Joy Drive points to Rushaway at Turfway Park

Joy Drive, a debut winner sprinting over Aqueduct’s inner track on March 5, likely will make his next start in the $100,000 Rushaway Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile race run over a synthetic surface at Turfway Park on April 2.

Trainer Linda Rice purchased Joy Drive, a son of Quality Road, for $400,000 for owners Sheila Rosenblum and Irish Smith last year in part based on how the horse trained over the synthetic surface at the Ocala Training Center.

“I really think that horse is a synthetic, turf type. He’s going to flourish on it,” Rice said. “Quality Roads run well on turf and synthetic, and I think that’s what he wants to do. It will help us stretch him out as well.”

Joy Drive, who won his debut by a half-length on dirt, worked six furlongs in 1:13.70 over the Belmont training track Friday.