Geothermal makes Plan B work by upsetting Lukas Classic
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLELOUISVILLE, Ky. – Steve Margolis entered Geothermal in an allowance race for Friday at Churchill Downs, but the race didn’t fill. It wound up being a stroke of great fortune, as Geothermal, running one day later, outgamed Departing in a 12-1 upset Saturday in the $175,000 Lukas Classic.
“It’s good to be lucky once in a while, huh?” said Margolis, who trains Geothermal for owner-breeders A.L. and Jo Ann Luedtke.
Ridden by Robby Albarado, Geothermal surged into contention with an outside move on the final turn of the 1 1/8-mile race, then put away Departing, the 6-5 favorite, in the final 100 yards to win by 1 1/2 lengths. Smack Smack was another 2 3/4 lengths back in third in a field of seven older horses.
“I always felt like I had horse,” said Albarado.
Geothermal returned $26.60 after finishing in 1:49.93 over a fast track.
The stakes victory was the first, and the fifth in 23 overall starts, for Geothermal, a 6-year-old gray gelding by Unbridled Energy. In mapping out a race schedule, the Lukas Classic was merely a provisional spot.
“We wanted to go in the ‘three-other-than’ [Friday], but it died with four [entries],” said Margolis.
Abraham set the pace in the Lukas Classic, with Ulanbator giving closest chase. By the quarter pole, Abraham had had enough, and then Ulanbator also began beating a steady fade. Departing, always well-placed under Brian Hernandez Jr., then forged to a short lead, but Geothermal had him measured on the outside.
“When I started asking him, he was willing,” said Albarado.
The $2 exacta (8-4) paid $100, the $1 trifecta (8-4-7) returned $228, and the 10-cent superfecta (8-4-7-1) was worth $164.02.
Mylute, the 2-1 morning-line favorite, was an early scratch when remaining home in New York for trainer Todd Pletcher.
The Lukas Classic was inaugurated two years ago as the Homecoming Classic before being renamed for this year in honor of Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Previous winners were Fort Larned (2013) and Cigar Street (2014).