Rockemperor best of unlucky BC trio dropping into Hollywood Turf Cup
Perhaps no one was going to beat Yibir in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, but his dazzling stretch rally was not the only reason for his come-from-behind victory.
Yibir was good. He also was lucky, because he avoided the BC Turf misfortune that befell many. Top contenders Domestic Spending and United were injured and scratched. Tarnawa, 2020 BC Turf winner and the 2021 favorite, misfired and retired.
Racing luck compromised others, including three who return Friday at Del Mar – Rockemperor, Astronaut, and Acclimate. They are among a field of seven in the Grade 2 Hollywood Turf Cup, which is sort of a $250,000 consolation for the $4 million BC Turf.
The 1 1/2-mile Turf Cup field also includes Friar’s Road, who entered the BC Turf but did not draw in; Say the Word, who skipped the BC altogether; and outsiders Award Winner and Cupid’s Claws. Finding the Turf Cup winner may be as easy as watching a replay of the BC Turf.
One of the unluckiest in the race was Rockemperor, a 10-1 contender who was shuffled out of position on the far turn, and blocked with nowhere to run into the lane. He finished eighth at 10-1 odds. “He really didn’t get to run much,” trainer Chad Brown said. “He was kind of buried inside and just galloped around.”
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It’s only a guess where Rockemperor might have finished otherwise. “I’m not saying for certain what impact he would have made,” Brown acknowledged. “He just didn’t run. It was a non-effort. I decided to leave him [in California] and wheel him right back in this race given the fact I don’t feel he put much effort in the last one. He wasn’t allowed to.”
If he reproduces his blinkers-off victory in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic two back at Belmont Park, Rockemperor will be tough to beat under Flavien Prat. The field’s only U.S. Grade 1 winner, Rockemperor benefits from a significant “class” angle – BC Turf runners have performed exceptionally well in the seven years since the Turf Cup moved from Hollywood Park to Del Mar.
Since 2014, the eight horses who entered the Turf Cup off a start in the BC Turf produced four wins and three seconds. None of the Turf Cup winners even hit the board in the BC Turf (Finnegans Wake, The Pizza Man, Texas Ryano, Arklow). Clearly, the class drop into the Turf Cup is far more substantial than simply Grade 1 to Grade 2.
Two other Turf Cup entrants also exit the BC Turf. Astronaut, winner of the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap in summer, checked on the far turn of the BC Turf and dropped out to finish 12th at 37-1. Acclimate, who won the 2019 Del Mar Handicap, chased the pace and backed up to finish last at 51-1.
“I just don’t think he was in a comfortable scenario for him,” Acclimate’s trainer Phil D’Amato said. “It wasn’t his day. We gave it a shot. That race was a workout, kind of equivalent to that. We’re going to give him a shot again.”
Acclimate employs a front-running style that is typically ineffective in turf marathons on the closers-friendly Del Mar turf course. On the other hand, Acclimate and jockey Ricky Gonzalez could be loose on the lead.
D’Amato’s best chance in the Turf Cup is stretch-runner Say the Word, a Grade 1 winner in Canada and Grade 2 winner in the U.S. who has not raced since a bad-trip fifth in the Del Mar Handicap three months ago. His new rider Friday is Kent Desormeaux.
The freshening for Say the Word was by design. “We weren’t planning on running him in the Breeders’ Cup. We were just going to freshen him up, point him for this race, and launch his campaign,” D’Amato said.
“The last race was much, much better than looked. It was a horrid trip. A nice little freshening was in order so we could have some fun with him in 2022.”
Say the Word finished third by a length in last year’s Turf Cup.
Few in this year’s Turf Cup field have improved as rapidly as Friar’s Road, who was a modest entry-level allowance runner on the main track until trainer Michael McCarthy switched him to turf and stretched him out in distance.
Friar’s Road won an entry-level allowance at a mile and three-eighths in summer at Del Mar, followed by a close third in the Grade 2 John Henry Turf Championship at Santa Anita. “It’s the grass and the stretch-out that moved him up,” McCarthy said.
Friar’s Road will be ridden by Umberto Rispoli.
Grade 2 winner Award Winner figures to be positioned second. He would likely get first run if and when expected pacesetter Acclimate falters. The Hollywood Turf Cup is race 7 of 9 on Friday.