A thumbs-up from trainer Brad Cox by text on Sunday confirmed Fulleffort emerged in good order from his victory in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby on Saturday at Turfway Park, assuring himself a spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate with the winner’s share of 100 points. Fulleffort and Lorelei Lee, who won the Bourbonette Oaks for trainer Mike Maker to earn 50 points toward the Kentucky Oaks, would race on dirt for the first time at Churchill Downs on the first weekend in May. Fulleffort, winner of 2 of 4 starts on turf last year, has been based at Turfway throughout the winter with assistant trainer Trace Messina, and the late-runner has taken steps forward as distances have increased on the Tapeta this year. He was second by a length in the one-mile Leonatus in January, victimized by an uncontested pace set by Street Beast. He then missed by only a neck in the 1 1/16-mile John Battaglia Memorial last month. The Battaglia’s winner, Great White, passed on the Ruby to await a dirt test in the Grade 1 Blue Grass on April 4 at Keeneland. Fulleffort advanced to the Ruby and won by 2 1/2 lengths. :: DRF Road to the Derby Package Available Now! Save 37% on key handicapping essentials through Kentucky Derby day. “The mile and an eighth, I think, was the difference,” Messina said. Fulleffort will soon move from Turfway to Churchill as Cox’s string assembles for the spring meet. “He’ll go to Churchill, get him over the dirt, see how he handles that,” Messina said. “Probably work him a few times.” Messina noted that Fulleffort, by the versatile Liam’s Map, is a half-brother to a high-class dirt runner in Power Squeeze, who took the Grade 1 Alabama. “It’s definitely in the pedigree,” Messina said. Likewise, Maker noted that Lorelei Lee, by Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist, is a half-sister to his former trainee Somelikeithotbrown. While the millionaire was a graded winner on turf and synthetic, he won an off-turf running of the West Point on dirt. He also was fourth in the 2019 Blue Grass, an effort made more creditable since he emerged with a chipped sesamoid that sidelined him the rest of the year. “I wouldn’t be afraid to try,” Maker said of moving Lorelei Lee to dirt. Lorelei Lee was not an early Oaks nominee in February, but Maker said owner Skychai Racing had already decided to make her a late nominee, a stage that closes April 8 for a $1,500 fee. Lorelei Lee was a front-running winner of the 1 1/16-mile Bourbonette in her first try around two turns. “I thought stretching out, she was going to show some natural speed,” Maker said. No winner of the Ruby – which has been known by a number of different sponsor names – has gone on to win the Kentucky Derby since Animal Kingdom in 2011. However, in recent years, Tapeta form has transferred well to the Churchill dirt. In 2022, Rich Strike finished third in the Ruby before drawing into the Derby as an also-eligible and pulling off the second-biggest upset in race history. In 2023, Two Phil’s won at Turfway, then was a creditable second in the Derby. The Bourbonette has not had as much of an impact on the Oaks, although last year’s winner, Bless the Broken, was third at Churchill. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2026: Top contenders, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more