Gary and Mary West’s five-time winner Most Wanted tops a competitive lineup of eight milers entered in Saturday’s $400,000 Ack Ack (G3), one of two graded stakes on the Churchill Downs card.

The Ack Ack, run at a one-turn mile, is the eighth race on an 11-race program that also features the $500,000 Lukas Classic (G2). First post is 12:45 p.m. (ET) with the Ack Ack scheduled for 4:26 p.m.

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Most Wanted will meet several proven rivals in the Ack Ack, including Hanshin (L) winner Will Take It, recent R.A. ‘Cowboy’ Jones winner Tumbarumba and defending Ack Ack winner Three Technique.

Trained by Brad Cox, Most Wanted has finished first or second in eight of nine starts while earning $910,093. As a 3-year-old, he won the Oklahoma Derby (G3) and Ellis Park Derby (L) and was runner-up in the Clark (G2). This year, the 4-year-old son of Candy Ride (ARG) captured an allowance at Churchill Downs and finished second in both the Alysheba (GII) and Challenger (G3). Irad Ortiz Jr. has the mount from the rail.

Will Take It, owned by Willis Horton Racing and Whisper Hill Farm, has not raced since scoring a neck victory over Banishing in the Hanshin Stakes on closing day of the Churchill Downs Spring Meet. The 4-year-old Tapit colt has logged eight local works for his return and will break from post No. 2 with Brian Hernandez Jr. in the irons.

Wathnan Racing’s Tumbarumba, second in last year’s Ack Ack before a fourth-place effort in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1), enters Saturday’s race following a victory in the R.A. ‘Cowboy’ Jones at Ellis Park. Trained by Brian Lynch, the 5-year-old Louisiana-bred will be ridden by Tyler Gaffalione from post 5.

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Three Technique, campaigned by Eric Gridley, David Miller, Howard Preuss, and John Werner, is set for his 45th career start and fourth Ack Ack appearance. Trained by Jason Cook, he won last year’s race by 1½ lengths before finishing 12th in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. He also was third in the 2022-23 editions of the Ack Ack. Florent Geroux rides from post 7.

The field for the Ack Ack Stakes from the rail out with (jockey, trainer):
Most Wanted (Irad Ortiz Jr., Brad Cox)
Will Take It (Brian Hernandez Jr., Dallas Stewart)
Surly Furious (Ben Curtis, Glenn Wismer)
This Is Uscar (Edgar Morales, Jordan Blair)
Tumbarumba (Tyler Gaffalione, Brian Lynch)
Indispensable (Luis Saez, John Sadler)
Three Technique (Florent Geroux, Jason Cook)
Who Dey (Luan Machado, Tommy Drury Jr.)

This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Sep 21, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.