Quick pace should help Storm the Court in Turf Dash

It has been more than four years since Storm the Court upset the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita at 45-1 and the now 7-year-old has gone winless in 20 starts since.

Storm the Court has changed barns a few times, and his newest trainer, William Morey, has made a turf sprinter out of him. Though winless in three starts at five furlongs on turf, Storm the Court ran one of his best races last out when, after a terrible break from the gate, he rallied from last to finish second to Phantom Smoke in a second-level allowance.

Saturday, Storm the Court faces Phantom Smoke and seven others in the $100,000 Turf Dash at five furlongs at Tampa. The Turf Dash and its female equivalent, the $100,000 Lightning City Stakes, were postponed from a week ago when wet conditions forced last weekend’s turf races to dirt.

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On Jan. 31, Storm the Court broke in a tangle and was two lengths behind the field three strides out of the gate. He circled widest of all and came with a belated bid, falling a length short of Phantom Smoke. Last November, he dead-heated for second in a turf sprint, also at Tampa.

“The last race was frustrating for sure, tough start, but he finished well,” Morey said. “The owners sent him to me trying to rejuvenate him. We elected to try turf sprinting, it’s worked to some extent. It’s got him running consistently. It seemed like his last one was his best one since we had him, that’s why we elected to take a shot in the stakes.”

Saturday, Storm the Court will likely have to try to run down Phantom Smoke again, though there does appear to be other speed in the field, including Extendo and Yes I Am Free. Those two horses were part of a pace battle in the Janus Stakes on Dec. 31 at Gulfstream, where Extendo finished second and Yes I Am Free was eighth. Both came out of the Janus to run second in allowance/optional claimers in their subsequent starts.

Sky’s Not Falling won the Maryland Million Turf Sprint in 2022, though his last three wins have come going a mile or longer. Still, a fast pace would likely aid this 6-year-old’s cause.

“He seems like he’s doing pretty well,” trainer Mike Trombetta said. “I haven’t leaned on him real hard. Backing up in distance, I figured I wouldn’t have to. He’s fresh and happy, and hopefully he goes up there and runs okay.”

The Turf Dash marks the stakes debut of the 12-year-old gelding Bam Bam Blu. This son of Curlin, who didn’t debut until he was 6, has won 7 of 22 starts, including an optional-claiming race last September at Delaware. He finished sixth in the same race that Phantom Smoke won Jan. 31.

“It was possible the race was going to come up a short field, being he can race here and they don’t have many five-furlong races it was worth looking at for sure,” trainer Pat McBurney said.

McBurney said that once this race was pushed back a week, he breezed Bam Bam Blu last Saturday, and the horse went a half-mile in 47.60 seconds, the fastest of 27 half-mile drills that morning on the main track.

Thealligatorhunter, Monsieur Coco, and Smithwick’s Spice complete the field.

Lightning City Stakes

The Turf Dash and Lightning City Stakes are both sponsored by Pleasant Acres Stallions, outside Ocala, Fla., where the fast turf sprinter Leinster stands. Rusty Arnold trained Leinster for the final 13 starts of his career, and the son of Majestic Warrior had Amy Dunne as one of his owners.

In Saturday’s Lightning City Stakes, Arnold will send out Just a Care, who counts Dunne as one of her owners.

“Hopefully, we can keep it in house,” Arnold said.

In order to do that, Just a Care will likely have to revert to her previous running style, in which she came from off the pace to win a five-furlong maiden race at Gulfstream nearly a year ago.

Since returning from an eight-month layoff, Just a Care has flashed speed, running second in a first-level allowance over Keeneland’s turf in October and then winning a first-level allowance Dec. 17 over Gulfstream’s Tapeta surface. That race was originally scheduled for turf.

In the October race, Arnold said Just a Care “was rather sharp and got caught. When she was in [at Gulfstream], there wasn’t a ton of speed and she inherited the lead. She has no issue laying right off the pace at all.”

The pace figures to be hot with Boo Boo Kitty, coming back off a 16-month layoff for Kevin Rice, Jordi’s Dream, and Fulminate, who set the pace before finishing third in the Feb. 11 Ladies’ Turf Sprint at Gulfstream.

Play the Music, trained by Mark Casse, turns back after winning a 7 1/2-furlong allowance on Jan. 27 at Gulfstream. Howboutdemapples, trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., was third in that race and is back in this spot. Covenant Lady has an off-the-pace style but is just one for her last 15.

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