Sugoi ($41.50) leads start to finish in upsetting Louisville Stakes

Trainer Mike Maker for years has made a practice of claiming older male horses and turning them into graded-stakes winners by stretching them out to long-distance grass races, and he has done it again with Sugoi.

Maker, on behalf of owners Paradise Farm and David Staudacher, claimed Sugoi for $50,000 on April 24 at Keeneland, and on Saturday night at Churchill Downs, Sugoi led from start to finish under Julien Leparoux in upsetting the $241,250 Louisville Stakes.

Maker said he tried to claim Sugoi for $25,000 over the winter at Turfway Park but lost a “shake” for the horse when multiple claims were dropped.

I knew he was a talented horse and I was looking forward to having him do what he did tonight – rate on the front end of a turf marathon,” Maker told Churchill publicity.

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Sugoi, racing over a firm turf course, went 50.25, 1:15.81, and 1:42.12 while racing on the lead without being pressured. He faced a challenge from upper stretch to the eighth pole, but drew away from the horses outside him and won by 1 1/4 lengths over Strong Tide, who had raced just behind the leader the entire 1 1/2 miles of the Louisville. Strong Tide held by a head over late-running The Grey Wizard, who closed from seventh and was a half-length better than fourth-place Bold Act, the 7-10 favorite.

The Louisville marked Bold Act’s second defeat at odds-on this spring in Kentucky, the colt having finished third at odds of 1-2 last month in the Elkhorn Stakes at Keeneland. As was the case in the Elkhorn, Bold Act raced too keenly during the early stages, which led to a ground-losing trip around all three turns as jockey Florent Geroux tried to compromise with his headstrong mount, allowing Bold Act to go forward after he took up a position in last going into the first turn.

Utah Beach, the 19-10 second choice, rallied tepidly from last of 10 to finish fifth. Sugoi clocked 2:30.37 and paid $41.50.

Sugoi’s most recent turf start had come last summer at Ellis Park, where he’d been second in a $25,000 claimer over 1 1/8 miles. By Karakontie out of Timeless Spirit, by Devil His Due, Sugoi in February won a Tapeta race at Turfway going 1 1/4 miles. Maker though the gelding could go even farther on turf, and has been the case many times in these situations, Maker was correct.

*** Disarm made a winning, if slow, return to the races earlier on the Saturday card at Churchill. Making his first start since a second-place finish in the Travers Stakes last summer, Disarm controlled an extremely slow tempo facing three foes in a two-turn dirt allowance race and prevailed by 1 1/2 lengths. Disarm got only an 85 Beyer because he ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.88, but after leading through a half-mile split in 52.01, Disarm sprinted home. His fourth quarter-mile in 23.49 was nearly three seconds faster than his second quarter-mile, and Disarm, a Gun Runner colt trained by Steve Asmussen, finished off his comeback with a half-furlong in a sharp 5.90.

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