Iva looking to boost her value in Cincinnati Trophy Stakes
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Iva’s pedigree, being by the late Scat Daddy and out of the stakes-winning Empire Maker dam Sushi Empire, is partially responsible for her achievements as a racehorse, which include two victories and a runner-up stakes finish from three starts.
Her bloodlines also explain her presence in Friday night’s Cincinnati Trophy at Turfway Park, where she is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in an overflow field of 3-year-old fillies. Win there, and her broodmare value increases, making the $50,000 purse of the Cincinnati Trophy seem like relative small change.
“Stakes-winning Scat Daddy mares are hard to come by,” trainer Wesley Ward said.
Turfway Park will be a new racing experience for Iva, though she has shown no difficulty adapting to new surroundings. Her three races have come at different tracks. She debuted on turf at Indiana Grand last May, started at Belterra on dirt in September, and then raced on the Gulfstream main track Dec. 8, finishing second in the House Party Stakes after setting the pace.
Iva has gained familiarity with Turfway’s Polytrack surface in morning workouts, recording four local breezes after joining Ward’s Kentucky string in mid-December. The last of those came Sunday, when she went a half-mile in 49 seconds.
“She has always been a good work horse, but she certainly likes it as well as the dirt and the grass,” Ward said.
Julio Garcia has the mount in the 6 1/2-furlong Cincinnati Trophy for owner and breeder Bonnie Chance Farm.
Iva is not the only Southern invader among the entries. Another is Fun Finder, who won a maiden race at second asking at Gulfstream on Dec. 16 before tiring to seventh at Fair Grounds on Jan. 19 in the Silverbulletday Stakes.
Yet another shipper, Thunderous Gem, is coming to Turfway via Illinois. Based at Hawthorne with trainer Hutch Holsapple, a longtime farrier in Chicago who trains a small stable, she weakened to sixth when racing in the slop Nov. 9 at Churchill Downs. She then returned to her Chicago base.
Although yet to race at Turfway, Thunderous Gem has shown an affinity for the synthetic surfaces at Arlington Park and Presque Isle Downs, placing in stakes at both tracks. A speedy filly drawn in post 12, she has the services of leading jockey John McKee.
Top local hopes include New Roo and Workaholic, fillies with victories this year over the Turfway Park strip.
Post time for the Cincinnati Trophy, the fifth of eight races Friday, is 8:12 p.m. Eastern.
