War Dancer heads strong field for Kentucky Turf Cup
An especially well-matched field of 11 older horses will go postward Saturday in the Grade 3, $600,000 Kentucky Turf Cup, the annual highlight at the turf-only Kentucky Downs in south-central Kentucky.
War Dancer is the lukewarm morning-line favorite in the Turf Cup, a 1 1/2-mile race that drew contenders from several jurisdictions, including Tricky Hat and Pyrite Mountain from New York, Holiday Star from Maryland, and Suntracer from Chicago.
War Dancer, with Alan Garcia to ride, has earned almost $600,000 while evolving into a turf-marathon specialist for Diamond M Stable and trainer Ken McPeek. Two of his best races came earlier this year when second in the Grade 2 Elkhorn at Keeneland and a winner in the Grade 3 Louisville Handicap at Churchill Downs.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 3 War Dancer and No. 9 Olympic Thunder. Trainer Ken McPeek is 5 for 36 with a $1.17 ROI over the past five years in turf routes of 12 furlongs and longer. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Tricky Hat will be ridden by Rosie Napravnik, who enjoyed a terrific afternoon Wednesday at Kentucky Downs, where she rode four winners. Julien Leparoux, who rides Pyrite Mountain for Todd Pletcher, had three winners Wednesday.
Mike Maker has three entries in the Turf Cup in Fear the Kitten, Cozy Kitten, and Saffron Hall, the last of whom can be expected to set or press the early pace over the undulating, irregularly shaped Kentucky Downs oval.
The Turf Cup, with its highest purse ever, anchors a sensational program as the ninth of 10 races. In all, more than $1.6 million in purse money is in the offing Saturday, although almost half of that sum is restricted to horses eligible to the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund. For example, the Turf Cup purse includes $300,000 in KTDF bonuses.
First post Saturday is 1:35 p.m. Central, with the Turf Cup set for 5:35. This is the 23rd running of the Turf Cup, which was worth $400,000 last year, when it was won by Temeraine and jockey Gary Stevens.
Three other stakes surround the Turf Cup, each worth $200,000: the More Than Ready Mile (race 7), the Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint (race 8), and the Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf (race 10). An all-stakes pick four wager links them together.
After Saturday, two Wednesday cards (Sept. 17 and 24) remain at the five-day meet.
Kentucky Downs steadily has become a favorite among savvy bettors, with its huge fields and the lowest takeout in North American racing: 16 percent for win-place-show, 18.25 percent for exactas, 14 percent for the pick five, and 19 percent for all other exotic wagers. Members of the Horseplayers Association of North America have been particularly vocal in their support of Kentucky Downs.
Key contenders
War Dancer (Last 3 Beyers: 98-91-99)
* Grind-it-out style really has flattered him, as this War Front 4-year-old continues to be a major presence in these graded turf marathons.
“We keep letting him do what he does,” said McPeek. “He loves to get out there and mix it up.”
Tricky Hat (Last 3 Beyers: 93-62-88)
* A narrow victory over fellow Turf Cup rival Holiday Star in the John’s Call Stakes at Saratoga suggests that both horses ship in from the East Coast in sharp form. Throw out the Monmouth Cup debacle, and this one really has been a reliable sort for Shug McGaughey.
O’Prado Ole (Last 3 Beyers: 95-97-85)
* If recency counts for much, this could be your guy. He followed a gritty runner-up finish on the Arlington Million undercard with a too-keen effort in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer.
“I want to see Corey [Lanerie] get him into a nice, smooth rhythm early,” said trainer Dale Romans.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 4 Holiday Star. Trainer Graham Motion is 15 for 66 with a $3.42 ROI over the past five years in turf routes of 12 furlongs and longer. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan