Art Collector leads gate to wire in Ellis Park Derby

HENDERSON, Ky. – Tommy Drury said he was so uptight as the Ellis Park Derby was being run Sunday that “I thought my legs were going to give out.”

Wait until the next one.

Drury, the trainer of Art Collector, ultimately had no reason for worry. Art Collector, on the lead the whole way, dominated the $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby to further confirm his status as one of the top challengers – if not the top challenger – to the clear-cut favorite, Tiz the Law, in the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

Always in a comfortable gait under Brian Hernandez Jr., Art Collector pulled away from a couple of pace chasers before drawing well clear in midstretch, then settling for a 3 1/4-length score over late-running Attachment Rate. The winner paid $2.80 as a prohibitive favorite in a field of 12 3-year-olds after finishing the 1 1/8-mile distance in 1:48.02 over a fast track.

Drury and owner-breeder Bruce Lunsford both were elated after the Ellis Derby, which capped a 10-race card attended by several hundred fans and attracted a track-record handle of $5,241,601 from all wagering sources.

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“I feel terrific,” said a beaming Lunsford, “but I hope I feel even better in four weeks.”

Lunsford, a longtime owner and breeder, said Tiz the Law “is as good as advertised” before adding: “I’m not sure he’s run against a lot, any more than we have. You had some decent horses in here, I thought. The Derby might be a pretty good race.”

The Ellis Derby is the penultimate qualifying race toward the Kentucky Derby, with points assigned on a 50-20-10-5 basis. The final prep is the Pegasus (20-8-4-2) at Monmouth Park on Saturday.

Art Collector didn’t need any more points to make the 20-horse Derby cutoff, having earned 100 points in a 3 1/4-length breakthrough victory last month over the standout filly Swiss Skydiver in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. But Attachment Rate, who rallied from fifth as a 14-1 shot, now may have enough points to make the lineup – if in fact they’re needed – for the 146th Derby, which had been scheduled for May 2 until being postponed by the ongoing global pandemic.

“We’ll look at it, talk about it,” said Dale Romans, trainer of Attachment Rate. “I mean, it is the Derby, after all.”

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Art Collector, by Bernardini, now has won all four starts by open lengths since Drury assumed his training over the winter. Drury, a trainer since 1991, had not won a graded race until the July 11 Blue Grass. About the Sunday race, he said: “You’re a huge favorite and feel like you’ve got the weight on your shoulders. It feels great to get through a race as important as this and to know where we’re headed next.”

Drury said Art Collector will remain stabled at his primary year-round base, the Skylight training center just east of Louisville, but likely will have “a breeze or two” at Churchill prior to moving in for Derby week.

“We’ll let him settle back in there,” he said. “It’s home, it’s quiet. I’ll get with Bruce and make a plan about what to do as we move forward.”

Necker Island, a 31-1 shot, finished third, 5 1/4 lengths behind Attachment Rate. He was followed in order by Rowdy Yates, Shared Sense, Dean Martini, Winning Impression, Anneau d’Or, Sprawl, Trident Hit, Little Menace, and Truculent.

The $2 exacta (4-10) paid $18.20, the $1 trifecta (4-10-5) returned $86.30, and the 10-cent superfecta (4-10-5-8) was worth $104.41.

The Ellis Derby was the last stakes at a 25-day meet that runs through Aug. 30.