Ten City rerouted to Ellis Park Juvenile

Ten City, the colt who defeated Copper Bullet in the Bashford Manor Stakes at Churchill Downs, will make his next start Sunday in the $75,000 Ellis Park Juvenile in western Kentucky.

“He needs to run,” said trainer Kenny McPeek, who initially intended to wait until the Sept. 16 Iroquois at Churchill for the colt’s next race. “He’s been training, training, training, and I finally decided this is the best way to go.”

The June 30 Bashford Manor already is becoming a key race. Copper Bullet, second by 1 1/2 lengths to Ten City following a brutal trip, returned to win the Grade 2 Saratoga Special by four lengths last weekend.

Robby Albarado rode Ten City, a son of Run Away and Hide, in both his starts, but has committed to Dak Attack, trained by Dale Romans, for the seven-furlong Ellis Juvenile. McPeek has turned to Jack Gilligan, who won three races last Sunday on the undercard of the Grade 3 Groupie Doll Stakes.

McPeek said the Grade 3 Iroquois remains the next target for Ten City. The 1 1/16-mile race is the first race awarding qualifying points for the 2018 Kentucky Derby. “It’s still almost a month in between,” he said.

Ten City, owned by Tommie Lewis, has been sent through three works at Keeneland since the Bashford Manor, two of them bullets.

The Ellis Juvenile, revived last year after an eight-year hiatus, will be accompanied Sunday by its sister race, the $75,000 Ellis Debutante, which is returning this year from a lengthy absence. They’re the final stakes at the Ellis Park meet, which runs through Sept. 4.

Picking up the mount on Ten City is a prime example of how timing is everything – and Gilligan knows it.

“We’re finally starting to see results,” said Gilligan, who turns 21 on Sept. 3 and is represented by Liz Morris. “My agent and I have really been working hard in the mornings, hitting the backside and hoping some of the bigger trainers will give us a shot.”

Gilligan’s big day lifted him to sixth in the Ellis jockey standings, which are led by Corey Lanerie (25 wins), as another three-day race week resumes Friday. A native of England, Gilligan remained in Kentucky last winter to ride at Turfway Park but is planning to ride at Fair Grounds in New Orleans after the Churchill Downs fall meet.

◗ Tiger Moth, who rallied to win the Groupie Doll by three-quarters of a length over Walkabout, came out of the race “in great shape,” trainer Brad Cox said Wednesday, adding that he has not yet decided on the next race for the 5-year-old mare.