Cannon, Walsh try to continue momentum in Ky. Downs Turf Cup

Jockey Declan Cannon and trainer Brendan Walsh got off to fast starts at the 2023 Kentucky Downs meet and will try to keep that momentum going into Saturday’s historic card. That includes teaming with the 4-year-old gelding Verstappen in the Grade 2, $1.3 million Kentucky Downs Turf Cup. The race also offers an additional $400,000 purse supplement for Kentucky-breds.

Walsh also is running two-time Grade 1 winner Santin in the Turf Cup, which attracted an overflow field of 16 entrants, with 12 horses the maximum that can start and the other four needing defections to run.

Verstappen, owned by Andrew Farm and For The People Racing Stable, won Keeneland’s Elkhorn (G2) at 16-1 in April. He most recently was second in Saratoga’s Bowling Green (G2), scratching out of the Sword Dancer (G1) there to run at Kentucky Downs.

“The horse has been training great up in Saratoga,” Cannon said. “We got beat by a good horse of Bill Mott’s last time in Channel Maker. He lost nothing in defeat. Everything is pointing toward this race and I couldn’t be happier with him… He’s going to be very live in this race.”

Walsh has won six races this meet heading into Saturday's card, while Cannon has won four. That includes an allowance win with Tifareeh and a maiden special weight victory with Palm Tree. Cannon earned his first Kentucky Downs stakes victory on opening day with the Whit Beckman-trained Harlan Estate in the Tapit. Sunday he finished second in the Dueling Grounds Oaks aboard 20-1 Sabalenka for Beckman and then won the Dueling Grounds Derby with the Brian Lynch-trained Anglophile.

Spending the winter riding at Turfway Park, where Walsh trains a lot of his grass horses over that synthetic surface, paid dividends for Cannon, who the prior year was out six months with an injury.

“This year he’s been riding super,” Walsh said. “He works very hard at it. He had a bad fall a couple of years ago that knocked him out for a while. He’s come back with a vengeance, a lot of confidence at the moment. I’ve got 100-percent confidence in Declan right now.

“He’s a big asset to me. He comes in a lot of days and rides a lot of work for me and gives me great feedback. He works hard and anybody who does that and is on a roll like he is right now, they deserve a chance.”

Godolphin’s Santin won the Turf Classic (G1) on the 2022 Kentucky Derby card and followed that up with a victory in the Arlington Million (G1) that had relocated to Churchill for one year before moving on to Colonial Downs. Santin’s form tapered off at the end of last year, and his team experimented with running the 5-year-old horse on dirt in stakes at Churchill Downs and Ellis Park. Back on grass, he finished second in the 1 1/4-mile Arlington Million in Virginia. Florent Geroux picks up the mount.

“I wouldn’t completely rule out him going back to dirt again at some point,” Walsh said of Santin. “But he’s a heck of a turf horse … he ran a very good second in the Arlington Million. It was a fantastic run. He was up on the pace the whole way and was there to be shot at. And he held in there and ran a really, really good second. I feel he’s doing really well coming into here. He got a mile and a quarter at Colonial. I don’t see why he wouldn’t get a mile and a half. He’s a very relaxed horse, maybe a little too laid back if anything.”

Trainer Mike Maker entered four horses as he seeks a record sixth victory in the Turf Cup. Those include 2022 winner Red Knight, who earlier this year earned his first Grade 1 victory in Belmont Park’s Man o’ War at age 9; United Nations (G1) winner Therapist; and Me and Mr. C, the only horse in the body of the race who isn’t a graded-stakes winner, gaining an automatic and fees-paid spot by virtue of winning the prep at Ellis Park. His fourth entrant is Red Run, who needs four scratches in order to compete.

Therapist is the tepid 7-2 favorite over 4-1 Red Knight in the morning line, which pegs Verstappen at 9-2 and Santin at 5-1 in an extremely competitive betting race.

First post Saturday is 12:30 p.m. EDT. General admission, tailgating and parking are free. The other stakes on the card include the Ladies Marathon (G3) at 1 5/16 miles, the Franklin-Simpson (G2) for 3-year-olds at 6 1/2 furlongs, the Ladies Turf (G3) at a mile, the Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint (G2) at six furlongs and the Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint (G2) at 6 1/2 furlongs. These races all offer a $600,000 purse plus $400,000 in Kentucky-bred supplements.

Walsh already won a stakes this meet with Secret Money taking the $1 million, Music City (G3). He also is sending out New Year’s Eve, one of the favorites in the Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf off her victory in the Ellis Park prep stakes, and Lady Rockstar in the Ladies Marathon. Cannon will ride Lady Rockstar, with 2022 Kentucky Downs riding champion Tyler Gaffalione aboard New Year’s Eve.

“New Year’s Eve is doing super,” Walsh said. “She ran really, really well in the prep so we feel we’ve got her back doing as good as she can do.”