THE Grade 1 Stephen Foster Stakes over nine furlongs (11:03pm) is the feature at Churchill Downs tonight with Godolphin’s First Mission the short-priced favourite.

The lightly-raced four-year-old son of Street Sense comes off two wins including last time on Kentucky Derby day here when he won the Grade 2 Alysheba Stakes by an impressive four lengths.

A win would give First Mission an automatic berth in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, a race for which trainer Brad Cox has plans.

Cox was quoted this week on BloodHorse as saying: “I think he’s one of the top horses in the division. I thought he was a Grade 1 horse for a long time, and he’s going to get his opportunity.”

Second favourite Skippylongstocking, now a five-year-old, has been competitive at top level over three seasons and comes off two wins on his last outings including the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap.

Cherie DeVaux’s Into Mischief colt Pyrenees is also on a winning run, scoring in a good class Pimlico Grade 3 from today’s rival Kingsbarns last time and could give the favourites most to do.

The Grade 2 Wise Dan Stakes is off at 8.52pm and the six-runner field includes Charlie Appleby’s Ottoman Fleet. With Flavien Prat on board, he is a short price to see off his five rivals over the mile and half a furlong to add to this season’s wins at Newmarket in the Group 3 Bet365 Earl Of Sefton Stakes and the Grade 3 Arlington Stakes at Churchill Downs last time out. The Peter Eurton-trained Exaulted had a productive 2023 season winning the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile Stakes, though this is his first run since last September.

Frankie Dettori rides the third in the betting, First World War, a son of War Front for Brendan Walsh, in the American Derby (10.58pm) over the turf mile and a sixteenth, the colt owned by Qatar Racing and Hunter Valley Farm.