All in Sync ($47.80) surges from far back in Turf Sprint at Ellis Park

Long-priced winners dominated the four turf stakes Sunday at Ellis Park, making for a huge pick four payoff to end a nine-race Sunday card at the western Kentucky track.

All four races are designed as preps for Kentucky Downs, the turf-only track set for a Sept. 1-14 meet, and all were contested over a firm course when linked together as the late pick four (races 6-9) on a nine-race Sunday card.

In order, the winners’ odds were 22-1, 9-1, 11-1, and 10-1, combining for a pick four that swept the entire pool to net a $85,939 windfall for the lone 50-cent winner.

Turf Sprint

All In Sync charged from far back in prevailing in a frantic finish in the $100,000 Turf Sprint in which less than a length separated the first four finishers.

Ridden by Vincent Cheminaud, All In Sync paid $47.80 as the second-longest shot in a field of nine in winning his turf debut and his fourth of nine overall starts. The winning time was 1:02.44.

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Charcoal was second, Bad Beat Brian was third, and Totally Boss was fourth. It was less than two more lengths back to the seventh finisher, Into the Sunrise.

Earlier in the meet, All In Sync defeated just three fellow 3-year-olds in winning the Dade Turf Dash, which was transferred to the main track because of weather. Steve Asmussen trains the Maclean’s Music colt for Ed and Susie Orr.

Centennial Distaff

Henrietta Topham, giving apprentice Gage Holmes her first career stakes win, emerged narrowly best in another bang-bang-bang finish in the $99,875 Centennial in which fourth-finisher Take Charge Ro also was only beaten a length for it all. The winner returned $21.44 as fifth choice in a field of nine fillies and mares after rallying from well back to finish a two-turn mile in 1:35.86.

Turnerloose was second as the favorite, followed closely by Touch of Class in third and Take Charge Ro.

Geoff Mulcahy trains Henrietta Topham for Cambus-Kenneth Farm. The 4-year-old Lemon Drop Kid filly was coming off maiden and allowance wins at Horseshoe Indianapolis turf in her two prior starts. Holmes, a 26-year-old Florida native, rode her first winner in January at Gulfstream Park.

Laguna Distaff

Creative Credit ($24.16) sped to the lead from her inside post and never looked back in defeating nine other fillies and mares in the $99,900 Laguna, getting 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:02.35.

Ridden by Tommy Pompell, Creative Credit now has won four straight, and eight of 18 overall, for owner Richard Finucane. Terry Haehn, the trainer of record, has alternated training stints with the owner, who afterward called the 5-year-old Creative Cause “the fastest horse I’ve ever had.”

Creative Credit simply outran the similarly speedy Elle Z down the backside, then was never seriously challenged as Pompell kept the winner to her task.

“I just let her out a notch,” Pompell said. “I thought we might have to come off the pace today, but no.”

Brooke Marie, a Grade 2 winner, edged Tobys Heart, a multi-stakes winner, when finishing two lengths back in second.

Evan Williams

Jockey Mickaelle Michel notched her first North American stakes victory when deftly guiding Grays Fable ($23.54) to a come-from-behind triumph by a neck over Mr Dumas in the $99,858 Williams.

Grays Fable, trained by Brian Lynch, finished the two-turn mile in 1:34.93. He and Mr Dumas, the odds-on favorite in a field of 12, both raced well off a hot pace before picking their way through rivals in the final quarter-mile.

Grays Fable, a gray 7-year-old gelding, was a wire-to-wire winner of the Opening Verse during Kentucky Derby week at Churchill Downs when still trained by Roger Attfield. He is owned by the partnership of Steve Goldfine, Kari Provost, and Jeff Zionis, and now has won six of 21 tries.

This was the second win overall on this continent for Michel, a 27-year-old French jockey with prior success in other jurisdictions, including Japan. Her first came July 17 at Ellis.

*** Ellis will run only Friday and Sunday next week as Churchill hosts the Arlington Million on Saturday. The marquee events of the summer meet are set for Sunday with the $200,000 Ellis Park Derby, the $125,000 Groupie Doll, and three other stakes. The 23-day meet runs through Aug. 28.