There are two weekends left in Churchill Downs’ fall meet, and prior to an extremely active three-day stretch under the Twin Spires starting on Thanksgiving, horseplayers can dig into a strong card this Saturday, Nov. 23, anchored by a pair of graded stakes. The first of those, the Grade 3 Chilukki Stakes, is named after the 1999 Eclipse Award winner as champion 2-year-old filly who went on to victory in what was then the Churchill Downs Distaff Handicap at age 3 in 2000. This year’s renewal drew a field of eight fillies and mares ages 3 and older, and the lone 3-year-old in the field could very well be the post-time favorite.

1. Imonra (12-1 morning-line odds): Enters off of a fourth-place finish to stablemate Soul of an Angel in the Princess Rooney Invitational Stakes, and the winner captured the PNC Bank Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint next out. She was no threat in the Princess Rooney, however, and has been overmatched more often than not in stakes appearances, still seeking her first win at that level after nine tries.

Jockey: Luis Saez; Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr.

2. Pigalle (9-2): Claiborne Farm homebred earned the first triple-digit Equibase Speed Figures of her career in her two most recent starts, an upset win in the one-mile Groupie Doll Stakes at Ellis Park followed by a fourth in the Fasig-Tipton Locust Grove Stakes going two turns at Churchill. She took a brief lead in the stretch in the Locust Grove before tiring, and cutting back to one turn should be beneficial.

Jockey: Luan Machado; Trainer: Tom Drury Jr.

3. Taxed (4-1): Has earned more than $700K through 17 starts by running well enough to secure minor purse awards in graded stakes, but Taxed hasn’t won at that level since taking the George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes back in May 2023. She did win an allowance race at this track and distance in May of this year with a 102 Equibase Speed Figure, which makes her worthy of consideration as a trifecta filler at least.

Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr.; Trainer: Randy Morse

4. Two Sharp (2-1): Three-year-old filly has plenty of upside having made only four starts, all since late June, posting a pair of wins and runner-up finishes at sprint distances, one of those seconds coming by a neck in a Grade 3 at Saratoga. She enters off of a blowout 6 ¼-length score in a 6 ½-furlong race at Keeneland in October and should have no problem stretching out another furlong and half in this race. Might be overbet but appears formidable in this spot as she’s been working up a storm at Churchill in recent weeks and also adds blinkers.

Jockey: Junior Alvarado; Trainer: Phil Bauer

Two Sharp (Coady Media)

5. Royal Spa (8-1): Still seeking a first stakes win after 13 starts and was no threat in her most recent two attempts at the graded level, both coming at Churchill last spring-summer. Hot jockey-trainer combo boosts her profile enough to give her some appeal as an exotics filler, but that’s about it.

Jockey: Flavien Prat; Trainer: Rodolphe Brisset

6. Positano Sunset (10-1): This filly has gone winless through six appearances this year but did finish second in a pair of stakes, including a solid runner-up effort behind Vahva back in June in the Chicago Stakes at Churchill, where she outfinished subsequent Grade 1 winner Society. She couldn’t hold on as the odds-on favorite in her most recent race, a two-turn, 1 1/16-mile allowance race at Keeneland, and is another contender who should prefer cutting back to one turn here.

Jockey: Julien Leparoux; Trainer: Ian Wilkes

7. Oeuvre (6-1): The most experienced runner in this field by far, she’s earned more than $921K by winning an impressive 17 of 32 career starts. Eleven of those have come on dirt, but her best races on that surface have been at Hawthorne drubbing fellow Illinois-breds. Still, she’s earned enough triple-digit Equibase figures in the past to rate an upset chance with a top effort.

Jockey: Jareth Loveberry; Trainer: Chris Block

8. Fancy (6-1): Daughter of Triple Crown winner Justify has stepped it up a notch in her past three races, with a near-miss, runner-up finish to Pigalle in the Groupie Doll splitting a pair of allowance wins at Churchill and most recently Keeneland. Does her best running at this distance and on Churchill’s dirt.

Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione; Trainer: Brendan Walsh

THE PICK: Two Sharp

LIVE LONGSHOT: Positano Sunset

SUPERFECTA: 4-2-7-6