Voodoo Song will press on to Shadwell Turf Mile

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Linda Rice said that Voodoo Song came out of his last-place finish as the 3-5 favorite in Monday’s Grade 2 Bernard Baruch Handicap in good order and will still be pointed to the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland on Oct. 6.

Voodoo Song had a seemingly comfortable 3 1/2-length lead under Jose Lezcano after a half-mile in 47.89 seconds, but had no fight in him when the four others in the race came to him at the three-sixteenths pole. Qurbaan, away from the races for 11 months, won a three-way photo by a nose over Forge, who nosed out Projected for second.

The loss was the first in six starts over Saratoga’s turf course for Voodoo Song, who as the winner of the Grade 1 Fourstardave 23 days earlier carried highweight of 122 pounds in the Bernard Baruch.

“It’s a little bit of a mystery to me,” Rice said Wednesday by phone from Saratoga. “I know he carried more weight this time around. Frankly, I think he likes to go faster fractions. With no speed, Jose let him fall asleep on the lead – I don’t know if he fell asleep or Jose fell asleep. We don’t know how much of it is the trip, the ride, maybe he bounced off a big effort. Bottom line is the horse came back well. We’ll still point to the Shadwell Mile. Hopefully, it’ll go better there.”

Qurbaan is owned by Shadwell Stable, so it only makes sense that he would point to the Shadwell Turf Mile. Qurbaan, Forge, and Projected each earned a 102 Beyer Speed Figure for the Bernard Baruch.