Du Jour will attempt to win back-to-back Grade 1 races on Monday when he faces eleven challengers in the $300,000 Shoemaker Mile on turf at Santa Anita.
Du Jour, trained by Bob Baffert, won his first top-level race, the Frank E. Kilroe Mile (G1), on March 3 at Santa Anita. He finished two lengths ahead of runner-up Easter, who also competes in the Shoemaker.
Flavien Prat rode Du Jour in the Kilroe and now has the call. Du Jour, a 6-year-old gelding by Temple City, has a 17: 6-3-2 record and earned $1,118,220 for owners Natalie J. Baffert and Debbie Lanni. Last year, Du Jour won the Del Mar Mile (G2) in September and the limited Wickerr Stakes at mile in July, both at Del Mar.
Trainer Phil D'Amato competed in both Easter and Conclude. Easter's runner-up performance in the Kilroe ended a three-race winning streak. Before that, the 6-year-old France-bred gelding by Exosphere had won the San Gabriel (G2) at Santa Anita in December, the Seabiscuit (G2) at Del Mar in November, and the restricted Lure Stakes at Santa Anita in October.
Easter, who will be joined by regular rider Antonio Fresu, received no benefits in Friday's post-position draw. He'll break from the far outside in post number 11. Easter has a 20-game career record of 7-4-3 with earnings of $627,910, including eight starts in his home France. Madaket Stables is now doing Easter marketing.
Conclude, a four-time stakes winner will have his first start since winning the Del Mar Derby (G2) on September 3. The 4-year-old Collected colt has worked eight times since April 2 in preparation for his comeback, including a pair of bullet five-furlong drills on Santa Anita's synthetic training track earlier this month.
Before winning the Del Mar Mile, Conclude had won the Oceanside Stakes at Del Mar in July and the Desert Code on Santa Anita's hillside turf track in May. He will be ridden by Hector Berrios, who was on board for the Del Mar Derby and Oceanside victories.
Conclude is owned by Little Red Feather and Madaket Stables and has a 6: 4-1-0 record with earnings of $359,600.