Harrodsburg, Blessed Flyer end stakes drought for Tomlinson
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Trainer Mike Tomlinson enjoyed a satisfying end to the Churchill Downs meet, breaking a long stakes drought with two stakes victories on the weekend. The 6-year-old Harrodsburg, who has been “a bit of a project” since coming to the barn several years ago, scored a victory in the Grade 3 Bango on Saturday. The next day, Blessed Flyer, a recent addition to the barn, was up at the wire for a $65.82 upset in the Bashford Manor for 2-year-olds.
“Hopefully we’ve got another nice one to play with here,” Tomlinson said.
Blessed Flyer won his career debut April 16 at Keeneland for owner DNG Blessed Stable and trainer Michel Douaihy. He was subsequently entered in Fasig-Tipton’s May digital auction, and was purchased for $270,000 by Tomlinson on behalf of Mark Farrar and Patricia’s Hope.
Tomlinson indicated the colt has been straightforward to handle, and he was eager to add distance from the 4 1/2 furlongs of his debut to six furlongs in the Bashford Manor. The Ellis Park Juvenile on Aug. 9 could be next.
“That race is seven-eighths,” Tomlinson said. “It’s a possibility. We’ve just got to make sure he comes out of this race good, and we’ll kind of let him indicate which direction he needs to go, whether we need to slow down or speed up.”
Harrodsburg also has options at Ellis, or even Saratoga, following his win in the Bango. Tomlinson claimed the strong-willed gelding for $50,000 on behalf of the Hatfield family in May 2024 at Churchill, out of a race in which Harrodsburg crossed the line first, but was disqualified to sixth for interference. “Time has been his friend,” Tomlinson said, as far as the horse running more professionally.
“He’s a horse that’s got a pretty big mind of his own,” Tomlinson said. “If you try to fight with him, he’ll fight back. We’ve learned the last couple years to just get along with him, keep him happy.”
Harrodsburg joined Barbados, Jordan’s Henny, Kettleoneup, Midnight Cello, and Sir Cherokee as graded stakes winners trained by Tomlinson. This weekend marked the trainer’s first stakes wins since Conagher captured the 2022 Housebuster Overnight at Colonial and his first at Churchill since Forgive won the 2017 Mighty Beau.
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