Ova Charged, Hoosier Philly headline Texas Turf Festival

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Ova Charged will be returning to turf on Saturday and Hoosier Philly will be trying the surface for the first time during separate Texas Turf Festival stakes at Lone Star Park.

They are among the most accomplished runners on a 10-race card that features four turf stakes worth a cumulative $625,000. Ova Charged has won six straight stakes and owns the year’s highest Beyer Speed Figure of 113. Hoosier Philly is a Grade 2 winner of more than $850,000.

The simulcast of the card will be limited to other tracks in Texas and international sites due to an ongoing impasse between the Texas Racing Commission and the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority.

Ova Charged enters in the $125,000 Chicken Fried Stakes off a win in the Louisiana Legends Mademoiselle at Evangeline Downs on dirt. She ships in to be a part of the field of 12.

“It’s so hard find turf races for older mares sprinting,” trainer Shane Wilson said. “There’s not a lot of them going short. There’s another race at Ellis Park and they have one at Kentucky Downs.

“The timing of this hit just right. It’s not a long trip – three hours from Louisiana Downs. And we’re getting her back on the grass. I think she likes the grass so much better.”

Ova Charged put up the 113 Beyer on turf in the Page Cortez in March at Fair Grounds and one start later won the Grade 3 Unbridled Sidney at Churchill Downs. She will break from rail Saturday, under Jose Guerrero.

“The post doesn’t bother me,” Wilson said. “There’s some speed on the outside. We’ve sat right off the pace. At Fair Grounds, a couple of times they got out in front of her, and we sat right off of it.”

Hoosier Philly drew the rail for the $125,000 Wasted Tears, a 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares, her first start on turf. She has had a chance to work on the surface, her most recent drill a bullet half-mile in 48.20 seconds.

“We’ve tried her on turf in a couple of works at Churchill Downs,” trainer Tom Amoss said. “When a horse works well on the grass that doesn’t mean they’re going to love the grass, but she has worked very well on the grass. By putting her in this race, it opens up some options for us if she takes to it.”

Amoss has given the mount to Marcelino Pedroza Jr.

Rematch in Turf Sprint

Minnesota Ready and Tape to Tape, who finished a respective first and second in the Speightstown last month at Lone Star, meet again in the $125,000 Grand Prairie Turf Sprint.

The horses were separated by a half-length last out in the six-furlong race on the main track.

Minnesota Ready will break from post 7 in the field of 11.

“He’s a versatile horse,” Amoss said of Minnesota Ready, “and although the distance of five-eighths may not be exactly perfect for him – I think he’d like a little more distance than that – weighing the positives versus the negatives, it’s worth doing.”

Pedroza has the mount.

“There looks to be quite a bit of speed in the race,” Amoss said. “My hope is that we can position well enough early that when we make our late kick, we can get up going five-eighths of a mile.”

Tape to Tape, who for an April allowance win at Lone Star earned a Beyer of 106 – seventh highest among all runners so far this year – set the pace last out in the Speightstown.

“We never caught a break in that race,” trainer Karl Broberg said. “We broke on top. We finally put that one speed horse away and another one was immediately at our throatlatch. He gave everything he had that day. It was heartbreaking. If he can do the same thing on turf, who knows?”

Ernesto Valdez-Jiminez has the mount from post 6.

Ocelot tops Turf Classic

Broberg has one of the top choices in the $250,000 Turf Classic in Ocelot. The horse owns the field’s best last-race turf Beyer, a 93, for his win in a one-mile allowance in May at Lone Star. Earlier this year, he ran second in the Grade 3 John B. Connally Turf at 1 1/2 miles at Sam Houston.

Ocelot will break from post 8 in the 1 1/8-mile race.

“I think it’s absolutely a perfect distance for him,” Broberg said. “I love the fact that he’s got enough speed to get himself wherever he wants. He actually does his best running when he’s allowed to settle and make a run.

“He can win on the lead. He can stalk. It looks there’s plenty of speed in the race, I thought, and hopefully, with the outside post, we’re still able to get a good trip and see if he can become a stakes winner.”

The eight-horse field includes Komorebino Omoide, who enters off a May allowance win on dirt at Lone Star for which he earned a Beyer of 104. He’s making his turf debut and picking up ground off the one-mile start.

“Turf will be a question, but I really don’t think the distance will be a question,” trainer Robertino Diodoro said. “I really believe the horse will able to handle the distance. He’s got a nice, big, long stride on him. He loves to train – trains like a horse that wants to go farther.”

Trainer Mike Maker, who has won the last two runnings of the Turf Classic and a total of 27 turf stakes between all Texas tracks, sends out What Say Thee.

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