Brown sends pair of Grade 1 winners in Woodford Reserve Turf Classic

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – If the race is a graded stakes on grass, it is usually trainer Chad Brown who is holding the strongest hand. The leading money-earning trainer on turf in North America every year since 2012, he won 27 graded stakes last year on grass, more than double the next-leading trainer, Mark Casse, who won 12.

So, it should come as no surprise that Brown is in an enviable position in Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at Churchill Downs, sending out the 5-2 morning-line favorite, Big Blue Kitten, as well as the 3-1 second choice, Slumber. The 1 1/8-mile Turf Classic drew a deep field of 13.

Big Blue Kitten was the champion turf horse of 2015, and Slumber was a Grade 1 winner last year. But both could be disadvantaged by not having raced in 2016.

At least Big Blue Kitten is proven fresh, having won the Lure Stakes in his seasonal debut in 2014 and the Grade 3 Fort Marcy last year on Derby Day at Belmont Park. The Fort Marcy could have been a starting spot again this year for Big Blue Kitten, but Brown said he felt the horse was deserving of the more demanding test in the Turf Classic.

“He’s the defending Eclipse Award-winning turf horse,” he said. “So, with races on the same day, and one’s a Grade 1 for a lot more money and he has already won an Eclipse Award, you might as well take your chances in the Grade 1.”

As for Slumber, who finished one placing and a half-length behind his stablemate when fourth in the Oct. 31 Breeders’ Cup Turf, Brown said the Turf Classic made sense in part because the horse’s owners have other starters Saturday at Churchill.

“With both horses, it would be great to win the race, but at the end of the day, if we can just get them back on track and get their seasons started, we will have a lot of opportunities to run in Grade 1s if they stay healthy,” Brown said.

Divisidero, who is based at Churchill Downs, won the American Turf for 3-year-olds on this same card last year.

“He likes Derby Day and the turf course here,” trainer Buff Bradley said.

The Turf Classic (race 11) is the race before the Kentucky Derby and is set for a 5:25 p.m. Eastern.

Key Contenders

Big Blue Kitten, by Kitten’s Joy

Last 3 Beyers: 106-107-105

◗ He is a rare turf horse who can win from 1 1/16 miles to 1 1/2 miles, though he seems most effective in longer races.

◗ He is the most consistent horse in the field, having run fourth or better in 11 consecutive starts.

Slumber, by Cacique

Last 3 Beyers: 105-106-91

◗ Although he had only one victory from 13 starts in 2014 and 2015, he earned more than $1 million last year by winning the Grade 1 Manhattan and running second in four graded stakes.

Bolo, by Temple City

Last 3 Beyers: 100-106-80

◗ Twelfth in last year’s Kentucky Derby, he has since raced exclusively on turf, running down the speedy Obviously in the Arcadia in his first start of the year and following that race with a runner-up finish in the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile on March 12.

Tourist, by Tiznow

Last 3 Beyers: 103-95-103

◗ Began his year with a third in the Grade 1 Maker’s 46 Mile at Keeneland last month, losing by 2 1/2 lengths to Miss Temple City in a race run in quick time.

◗ One of the fastest horses in the field on the basis of Beyer Speed Figures, he stretches out a furlong in distance after racing in five consecutive turf miles.