Shifting back to grass, Turf Star rallies late to win James W. Murphy

LAUREL, Md. - It was always in the name.

After switching to synthetic and coming up empty last time out, Turf Star returned to the grass and finally earned his first stakes victory in the $100,000 James W. Murphy on Saturday at Laurel Park. Jockey Jorge Ruiz was aboard for the first time in the late-running score.

“I'm just really proud of [Ruiz],” trainer Graham Motion said. “We kind of had a game plan. We wanted to take him back today, and we needed to give him a chance, let him catch his breath. He rode him beautifully. He proved the kind of horse we thought he was.”

Earlier this week, Motion compared Ruiz to another of his favorite jockeys, Ramon Dominguez, noting both riders’ exceptional knacks for getting horses to settle on the turf. The trainer wanted Turf Star to work out a more patient trip in the Murphy, and Ruiz delivered with a brilliant ride from sixth.

“It’s not a coincidence that Georgie wins so many races on the grass,” Motion said, using a nickname for Ruiz. “He's very patient, very kind. He's just got very quiet hands.”

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Last time out, Motion entered Turf Star in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park, where he finished ninth by 18 3/4 lengths. It was his first race on synthetic after several stronger efforts on turf, including a sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf last year. It wasn’t hard to spot the source of his regression, nor was it hard to come up with the solution.

Zinhal was the only runner to scratch in the Murphy, leaving a field of seven 3-year-olds in the one-mile turf race. Turf Star was one of five rivals left to chase Thebabeslayer and Attfield, who dueled through an opening quarter-mile in 23.76 seconds and a half-mile in 48.31.

“It unfolded like I thought it would,” Ruiz said. “It looks like [Turf Star] needs horses to go out in front of him.“

Proton, another Motion trainee and the 2-1 favorite, stalked on the backstretch and had the first crack at the early leaders, but he failed to fire. Just to his inside for most of the race, My Favorite Bird made a scorching rally under Flavien Prat, eased out a few paths, and blasted into the lead like a certain winner at the top of the stretch.

The Kent Sweezey-trained gelding, denied in his last two stakes starts in Florida, seemed on his way to a well-earned stakes victory, but Turf Star and Ruiz proved more deserving. With an even stronger stretch move, the "other" Motion runner delivered in machine-like fashion, getting up to win by a half-length at the wire. He completed the mile in 1:24.34 and paid $10.40 to win.

“When I asked for run at the quarter pole, he responded very well,” Ruiz said. “My first ride on the horse and I’ll be watching his races from here on.”

Motion, who was simply happy to get the colt across the line, said he did not have an immediate follow-up in mind for his 3-year-old. That being said, it won’t be hard to guess the surface.

My Favorite Bird, valiant in defeat under Prat, finished three lengths clear for second ahead of Attfield, who was spent but held third for trainer Tom Morley.

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