'Freak deal' leads Red Ruby to Black-Eyed Susan try

Led by Red Ruby in the 94th running of the Grade 2, $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan for sophomore fillies, trainer Kellyn Gorder will take aim at three of the seven stakes worth $1.15 million that help comprise Friday's 14-race program at legendary Pimlico Race Course.

Based in Lexington, Ky., Gorder will also send out Bootsy’s Hadenough in the $150,000 Adena Springs Miss Preakness (G3) for 3-year-old fillies and Dorodansa in the $150,000 Maker’s Mark Allaire DuPont (G3) for fillies and mares 3 and up.

Red Ruby won on her second attempt last fall at Churchill Downs in good time for 1 1/16 miles (1:44.62). She subsequently took Oaklawn Park’s one-mile Martha Washington Feb. 10 in her sophomore debut before finishing fourth in the Honeybee (G3).

Gorder was pointing Red Ruby for a start in the 1 1/16-mile Fantasy (G3) April 13 at Oaklawn, a point qualifier for the May 4 Kentucky Oaks (G1), but was forced to miss both following a morning incident at the barn.

“Everything was going along fine at Oaklawn, and about 10 days out from the Fantasy it was kind of a freak deal in the shedrow,” Gorder said. “Ruby had trained and was cooling out and horse in front of her spooked from something and kind of ran backward. Red Ruby saw the horse coming at her and just turned around and kind of just fled— like [dragged] the hotwalker halfway down the shedrow into the middle aisle-way and crashed into the metal ladder that goes to the hay loft.

“[Red Ruby] had four cuts, two on her right front and two on her left hind. I think she had a total of 13 stitches, but they were just in bad spots,” he added. “We had to give her some time off before we could train again. So she missed a work and of course she missed the Fantasy and that knocked us out of the Kentucky Oaks.”

Red Ruby has breezed twice at Keeneland for the Black-Eyed Susan, going six furlongs in 1:12 May 12 in her most recent move. She drew Post 4 in the field of 10 and will be ridden for the first time by Paco Lopez.

Gorder is hoping Red Ruby won’t be affected by the atmosphere on Black-Eyed Susan Day, a festive afternoon of racing and events that serves as a fitting prelude to Saturday’s 143rd Preakness Stakes (G1).

“She came back and has been training super coming into this race. We thought it was a good target race. Most of the Oaks fillies are sitting this one out,” Gorder said. “She gets wound up a little bit. It’s easy for her to get excited.

“We saw a little bit of it in the post parade for the Martha Washington,” he added. “I thought it was maybe because she wasn’t used to being next to the pony, so I hired the pony to go back and forth with me every morning to the track. It didn’t work. She was worse. She got really wound up and was pushing the pony around.”