Cadet Corps (Photo by Coady Media)
Defending qualifier winners Cadet Corps and One Time Willard will attempt to repeat in Saturday’s $100,000 Jewel Qualifier and $87,500 Emerald Qualifier, the two richest races on Claiming Crown Showcase Day at Colonial Downs.
The two veterans are owned by Kenwood Racing and trainer Kelly Breen. Each won his corresponding Colonial Downs qualifier last year, and Cadet Corps went on to finish second in the Claiming Crown Jewel at Churchill Downs.
For the second consecutive year, Colonial Downs will host qualifying races for the Claiming Crown. The top two finishers in each of Saturday’s nine starter handicaps will earn automatic berths in the 28th Claiming Crown, scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 14, at Churchill Downs.
The nine starter handicaps on Saturday’s 11-race program offer combined purses of $612,500. First post for Saturday’s 11-race Claiming Crown Showcase Day program is 12:30 p.m. ET.
CADET CORPS DEFENDS JEWEL QUALIFIER TITLE AGAINST FIELD OF EIGHT
The 1 1/8-mile Jewel Qualifier drew a field of eight, with Cadet Corps’ proven ability over the distance separating him from several challengers facing questions at nine furlongs. The race is open to horses which have started for a claiming price of $35,000 or less in 2025 or 2026.
After winning the 2025 Jewel Qualifier, Cadet Corps delivered an outstanding performance in the Claiming Crown Jewel at Churchill Downs. Forced wide, he overcame significant ground loss to finish second behind rail-skimming winner Double Your Money. Cadet Corps then raced in Grade 3 company twice before returning to the optional-claiming ranks. The 7-year-old remains in pursuit of his first victory of the season and will be ridden by Paco Lopez.
Flying P Stable’s American Law has demonstrated that he can handle the distance, finishing second twice in four attempts at 1 1/8 miles. The Sarah Shaffer trainee also competed in last year’s Claiming Crown Jewel. Dismissed at 88-1, he endured an exceptionally troubled trip yet crossed the finish line only eight lengths back. Jareth Loveberry has the call.
Groveland’s two previous nine-furlong attempts came in the 2023 West Virginia Derby and Oklahoma Derby. Now making his third start for HRH Racing and Eddie Kenneally, also his trainer, the 6-year-old followed a fast-closing narrow defeat June 25 at Churchill Downs with a victory at Ellis Park in which he displayed strong tactical speed. Mychel Sanchez will ride.
Groveland’s two previous nine-furlong attempts came in the 2023 West Virginia Derby and Oklahoma Derby. The 6-year-old, owned by HRH Racing and trainer Eddie Kenneally, will make his third start for Kenneally. He followed a fast-closing, narrow defeat June 25 at Churchill Downs with a victory at Ellis Park, where he displayed strong tactical speed. Mychel Sanchez will ride.
Nogradi has flourished since joining trainer Keri Brion’s barn in December. Owned by Michael Foster, he won three consecutive races before facing stronger competition at Churchill Downs, where a lack of early pace compromised his late-running style and resulted in a third-place finish. He rebounded with a strong one-mile victory June 5, prompting his connections to try Saratoga, where Nogradi most recently finished fourth in a first-level allowance at the Jewel distance.
The rapidly improving Majorca enters with five victories from six starts this season for trainer Daniel Eubanks. Owned by Rising Sun Racing Stables, Darkside Racing and Paul Willis, the 4-year-old has won those five races by a combined 20 3/4 lengths. That makes him one of the most intriguing challengers to the defending champion.
The Jewel Qualifier is scheduled as Race 10.
ONE TIME WILLARD FACES DEEP EMERALD QUALIFIER FIELD
Graded-stakes experience, sharp recent form and the defending champion converge in the Emerald Qualifier, which is slated as Saturday’s finale. A dozen older males who have started for a claiming price of $25,000 or less in 2025 or 2026 were entered for the 1 1/16-mile turf test.
One Time Willard will defend his title after winning a local allowance that was transferred from the turf. It was his first victory since last year’s Emerald Qualifier. The 7-year-old New Jersey-bred had posted slower speed figures in his intervening starts, but his latest tally may signal a return to form. Samuel Marin, aboard for that score, retains the mount.
Liberty House Racing and Penwood Racing’s What Say Thee brings graded-stakes experience for trainer Horacio De Paz. Claimed for $25,000 from Mike Maker, the 8-year-old gelding promptly won a second-level allowance in his first start for his new connections. He then finished fourth behind Fort Washington in the Grade 3 Dinner Party before producing a determined third-place effort behind Thundering in the Japan Racing Association Turf Cup at Laurel Park.
Joe Sharp sends out TEC Racing’s Westside Tide, who makes his first start for the barn after being claimed for $75,000 in mid-June. The 5-year-old horse, a three-time turf winner who contested the Grade 3 Canadian Turf earlier this season, finished three-quarters of a length short of a stakes victory in the Appleton at Gulfstream Park in March. Paco Lopez takes the call.
Atlantic Six Racing’s Two’s a Crowd enters as one of the field’s sharpest runners. A nose separates the 5-year-old gelding from a six-race winning streak. He has succeeded in handicap, claiming and open allowance company since trainer Derek Ryan returned him to turf this season. Two’s a Crowd owns three victories from four starts at the Emerald distance.
Fields for the Jewel Qualifier and the Emerald Qualifier can be found on Equibase: https://www.equibase.com/
