Jeff Ruby overflowing with nominations, expected to draw big field
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An overflow field is appearing likely for the Grade 3, $700,000 Jeff Ruby, Turfway’s major Kentucky Derby prep, on March 25.
Nominations for the Ruby and five supporting stakes on the track’s biggest card closed last Thursday. The Ruby, which awards Kentucky Derby points to the top five finishers on the 100-40-30-20-10 scale along with its lucrative purse, drew 83 nominations. The field is limited to 12 runners, with two also-eligibles listed on the program. Field preference is given to graded/group stakes winners, in order, followed by open stakes winners, with career earnings then determining preference.
The leading candidates for the Ruby include Major Dude, a multiple graded stakes winner on turf; Two Phil’s, a Grade 3 winner on dirt last year who has placed in a pair of Derby preps at Fair Grounds; Congruent, last-out winner of the John Battaglia Memorial at Turfway; Funtastic Again, winner of the Leonatus Stakes locally; and Wadsworth, who has won back-to-back races at Turfway. The second- through eighth-place finishers in the Battaglia – Scoobie Quando, Bromley, Moon Landing, Miranda Rights, Gilmore, Eyes On the King, and Accident, are all nominated to the Ruby.
Sophomores excluded from the Ruby have a viable option on the undercard in the $250,000 Rushaway Stakes. All the Ruby nominees were granted an automatic nomination to the Rushaway, which also drew 17 additional nominations. Among the candidates is Midnight Rising, an impressive debut winner against older horses at this meet. The $250,000 Animal Kingdom Stakes provides a six-furlong option for 3-year-olds on the undercard. Scoobie Quando, winner of the Turfway Prevue sprinting, is nominated both to this spot as well as the two longer-distance stakes on the card.
The $300,000 Bourbonette Oaks, which awards Kentucky Oaks points to its top finishers. drew 45 nominations, led by Botanical, winner of the Cincinnati Trophy.
The $300,000 Kentucky Cup Classic for older horses drew 45 nominations, led by 2022 Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike, who contested the Turfway prep series en route to his upset classic victory and who is targeting a return to the track for his 4-year-old debut. Turfway standouts nominated to face him include Ocean Atlantique, recent winner of the Dust Commander Stakes; Beatbox, who won the 2022 Dust Commander before finishing third this year; turf Grade 1 winner In Love, who won the Prairie Bayou in December; and 2022 Battaglia and Ruby winner Tiz the Bomb.
The sister race, the $250,000 Latonia for fillies and mares, drew 44 nominations, including 2021 and 2022 Bourbonette Oaks winners Adventuring and Candy Raid; Breeze Rider, who was second in this race last year; and Grand Ave Girl, a stakes winner at this meet.
Year-round training
Turfway Park’s barn area and racetrack will remain open for year-round training and stabling, track officials announced Tuesday.
This year, Turfway, a Tapeta track racing before a new grandstand, also finished construction on a new dormitory for backstretch workers and five new barns. The track can stable approximately 1,000 horses.
According to a Turfway press release, local trainers expected to remain stabled at Turfway Park after the current meet closes on April 1 include Jeff Greenhill, Will Walden, and Ethan West. They’ll join Kentucky mainstays Steve Asmussen, Brad Cox, and Mike Maker who are all expected to keep a string of horses stabled in Northern Kentucky.
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