LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The top challengers to Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike all squeezed in their final pre-race workouts over the weekend, preparing for their clash Friday at Churchill Downs in the $750,000 Clark, one of the final Grade 1 races of the year in North America. Brad Cox had expressed concern all week that frigid weather would preclude him from training West Will Power and Fulsome the way he wanted, leading to the two-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer saying he wasn’t quite sure either horse would be entered in the 1 1/8-mile race. But conditions were such that both Cox horses went a half-mile in 50.60 seconds over a fast Churchill track Sunday morning, and now everything is set for what should be an interesting 148th running of the Clark. West Will Power, with Luis Saez to ride, was assigned the outside post as the likely favorite in a field of seven in the Clark, while Fulsome got post 5 with Florent Geroux. Both are just to the outside of Rich Strike (post 4, Sonny Leon), who will be making his fifth start and still seeking his first win since he stunned the sports world with his 80-1 Derby triumph here in May. :: DRF Bets members get FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic. Join now! West Will Power was the easiest kind of winner in his latest race, the Grade 2 Fayette on Oct. 29 at Keeneland, and once again looks like the dominant speed. The 5-year-old Gary and Mary West homebred earned a career-best 102 Beyer Speed Figure in the Fayette. Fulsome rallied for second in the Fayette while no threat to his stablemate. The 4-year-old Juddmonte Farms homebred has two wins in four starts at Churchill, including a victory in the Grade 3 Matt Winn in May 2021. Rich Strike was scheduled to arrive here Tuesday for trainer Eric Reed, who originally had planned to put the colt away following his fourth-place finish in the Nov. 5 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland. “He came out of it doing so good that I thought, we’ve got to run him while he’s as fit and sharp as he is,” said Reed. From the rail, this is the Clark field: Proxy, Trademark, Injunction, Rich Strike, Fulsome, Last Samurai, and West Will Power. In New Orleans, where Mike Stidham has taken his main string to Fair Grounds for the winter, Proxy blew out a half-mile in 48.20 seconds Saturday. The Godolphin homebred will have Joel Rosario aboard for his first start in nearly five months. Injunction, trained by Carlo Vaccarezza, also blew out a half-mile in 50.60 seconds Sunday at Churchill. “He is training out of his mind,” said Vaccarezza. The Clark, the annual fall-meet showcase, is the 11th of 12 Friday races. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern, with the Clark going under the lights at 5:56. :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports Two races earlier, the Grade 2, $300,000 Mrs. Revere will be run on the turf as race 9 (4:57). California Angel figures among a core of lukewarm favorites in a field of 11 3-year-old fillies in the 1 1/16-mile Mrs. Revere, along with the Cox-trained Bubble Rock (Rosario) and the uncoupled Kenny McPeek pair of Lady Puchi and Lovely Princess. * Saturday at Churchill brings the second Stars of Tomorrow card of the 19-day fall meet as the Kentucky Jockey Club and Golden Rod, twin Grade 2 races for 2-year-olds and 2-year-old fillies, respectively, anchor a 12-race program exclusively for 2-year-olds. Entries will be drawn Wednesday. The meet ends Sunday with the Grade 3 Commonwealth Turf as the feature. Turfway Park in northern Kentucky begins four months of winter racing next Wednesday evening. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.