The short Kentucky Downs all-turf meeting is scheduled to begin with a bang Sept. 6 with four stakes on the 10-race card at the unique Franklin, Ky. track.
After rain forced opening day to be postponed from Sept. 2 to Sept. 6, the track opted to not redraw the fields for the card. Following is a preview of the day's four stakes races that initially that ran ahead of the planned Sept. 2 races.
Leading the way in terms of stakes purses on opening day is the $400,000 Tourist Mile Stakes for 3-year-olds and older going one mile on the undulating course. The race, named after last year's Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) winner, has attracted nine entries including Ken and Sarah Ramsey's Shining Copper, who will be making his 2017 debut after placing in a pair of grade 1 stakes last year. Also entered are Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, and Susan Magnier's 2014 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) winner Hootenanny and Isabelle de Tamaso's Irish Strait, who enters off a runner-up finish to Money Multiplier in the Monmouth Stakes (G2T) after taking the Red Bank Stakes (G3T) in late May at Monmouth Park.
Two of the stakes will showcase juvenile turf runners: the $350,000 Exacta Systems Juvenile Fillies Stakes and the $350,000 Fasig-Tipton Turf Showcase Juvenile Stakes.
The Juvenile Fillies will feature Gabe Grossberg's Moonlight Rain, a first-out maiden special weight winner for trainer Mark Casse. The daughter from the first crop of multiple grade 1 winner on turf Point of Entry rallied from sixth in her six-furlong debut July 22 on firm turf at Woodbine.
The lone stakes winner in the field, Norman Stables' Secret Passion, will make her turf debut after scoring a narrow victory in the Prairie Gold Lassie Stakes July 27 at Prairie Meadows. The daughter of Archarcharch has worked three times for trainer Scott Geiner since that effort in preparation for her turf debut.
Also making her first start on turf is West Point Thoroughbreds, Tango Uniform Racing, and Robert Masiello's Best Performance, who in her previous race finished second to Dream It Is in the Schuylerville Stakes (G3) on the Saratoga Race Course main track. Trained by Christophe Clement, the daughter of Broken Vow won her maiden debut in May at Belmont Park then finished second there in the Astoria Stakes.
In the Juvenile, a pair of impressive maiden winners who won at 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf at Saratoga will try to stretch out a bit in Saturday's seven-furlong test, in Bloom Racing Stable's Snapper Sinclair and Brad Grady's Stolen Pistol.
Snapper Sinclair, by City Zip, drew off in the stretch to score by four lengths in an Aug. 14 maiden race at Saratoga. Snapper Sinclair finished sixth in his career debut July 8 on the dirt but found the turf to his liking when switched to that surface by trainer Steve Asmussen for his second start.
Trained by Joe Sharp, Stolen Pistol finished off the board in his first two starts, both on the main track at Belmont, but the son of freshman sire New Year's Day thrived in his turf debut to register a clear victory.
The big field also features V-Leaf Stables' Tigerbeach, a son of freshman sire Treasure Beach . Tigerbeach, trained by Larry Rivelli, finished third in the Victoria Stakes sprinting five furlongs on the all-weather surface at Woodbine July 8. That effort followed an easy maiden win sprinting on the Indiana Grand Racing & Casino turf for former trainer John Hancock.
The other stakes on the card is the $150,000 One Dreamer Stakes for fillies and mares where grade 3 winner Zipessa, by City Zip, will try to secure her second stakes win. Trained by Michael Stidham, Empyrean Stables' Zipessa placed in a pair of grade 1 races last year and set the pace in the Aug. 12 Beverly D. Stakes (G1T) at Arlington International Racecourse before fading to ninth.
The lucrative 10-race card attracted 144 entries, counting also-eligible horses. Eight of the 10 races include also-eligible entries.
The two maiden special weight races on the opening day card each offer a purse of $130,000 with wagering on Historic Racing generating $113,100 of each of those purses. The average purse on Saturday's 10-race card will be $197,700.
Kentucky Downs, Wednesday, September 06, 2017, Race 6 Kentucky Downs, Wednesday, September 06, 2017, Race 7 Kentucky Downs, Wednesday, September 06, 2017, Race 8 Kentucky Downs, Wednesday, September 06, 2017, Race 9Entries: One Dreamer S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Bonnie Arch (KY) Sophie Doyle 121 Ian R. Wilkes 30/1 2 2Boreale (KY) Robby Albarado 121 H. Graham Motion 9/2 3 3America Mon Amie (IL) Corey J. Lanerie 121 Anthony J. Granitz 20/1 4 4My Impression (KY) Tyler Gaffalione 121 Claude R. McGaughey III 3/1 5 5Charlotte Marie (KY) Rogelio Miranda 121 Ronald Moss 50/1 6 6Celestial Insight (KY) Julio A. Garcia 121 Wesley A. Ward 12/1 7 7Daddy's Boo (FL) Jose Valdivia, Jr. 121 Larry Rivelli 8/1 8 8Rattataptap (KY) Shaun Bridgmohan 121 William I. Mott 10/1 9 9Frozen Hannah (KY) Ricardo Santana, Jr. 121 Michael J. Maker 20/1 10 10Mo Knows (KY) Albin Jimenez 121 Wesley A. Ward 12/1 11 11Flying Tipat (KY) Alex L. Canchari 121 Dale L. Romans 20/1 12 12Zipessa (KY) Julien R. Leparoux 121 Michael Stidham 5/2 13 13Majestic Angel (KY) Alonso Quinonez 121 Eric R. Reed 30/1 14 14Bootsy's Girl (KY) Channing Hill 121 Luis A. Jurado 30/1 15 15Skyluck (KY) Alonso Quinonez 121 Eric R. Reed 30/1 16 16Miner's Cat (KY) Ricardo Santana, Jr. 121 Charles Lopresti 30/1
Entries: Exacta Systems Juvenile Fillies S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Classy Music (KY) Robby Albarado 120 Kenneth G. McPeek 8/1 2 2Elizabeth Nicole (KY) Sophie Doyle 120 Ron Moquett 20/1 3 3Best Performance (KY) Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. 120 Christophe Clement 5/2 4 4High Tech (KY) Chris Landeros 120 Ian R. Wilkes 10/1 5 5Go Noni Go (KY) Tyler Gaffalione 120 Michael J. Maker 20/1 6 6Waki Patriot (KY) Jon Kenton Court 120 John A. Hancock 6/1 7 7Our Graycious Girl (KY) Jack Gilligan 118 Michelle Lovell 30/1 8 8Moonlight Rain (KY) Joseph Rocco, Jr. 120 Mark E. Casse 6/1 9 9Ultima D (KY) Julio A. Garcia 118 Wesley A. Ward 9/2 10 10Secret Passion (KY) Corey J. Lanerie 122 Scott Gelner 15/1 11 11Katie's Reward (KY) Shaun Bridgmohan 120 Brad H. Cox 8/1 12 12Arabella Bella (KY) Jose Valdivia, Jr. 120 Mikhail Yanakov 30/1 13 13My Peeps (KY) Jon Kenton Court 118 Jack C. Van Berg 30/1 14 14Delaphene (KY) James Graham 120 Eoin G. Harty 20/1 15 15Bridaled Temper (KY) Julien R. Leparoux 118 Mark E. Casse 6/1 16 16Emmport (KY) Ricardo Santana, Jr. 118 Brad H. Cox 5/1
Entries: Tourist Mile S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Hootenanny (KY) Julio A. Garcia 121 Wesley A. Ward 5/1 2 2Flatlined (KY) Joseph Rocco, Jr. 125 Charles L. Dickey 6/1 3 3Shining Copper (KY) Tyler Gaffalione 121 Michael J. Maker 3/1 4 4Dimension (GB) Chris Landeros 121 Conor Murphy 20/1 5 5Western Reserve (KY) Shaun Bridgmohan 125 J. Kent Sweezey 6/1 6 6Zambian (KY) Jack Gilligan 121 Darrin Miller 20/1 7 7Applicator (KY) Jose Valdivia, Jr. 121 Mikhail Yanakov 8/1 8 8Irish Strait (NJ) Feargal Lynch 125 H. Graham Motion 2/1 9 9Bandar (KY) Erik Barbaran 121 Luis A. Jurado 30/1
Entries: Fasig-Tipton Turf Showcase Juvenile S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Tigerbeach (FL) Jose Valdivia, Jr. 120 Larry Rivelli 10/1 2 2Little Jimmy B (KY) Feargal Lynch 120 Francis Abbott, III 20/1 3 3Bantu (KY) Joseph Rocco, Jr. 120 Brendan P. Walsh 5/1 4 4Arawak (KY) Albin Jimenez 120 Wesley A. Ward 9/2 5 5Mr Ashley (KY) Sergio Figueroa 120 Adolfo Macias 30/1 6 6Make Noise (KY) Jon Kenton Court 120 Jack C. Van Berg 15/1 7 7Northern Trail (KY) Channing Hill 120 Jack C. Van Berg 4/1 8 8John Tippmann (KY) Robby Albarado 120 Kenneth G. McPeek 15/1 9 9Snapper Sinclair (KY) Ricardo Santana, Jr. 120 Steven M. Asmussen 7/2 10 10Stolen Pistol (NY) Chris Landeros 120 Joe Sharp 15/1 11 11Sky Promise (KY) Jack Gilligan 120 Kenneth G. McPeek 8/1 12 12Renaisance Frolic (KY) Tyler Gaffalione 120 David Fawkes 15/1 13 13Smart Remark (KY) Manoel R. Cruz 120 Victoria H. Oliver 12/1 14 14Pont Du Gard (LA) James Graham 120 Ignacio Correas, IV 10/1 15 15Captivating Moon (KY) Julien R. Leparoux 120 Chris M. Block 8/1 16 16East Rand (KY) Channing Hill 120 Kellyn Gorder 20/1
