Bay Storm takes another shot at Ladies Turf Sprint
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Bay Storm will be looking to avenge a narrow defeat in last year’s Ladies Turf Sprint when she starts as the 9-5 morning-line favorite in Saturday’s running of the Grade 2, $1 million race at turf-only Kentucky Downs.
“It definitely gives you added confidence,” trainer Jonathan Thomas said of the strong race over this course. “But no matter where we’ve taken her . . . she’s very reliable. But certainly, it gives you a little bit more confidence knowing that she’s performed well there.”
Bay Storm is a multiple stakes winner who has only missed the top three twice in her 16-start career while running from New York to California and plenty of places in between.
The Ladies Sprint, for fillies and mares, and the Grade 2, $1 million Franklin-Simpson Stakes, for 3-year-olds, are both run at 6 1/2 furlongs, starting just before the sweeping far turn at Kentucky Downs and finishing with a stout run through the stretch, which has undulating sections that can make races feel longer than carded. That’s just fine with Bay Storm, who will have Florent Geroux aboard Saturday.
“I’d say somewhere between 6 1/2 and seven [furlongs], optimally,” Thomas said of the mare’s ideal distance. “It’s a rare distance, but I think it’s probably her best. She’s got great tactical speed – you’re not trying to chase her into a 5 1/2, and she doesn’t quite see out the mile like a top filly. [This] seems to be an ideal trip for her.”
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Bay Storm, previously a minor stakes winner at Belmont Park and Monmouth Park, was second by a nose in last year’s Ladies Turf Sprint to the top-class Campanelle. Following that, she recorded four additional stakes placings, including a runner-up effort to 2022 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Caravel in the Unbrided Sidney in May at Churchill Downs. Most recently, she won the Kentucky Downs Preview Ladies Turf Sprint at Ellis Park.
Quaria Comet won her maiden going 6 1/2 furlongs in September 2022 at Kentucky Downs for trainer Paulo Lobo. This year, she ran a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 95 winning an allowance/optional-claiming race at Churchill Downs, then showed no regression while nearly matching that figure, with a 94, when second by a neck to Bay Storm at Ellis. Joe Talamo, aboard the filly for her Kentucky Downs win and for her two strong recent efforts, retains the mount here.
Several other logical contenders in this field come in off efforts at Saratoga behind the streaking Roses for Debra, who has emerged as a force in the division with four consecutive wins. Multiple stakes winner Wakanaka most recently cut back from a mile to finish second to Roses for Debra in the 5 1/2-furlong Grade 3 Caress Stakes. This distance should suit her.
Another multiple stakes winner, Train to Artemus, was third behind Roses for Debra and Bubble Rock in the Smart N Fancy Stakes. Our Flash Drive won three straight graded stakes at Woodbine, at distances from six to seven furlongs on both turf and synthetic before finishing fifth in the Caress.
Franklin-Simpson
The Franklin-Simpson has drawn an overflow cast, with 12 3-year-olds in the main body of the field, plus four also-eligibles. Private Creed turned in a pair of powerhouse efforts last fall in Kentucky for Steve Asmussen, rallying to win both the Juvenile Sprint at Kentucky Downs and the Indian Summer at Keeneland.
Most recently, he came off a three-month break to finish second by a half-length in the Mahony on Aug. 13 at Saratoga. He again faces the winner of that event, Closethegame Sugar, who has won 2 of 3 career starts and ships in for Adam Rice off that upset win.
Private Creed and Grade 2-placed Behind Enemy Lines, who also finds his best stride from off the pace, will be closely watching who might challenge Mo Stash, the most established pacemaker in the field. While several others in here – Bat Flip, Frosted Departure, Golden Bandit, Mounsieur Coco, Playlist, Sweet Cherry Pie, and Two of a Kind – prefer to race just off the front end, and have taken initiative up front when needed.
Mo Stash won the Grade 3 Transylvania this spring at Keeneland when allowed to cruise on the front end. Although he has not gotten that perfect trip again, he does own three other stakes placings for Vicki Oliver, including a second in the Indian Summer the last time he ran at less than a mile.
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