Kentucky Downs: Gear Jockey wins 1 of 5 undercard stakes

On a day when past stakes-winners at Kentucky Downs proved dominant, the Grade 2, $1 million Turf Sprint on Saturday came down to two former winners over the course. 

Gear Jockey, winner of the 2021 Turf Sprint, loomed alongside pacesetter Bad Beat Brian with an eighth of a mile to go, but 2022 Franklin-Simpson winner One Timer was flying fast on the outside. The two came to the wire together.

Or almost together.

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Gear Jockey, with Jose Lezcano aboard, held on to win by a short head. Bad Beat Brian, who last year won a Kentucky Downs allowance race, grudgingly gave way to finish another neck back in third with Olympic Runner another neck back in fourth.

“We’re pretty happy,” understated winning trainer Rusty Arnold said. “He’s a favorite. I thought he had lost his edge. He’s had his issues, and we thought we had him in pretty good shape. He loves this course. Two times he’s won on it, so obviously he does. Great ride. Very happy.

“He won kind of the same way two years ago. We wanted to run here last year. We missed it. It’s nice to get him back.”

In victory, Gear Jockey earned an automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, this time at Santa Anita on Nov. 4. Gear Jockey finished sixth in the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar two years ago.

It was Gear Jockey’s first win since the 2021 Turf Sprint nine races ago. He was on the shelf eight months after getting a winter break when he fell off form. Arnold was able to get only one prep into the 6-year-old horse, in which Gear Jockey finished last of six that day in a $150,000 stakes at Colonial Downs. Arnold was forced to scratch from a planned earlier race at Ellis Park when a sprinkler issue flooded the turf course and necessitated the race moving to dirt.

But everything was smooth sailing with the big money on the line. Lezcano settled the horse into second behind front-running Bad Beat Brian.

Bad Beat Brian and jockey Chris Emigh rattled off fractions of 21.77 seconds for the first quarter-mile and 45.08 seconds for the half before Gear Jockey engaged the leader after five-eighths of a mile at 57.23 seconds seconds. Gear Jockey covered six furlongs over firm turf in 1:10.59 and paid $48.60 to win as the seventh choice in the field of 11 older horses. In the mad dash to the wire, a total of a length separated the winner from sixth-place Front Run the Fed and seventh-place Eamonn.

Gear Jockey, a Kentucky-bred son of Twirling Candy, is 24: 5-2-6, earning $1,586,651 with the $589,680 payday for owner-breeder Brad Kelley’s Calumet Farm. Kelley, a native of Simpson County, is a previous owner of Kentucky Downs.

Private Creed returns to score in Franklin-Simpson

After Mike McCarty’s Private Creed won the Juvenile Sprint race at Kentucky Downs last year, Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen pointed his son of Jimmy Creed to the $1 million Franklin-Simpson (G2) at the 2023 meet.

Private Creed didn’t disappoint his trainer as he was full of run in the 6 1/2-furlong race for 3-year-olds, coming up the rail to win by a widening 2 1/2 lengths. Jockey Joel Rosario, who was in the saddle when Private Creed won the Juvenile Sprint last year by three-quarters of a length, was on board Saturday as well.

“Dream trip,” Asmussen said. “Just as good as it gets. He got away from there well, so he put him in hand, and he was comfortable. He’s a really big horse. Joel put him in the pocket, came right up the fence.”

“I had horse,” Rosario said. “I was just trying to keep riding him. He came off the rail and I just took it.”

This was the first win of the season for Private Creed in his sixth start. He had finished second twice, including in his last start, in the ungraded Mahony at Saratoga on Aug. 13. That was his first start since May, when he was fifth in a William Walker at Churchill Downs.

Following that race, Private Creed missed time because of an open cut he suffered in the Walker.

“Off the race at Churchill, we were very concerned,” Asmussen said. “Big open gash on him, but it healed up extremely well. It did take longer than we were wanting it to, but he was back just in time. He clipped heels, and I believe it was his other leg hitting himself.”

This was the first win for Asmussen at the meet.

“Very important for us to have a little success here with (client) Ron (Winchell) being a partner on owning the racetrack,” Asmussen said.

Private Creed earned $585,960 for his victory and is now a millionaire with earnings of $1,248,286. Private Creed had won 4 of 10 career starts on the grass, his only dirt try coming in the Risen Star (G2) this year when he was 12th.

Sweet Cherry Pie, trained by Rusty Arnold and ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., set the early pace, setting fractions of 21.94, 45.90 and 1:10.46. In the final three-sixteenths, Sweet Cherry Pie was joined by the lone filly in the race, Playlist (5-1) for trainer Wesley Ward and John Velazquez.

Sweet Cherry Pie went off as the 7-2 favorite in the wide-open race.

Private Creed blew past both of them and poured it on heading to the wire.

Playlist outfinished Sweet Cherry Pie and was 2 1/4 lengths in front of him. Sweet Cherry Pie was a neck in front of Closethegame Sugar, who was a nose in front of Behind Enemy Lines, who was also 7-2.

Private Creed was timed at 1:17.03 and paid $14.02, $6.38 and $4.20.

The immediate plan for Private Creed could be a trip to California to run in the five-furlong Breeders’ Cup Sprint in November.

“Heck yes,” Asmussen said. “Whether we run him back between now and then, I’m not sure. We’ll have to see how much this took out of him.”

Regal Realm leads from gate to wire in Ladies Turf

Wearing saddle towel no. 1 was perfect for Regal Realm, who led every step of the way to win the $1 million Ladies Turf (G3).

Florent Geroux put the Augustin Stable 4-year-old homebred trained by Jonathan Thomas on the lead coming out of the gate, and that turned out to be the winning move in the one-mile race.

Regal Realm was in front by a comfortable couple of lengths in the early going. Querobin Dourada moved up to challenge on the outside as they approached the turn into the stretch but was unable to draw even.

“She broke super-fast and made the lead very easily,” Geroux said. “We just wanted to see how she broke. We thought she might be forward because of a lack of speed in the race. When she jumped very well, I just took control of the race. She did it very easily, and she really liked the track. She had more and felt great.”

When Geroux asked her for more approaching the quarter pole, Regal Realm bounded away from the competition and went on to win by 1 1/4 lengths. Sparkle Blue, co-owned by George Strawbridge Jr.’s Augustin Stable and breeder Catherine Parke, rallied on the outside in deep stretch to finish second, a neck in front of White Frost.

Times for the race were not published, because it was determined the starting gate was not positioned on the track properly.

The Ladies Turf was Regal Realm’s fourth win in five starts this season. She has five victories  in 12 starts in her career.  Sent off at 6-1, she paid $14.16.

Bay Storm perseveres to deliver in Ladies Sprint

With her gritty performance, Bay Storm withstood non-stop pace pressure and the late charge from Wakanaka to win the $1 million Ladies Sprint (G2) by a neck.

Trained by Jonathan Thomas, who won a pair of $1 million races during the program and has four victories at the meet, Bay Storm blended two themes of the day into a victory that made her a millionaire. Getting to the lead was an important element as was past success over the Kentucky Downs course. A year ago the daughter of Kantharos owned by Bridlewood Farm was not in front at any of the calls and finished a nose behind Campanelle.

Although she had company throughout the 6 1/2-furlong race, once she gained the advantage, none of the other six horses in the field was able to get in front of Bay Storm and Florent Geroux. Most of the time Tony Ann and jockey Tyler Gaffalione were on her right flank as she set fractions of 22.63, 45.80 and 10:10.41. Wakanaka came with a strong run from the back of the field, pulled alongside the leading pair at the sixteenth pole but could not get past them.

“She broke in the air,” Geroux said. “She recovered and came back on the inside of Tyler and made the lead. She ran great here last year on this track. It was a big advantage. She is a fighter. It’s very simple here. They either like it, or they don’t. She fought today.”

Bay Storm won by a neck at 1:17.06 and paid $7.72. Wakanaka, a slim 5-2 favorite over Bay Storm edged Tony Ann by a head for second.

Vergara holds off Transient in Ladies Marathon

Gary Broad’s Vergara showed she is a horse for the Kentucky Downs course Saturday with a three-quarter-length victory over Transient in the $1 million Ladies Marathon (G3).

Jockey Joel Rosario rode a very similar race to the one he turned in on Vergara for trainer Graham Motion last year when she notched her most recent victory in the Dueling Ground Oaks. This time, they stalked longshot Glenall, who went right to the lead under Rey Gutierrez in the 1 5/16-mile race before seizing control entering the stretch.

Sent off as the narrow 2-1 favorite in the field of six, Vergara paid $6.52 to win.

“She broke really well,” Rosario said. “The horse that set up the speed (Glenall), I got a little behind her. They were going a little slow. I guess at some point she was tugging a little bit, but very comfortable. Graham told me just to be comfortable with her. She likes it here. I’d like to thank Graham and all the team.”

Vergara, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Noble Mission out of the Street Cry mare Figure of Beauty, is named for actress Sofia Vergara, famous for her role in the television series “Modern Family.” The winner’s share of $608,280 made her a millionaire in her 13th career start for Motion, who was on a plane from Europe when the race was run. 

Glenall carried the field through splits of 26.12, 50.83 and 1:15.12. Rosario moved Vergara closer to the lead on the run down the hill nearing the half-mile pole. Vergara moved away from Glenall entering the long stretch, gaining a two-length advantage and withstood challenges by Transient and Sinfiltre.

“Every time a horse came to her, she was wanting to do it,” Rosario said. “She always tries really hard, this filly. Like I say, she likes it here.”

Vergara completed the race in 2:10.96. Sinfiltre finished third, three-quarters of a length behind Transient.