BC Juvenile Turf: Forty Under is here to play

Forty Under trained like a good horse for his unveiling July 28 at Saratoga. His trainer, Jeremiah Englehart, was excited to see him run, and so must have been owner Bill Parcells, the former National Football League coach who campaigns Forty Under using the nom de course August Dawn Farm.

But Forty Under fumbled the snap on his first play under center. He showed a bit of early speed after breaking from post 1 but quickly threw in the towel, fading to ninth, beaten almost 18 lengths.

“He was working well enough I thought he was going to be a pretty good horse,” Englehart said. “We had high hopes for him.”

Turned out all Forty Under needed was a surface switch. Moved to a turf route Aug. 28 at Saratoga, Forty Under tracked a lone pacesetter through solid splits before running him down to win a maiden race. That put Forty Under in scoring position, and on Sept. 29 at Belmont he scored a touchdown, winning the Grade 3 Pilgrim Stakes at Belmont and punching his ticket to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. The Pilgrim has not been the strongest BC Juvenile Turf prep, but Forty Under holds some appeal this year.

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After showing good speed at Saratoga, Forty Under waited in fifth at Belmont under Manny Franco, sat chilly as favored Opry and another horse whizzed past around the far turn, and overcame some traffic to get up by three-quarters of a length over Somelikeithotbrown. Forty Under effectively changed his running style in his second grass start and won over yielding ground following his maiden victory on a firm course.

“He’s a good-sized horse, slender, but I guess he’s got a nice overall build,” said Englehart. “We thought he might be turfy even before his first race. The Breeders’ Cup being a flat mile this year, I don’t know if that hurts him or helps him, but knowing he can handle anything in a race, that’s a big advantage.”

Forty Under is by Uncle Mo out of Argent Affair, by Black Tie Affair. Parcells bought him for $180,000 as a yearling at the Keeneland September sale. Forty Under is scheduled to work twice at Saratoga before shipping to Churchill eight or 10 days before the Breeders’ Cup and having his final work there, Englehart said.

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Somelikeithotbrown carried a two-length lead to the Pilgrim’s stretch call before Forty Under nailed him. It was the second straight runner-up stakes finish for Somelikeithotbrown, who also was second in the With Anticipation at Saratoga. Opry won the With Anticipation, making him the Pilgrim favorite, but finished a one-paced fourth while possibly compromised by the yielding course.

Mike Maker trains Somelikeithotbrown and on Oct. 7 starts Henley’s Joy in the Bourbon Stakes at Keeneland, the last BC Challenge Win and You’re In race for the Juvenile Turf. The Zuma Beach this Sunday at Santa Anita could produce a Juvenile Turf starter or two, while France has two races in the division, the Group 3 Prix Thomas Byron on Oct. 5 and the Group 1 Prix Jean Luc Lagardere on Oct. 7.

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Last Saturday at Newmarket in England trainer Aidan O’Brien dominated the 2-year-old stakes, but neither Ten Sovereigns, who won the Group 1 Middle Park, nor Mohawk, who won the Group 2 Royal Lodge – a BC Challenge race – are expected to come to Churchill. No plans, however, were announced for Royal Lodge runner-up Sydney Opera House.