first or second in six of seven career starts. His last win was in the non-black-type 1 1/16-mile Crescent City Derby at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. Our Moneyman will be ridden by Axel Concepcion, who has been the colt's regular rider.
Churchill Downs, Sunday, June 7, 2026, Race 8Entries: Matt Winn S. (G3)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Stop the Car (KY) Tyler Gaffalione 118 Brendan P. Walsh 8/1 2 2Potente (KY) Florent Geroux 123 Bob Baffert 7/2 3 3Pavlovian (CA) Luis Saez 118 Doug F. O'Neill 10/1 4 4Our Moneyman (LA) Axel Concepcion 118 W. Bret Calhoun 15/1 5 5Corona de Oro (KY) Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. 118 Dallas Stewart 12/1 6 6Taptastic (KY) Jose L. Ortiz 118 Steven M. Asmussen 9/2 7 7Further Ado (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 123 Brad H. Cox 1/1 8 8Steel Imperium (KY) Vincent Cheminaud 118 Caio Caramori 30/1
