Red Knight noses Gufo in Kentucky Turf Cup, gains BC Turf berth

FRANKLIN, Ky. – An 8-year-old won the Kentucky Turf Cup on Saturday, but it wasn’t Arklow, a two-time previous winner who went postward as the 2-1 second choice in the showcase event of the richest card in Kentucky Downs history.

Instead, it was Red Knight, a 12-1 shot, who edged 8-5 favorite Gufo in the desperate final yards of the Grade 2 Turf Cup, thereby earning an automatic expenses-paid berth into the Nov. 5 Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland.

Red Knight, ridden by Gerardo Corrales, enjoyed a ground-saving trip throughout the 1 1/2-mile Turf Cup, taking command at the furlong grounds before Gufo ranged up boldly as the wire neared, only to be a nose shy. Another Mystery was third, just another neck back in a field of 12 older horses, with Highest Honor fourth and Arklow fading to sixth after contending to midstretch.

Red Knight returned $26.04 after finishing in 2:26.95 over firm going.

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“This is the perfect distance for him, 12 furlongs,” Corrales told DRF en Espanol shortly afterward in an interview translated to English. “When Gufo came next to Red Knight, he actually saw him eye to eye and he got additional energy. He just never quit. He just kept trying.”

Red Knight, an 8-year-old New York-bred by Pure Prize, is owned by his breeder, the Trinity Farm of Tom Egan. The chestnut gelding earned $317,130 of a $694,180 purse that would have maxed-out at $1 million if all the top finishers had earned bonuses reserved for registered Kentucky-breds. As it is, Red Knight still earned the Win and You’re In spot to the $3 million BC Turf, which Maker said most likely will be his next race.

“Tremendous,” said Maker, who extended his own win record to five in the Turf Cup, all of them since 2015. “I thought he was gonna get beat” on the wire. “He is a fighter, a tough horse.”

On a cloudy but pleasant afternoon, Keystone Field set the pace in the two-turn Turf Cup before giving way as the field straightened for the long stretch run. Red Knight was among those making headway, but with about 70 yards left, it looked like Gufo and jockey Joel Rosario had him measured after emerging from mid-pack with a steady rally.

Alas, Red Knight held sway, marking his 10th win from 29 career starts while lifting his earnings to $1,210,388. His only prior appearance here was a runner-up finish to Arklow in the 2020 Turf Cup. Maker had only assumed his training in January from Bill Mott, with the gelding’s first start for Maker resulting in a victory in his 8-year-old debut in the July 27 Colonial Cup at Colonial Downs.

Gufo, fresh from winning the Grade 1 Sword Dancer at Saratoga for the second straight year, acquitted himself nicely when returning on just two weeks’ rest. Trainer Christophe Clement said before the Turf Cup that he still could use the Oct. 8 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Aqueduct as a final prep for the BC Turf for the 5-year-old horse.

“He did everything right,” Rosario said. “I did everything I could – just couldn’t get there.”

Arklow, an 8-year-old horse with more than $3 million in earnings, was competing in the Turf Cup for a remarkable fifth straight year, having won in 2018 and 2020 and finishing second in 2019 and 2021. “It looked like he ran his usual race,” trainer Brad Cox said. “We’re still proud of him.”

The $2 exacta (1-8) paid $82.12, the $1 trifecta (1-8-10) returned $376.60, and the 10-cent superfecta (1-8-10-12) was worth $286.96.

The 31st Turf Cup was one of six stakes on a 12-race card offering more than $5 million in purses. Two other Saturday stakes that could have maxed-out at $1 million also were won by non-Kentucky-breds (Dalika in the Ladies Turf and Campanelle in the Ladies Sprint), thereby lowering their purses substantially.

All-sources handle on the 12-race Saturday card was a track-record $21,065,982, surpassing the $20.8 million bet on an 11-race card on this date last year.