Applicator upsets Tourist Stakes at 13-1, My Impression rallies to win One Dreamer

FRANKLIN, Ky. – Applicator got a textbook stalking trip under Jose Valdivia Jr. before springing a 13-1 upset Wednesday in the $270,020 Tourist Stakes, the opening-day feature of the five-day Kentucky Downs meet.

Always in the clear while attending the pace, Applicator edged away from the pack down the stretch to finish a length clear of late-running Flatlined for just his third – and easily the richest – victory of a 30-race career. Shining Copper was third and favored Irish Strait was fourth in a field of eight older horses.

Trained by Mikhail Yanakov for Olympia Star Inc., Applicator returned $29.40 after finishing one mile and 70 yards in 1:44.79 over a turf course that was rated good, but yielded slow times throughout the 10-race card.

“The horse carried me into it, then gathered himself up at the top of the stretch,” said Valdivia, by far the leading jockey at the ongoing Arlington Park meet. “I didn’t know whether he’d have enough left, but he did.”

Two starts back, Applicator was eased in the longer American St. Leger on the Aug. 12 Arlington Million undercard. He then was fourth in an interim turf sprint at Arlington.

Although he is a Kentucky-bred, Applicator, a 4-year-old gelding by Henrythenavigator, is not registered to the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund and therefore left a lot of money on the proverbial table when competing for the equivalent of a $200,000 purse, as opposed to the $400,000 maximum.

Formerly known as the More Than Ready, the Tourist is named for the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Mile winner who won the More Than Ready here two years ago. The race anchored a Wednesday opener that was postponed Saturday because of poor weather.

My Impression wins One Dreamer

Two races earlier, My Impression ($3.80) rallied from mid-pack for a popular victory as the odds-on favorite in the $142,725 One Dreamer Stakes. Tyler Gaffalione, in his first meet at Kentucky Downs, was aboard the 4-year-old Sky Mesa filly for owner-breeder Stuart Janney and trainer Shug McGaughey.

“I just started to let her run just inside the quarter-pole,” said Gaffalione, the perennial top jockey at Gulfstream Park. “When I put her outside she just rebroke, basically.”

Rattataptap was second, 1 1/2 lengths behind the winner and another 1 1/2 lengths before Boreale in a field of eight fillies and mares. The race was restricted to non-winners of a stakes in 2017.

My Impression finished a mile and 70 yards in 1:49.25 and now has won 6 of 15 lifetime starts.

◗ Wednesday marked the debut of the new Jockey7 Wager in which fans peg their bets to groups of horses assigned to separately listed jockeys from races 4 through 10. All-sources betting into the Jockey7 was just $8,351 as most account-wagering companies did not offer the bet.

◗ Remaining dates at Kentucky Downs are Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, and Sept. 14. Churchill Downs starts an 11-day meet Sept. 15.