Smokin' T makes it look easy in River City Stakes

Shug McGaughey began training Ogden Phipps homebreds in 1986, a turning point in his career. Most of the Phipps horses had classic American dirt pedigrees, and McGaughey’s rise came in great part with main-track performers. Times change, stables change. When the McGaughey-trained Smokin’ T came home a 1 3/4-length winner of the Grade 3 River City Stakes on Saturday at Churchill Downs, it marked McGaughey’s ninth turf stakes win of 2023, compared to just two stakes wins in dirt races.

No worries – there's plenty of green on the grass, and Smokin’ T took home a little less than $175,000 out of the $300,000 purse in the River City, a Grade 3.

Four-year-old Smokin’ T has been brought along in standard McGaughey fashion: Slowly and steadily. The colt, by War Front out of Wine Princess, by Ghostzapper, required four starts to clear the maiden ranks. He didn’t win a stakes until earlier this year, when at Saratoga he captured the restricted Lure, named for the great McGaughey-trained turf miler. Only one of Smokin’ T’s 17 starts going into Saturday’s contest had come at a distance as far as 1 1/8 miles, but Smokin’ T was capably prepared to handle the trip.

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Getting a clean, mid-pack journey under John Velazquez, Smokin’ T began finding his best stride past the three-furlong marker around the far turn, and at the quarter pole, the top of the homestretch, he nearly had reached the leaders.

Past the three-sixteenths, Smokin’ T quickly took the measure of Dominican Pioneer and Stitched, the latter stalking from second as the former set solid fractions of 23.33, 47.96, and 1:13.25. With a field-best 24.39 fourth-quarter mile, Smokin’ T held a clear lead at the furlong grounds, and he never came close to being caught, stopping the timer in 1:50.56 for nine furlongs over a “good” course.

Harlan Estate rallied from ninth to finish second, a neck in front of Siege of Boston, who made his run even later than Harlan Estate and was fastest through the final furlong, going 12.10. Tepid favorite Rockemperor was an even seventh as second-choice Smokin’ T paid $10.54.

Bred and owned by DATTT Stable, Smokin’ T is the fourth and most successful foal to race from Wine Princess, a multiple graded-stakes winner. Smokin’ T was taken to auction as a yearling but failed to meet a $295,000 reserve. Instead, he began his racing with McGaughey, an excellent trainer, generally, and extremely live with turf horses this season.

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