CHURCH AND STATE, the undefeated two-year-old gelding owned by Dominic DiLalla’s Centennial Farms Niagara, is set to make his stakes debut this Saturday, January 18 at Turfway Park in Florence, KY. The gelding is one of eight sophomores entered for the $125,000 Leonatus Stakes.
The one-mile contest on the Tapeta synthetic surface is carded as the sixth of 10 races with a post time of 8:25 p.m. EST and a first race post of 5:55. The Leonatus Stakes serves as the local prep for the John Battaglia Memorial on Feb. 22, a points prep for Kentucky Derby 2025. It also leads to the March 22 Jeff Ruby, a win-and-you’re-in qualifier for the Derby.
Church and State is a Kentucky-bred son of Caravaggio trained by Dale Desruisseaux and he is two-for-two at Woodbine with victories in a Nov. 15 maiden special weight and a Dec. 6 first-level allowance.
DiLalla, owner of Centennial Construction, bought the gelding as a ‘short’ yearling for $15,000 at the Keeneland January sale of 2023.
Jockey Rafael Hernández, who guided Church and State to both Canada victories, will ride the gelding from post seven.
Church and State figures to vie for favouritism with Banks, who has post four. Owned by Tom Lambro and trained by Joe Sharp, Banks has excelled at Turfway, breaking his maiden Dec. 5 in a restricted maiden special weight. He returned three weeks later to defeat nine rivals in a first-level allowance contest. The gelded son of Outwork will be ridden by Adam Beschizza.
Turfway was forced to cancel last weekend’s race due to heavy snow and cold temperatures. Canadian trainer Earhart (Fr) was expected to make her stakes debut in the Jan. 11 Likely Exchange Stakes, but the race has been moved to Jan. 24.
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