Ellis Park features marquee events on Sunday
On Sunday, Ellis will host its signature events of the summer when the $200,000 Ellis Park Derby and $125,000 Groupie Doll anchor a busy five-stakes program Sunday. Entries were to be drawn Thursday.
Three-year-olds expected for the 1 1/8-mile Ellis Derby include Friar Laurence, Strava, Trademark, and a Florida shipper, Steal Sunshine. The one-mile Groupie Doll was expected to get a sizable lineup of fillies and mares including Four Graces, Super Quick, and Lovemesomeme.
The other stakes are the $125,000 Ellis Juvenile, the $125,000 Ellis Debutante, and $100,000 Audubon Oaks.
Two break through in stakes
Jockeys Mickaelle Michel and Gage Holmes both enjoyed career firsts last Sunday at Ellis, registering stakes upsets.
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Michel notched her first stakes victory in North America when she gave Gray’s Fable ($23.54) a terrific ride in the Evan Williams Turf Mile, the last of four $100,000 turf stakes on the day. Michel, a 27-year-old native of France, has ridden with success internationally, including in Japan.
An hour earlier, Holmes, a 26-year-old apprentice from Florida, won her first-ever stakes, taking the Centennial Distaff aboard Henrietta Topham ($21.44).
Both winners were part of a pick-four wager that returned a track-record $85,939 on a single 50-cent ticket.
Capping off a big day
Last Saturday was another great day for Brad Cox, not only because of his three stakes wins on the West Virginia Derby card at Mountaineer Park, but also because a pair of 2-year-old first-time starters won stylishly for the Eclipse Award-winning trainer at Ellis.
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Jace’s Road, a Quality Road colt owned by West Point Thoroughbreds and Albaugh Family Stable, earned a 75 Beyer in a 6 1/4-length victory, while Jet Setting, a Gary and Mary West homebred filly by Union Rags, got a 56 in a 2 3/4-length score. Joe Talamo rode both winners.