Bashford Manor stokes Kentucky Derby dreams
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As Churchill Downs closes its spring-summer meet on Sunday, a bit more than 10 months before the 2027 Kentucky Derby, the future is certainly in focus.
The four stakes on the closing-day card feature a pair for 2-year-olds, including the 125th running of the $225,000 Bashford Manor. Although the historic race is only six furlongs and has grown less meaningful with an eye toward the next spring’s classics, it is still a time to dream.
This year’s renewal could center on a matchup between two visually impressive debut winners, locally based Hey Tuff Guy and California shipper He Is No Lie. The juveniles share some background traits. They are both by freshman sires, and both were straightforward types who went straight into race training after graduating from the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co.’s March sale.
From there, they have plenty of differences.
Hey Tuff Guy is from the well-regarded first crop of Life Is Good, an Into Mischief horse who had speed he could carry, winning eight graded stakes from seven to nine furlongs. This colt is out of Hotshot Anna, a multiple graded stakes winner at up to seven furlongs. Hey Tuff Guy, one of four early winners for his sire entering this weekend, won his May 25 debut at 5 1/2 furlongs at Churchill.
“It’ll be interesting to see how much farther he’s going to go,” trainer Brian Lynch said. “It’s exciting, but sometimes these horses can disappoint you.”
Hey Tuff Guy pressed the pace in the two path in his debut, opened up quickly in the stretch, and was ridden out to win by 7 3/4 lengths.
“If he gets in tight, he might be aggressive – you wouldn’t want to fight with him,” Lynch said. “In his first race, he broke a tad slow and didn’t really know what was going on. When he kicked in, he kicked in. With that race under his belt, and as sharp as he is, I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes straight to the lead.”
Conversely, trainer Doug O’Neill believes He Is No Lie could rate despite holding a clear lead throughout in his May 12 debut at Santa Anita. There, he widened through the stretch to win by eight lengths.
“We’ve done that in the mornings with him, where we’ve sat him off a workmate,” O’Neill said. “He’s been able to drop the bit and just stay, and then when the rider calls on him, he grabs the bit and he goes. So yeah, we’ve been seeing that in the morning, but you never know ’til the afternoon. We’re gonna want to break clean and get in a good stride, and whether that finds him on the lead or not, we’ll play that by ear. I do think if he doesn’t find himself on the lead, he still has a chance to win.”
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He Is No Lie is stretching from 4 1/2 furlongs to six. He is from the first crop of Preakness Stakes winner Early Voting, by Gun Runner. Early Voting is the sire of five winners already entering Friday. He Is No Lie’s dam, stakes-placed Truth in the Lies, won at up to 1 1/16 miles.
“He’s got a lot of energy, he covers a lot of ground, and there’s no telling how far he’ll go,” O’Neill said. “He sure looks like a two-turn horse. He’s tall, he’s got a lot of length to him. He seems like he’s got multiple gears, and [we’re] excited to have [Emisael] Jaramillo, who had worked him and broke his maiden, flying in to stay on him. He loves him and they look like a good team.”
Hey Tuff Guy earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 71 on debut, and He Is No Lie a 70. Right there with them is Captain Luke, who earned a 71 for a 5 1/2-length debut win May 14 at Churchill. Going five furlongs, the colt sat second before drawing off and should have the favorites in his sights here.
Tolstoy won his debut on the Keeneland turf over a next-out winner. Turf form often transfers well to the Churchill Downs dirt, particularly when it is wet – conditions that could prevail Sunday.
Debutante
One race before the Bashford Manor is the 125th running of its sister race, the $225,000 Debutante.
The morning-line favorite, stepping from auction-restricted company into stakes, is Lack of Riesling. The filly was game in a long duel inside a next-out winner to prevail by a nose going 4 1/2 furlongs on May 21, earning a 72 Beyer. She was then privately sold and makes her first start for Phil D’Amato.
Valkyrie also bested a next-out winner in her Churchill debut. The filly is by Early Voting, while Life Is Good is represented by Gulfstream debut winner True Blessing.
Epic Reign is from the first crop of champion Epicenter, who relished distance. This filly should certainly handle six furlongs and more. Off slow and last of six in her May 28 debut at Churchill, she came with a rush to win by 4 1/2 lengths.
Liberty Rings won the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies on the Gulfstream turf. The Stork Club owns a win in the slop at Laurel. The field also includes Churchill debut winners Pierette and Sr Seventyone and California winner Free Closer.
– additional reporting by Marcus Hersh
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