Ioya Bigtime Looks to Rebound in Louisville 'Cap

Team Block’s Ioya Bigtime, winner of the 2012 Kentucky Cup Turf (GIII), finished a disappointing ninth in the Elkhorn (GII) as the favorite, but he will look to get back on track in Saturday’s $100,000-added Louisville Handicap (GIII).

 

“We haven’t really been able to come up with (an excuse),” trainer Chris Block said. “It was nothing physical. Maybe we tried to slow things down too much. They were awfully slow fractions and we might have throttled him down too much. I don’t know for sure, though. I’m kind of just putting a line through the race and we’re back at it on Saturday.”

 

Ioya Bigtime set the early pace in the 1 ½-mile Elkhorn and ran the opening half-mile in :52.32 over the Keeneland turf course, which was rated “firm.”

 

“He’s doing really well since and if he wasn’t then we wouldn’t be running him Saturday,” Block said. “We’ll just forget about the last one and go into Saturday with some confidence the horse will go out and throw a good race.”

 

Block added that Ioya Bigtime will be close to the pace, but doesn’t need the lead.

 

“I’ll leave it up to the horse and (jockey) Jeffrey (Sanchez),” Block said. “He always breaks pretty sharp. If he happens to be on the lead without too much encouragement, then that’s fine. If someone else wants it, then that’s fine and we’ll lay off them.”

 

Ioya Bigtime is scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs from Arlington Park on Friday morning with assistant trainer Drew Coontz. Block will not be in attendance on Saturday.