Turfway Park: Kentucky Derby next stop for We Miss Artie

FLORENCE, Ky. – We Miss Artie is scheduled to be flown back to south Florida on Tuesday and will not race again before the May 3 Kentucky Derby, for which the colt earned 50 eligibility points by virtue of his dramatic narrow victory Saturday in the Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park.

Owner Ken Ramsey said Sunday morning from Florida that he will let trainer Todd Pletcher decide when to send We Miss Artie back to Kentucky from the Palm Meadows training center to make final preparations for the Derby.

[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]

“I still haven’t wiped the smile off my face,” a joking Ramsey said. “In fact, I’m having a mint julep for breakfast – without the mint.”

We Miss Artie, ridden by John Velazquez, was up in the last jump to win the Grade 3, $518,950 Spiral. Harry’s Holiday was second and Coastline was just another head back in third. All three horses earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 85.

As a side note, the Spiral winner’s share was $282,000 and therefore made Velazquez the first jockey in North American racing history to surpass the $300-million milestone. Into Sunday at Sunland Park, the Hall of Fame jockey has $300,151,477 in purse earnings.

Unfortunately for the co-owners of Harry’s Holiday, the defeat was reminiscent of what happened nearly three years ago in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland when they saw their Twinspired nipped on the wire by Brilliant Speed.

“I’ve been telling everybody who’s been calling and texting this morning that it was the Blue Grass, déjà vu,” said Harvey Diamond, who manages the Skychai Racing partnership that co-owns Harry’s Holiday with Terry Raymond. “Those are two pretty tough ones.”

Harry’s Holiday, claimed for $30,000 from his career debut at Churchill Downs in September, was not an original Triple Crown nominee, but the owners paid a $6,000 late fee before the Saturday night deadline to make the colt eligible, said Diamond.

Harry’s Holiday has been based at Turfway since he won the 96 Rock Stakes by eight lengths on Feb. 1 but will move soon to the Trackside training facility in Louisville, where trainer Mike Maker will be regrouping his huge stable over the next few weeks.

Harry’s Holiday earned 20 Derby points and would seem to have a spot in the 20-horse starting gate, but whether the colt will race one more time before the Derby has yet to be decided, said Diamond. “We’ll give that a little time,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mark Casse, trainer of Coastline, said he was very pleased with how the son of Speightstown ran and that he will consider the Blue Grass, Lexington, or Derby Trial for a next start.

The Spiral, sponsored for the second year by Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati, was run under mostly clear skies and temperatures in the 40s. An official attendance count was not released by Turfway, although the huge VIP tent and much of the grandstand were filled as usual with spring revelers.

* Trainer Wayne Catalano said Aurelia’s Belle, winner of the Grade 3 Bourbonette Stakes, will make her next start in the May 2 Kentucky Oaks. Aurelia’s Belle, owned by James F. Miller, earned 50 points toward the Oaks.