Maker's former claimers ready for stakes action at Kentucky Downs

Trainer Mike Maker could have a big claim to fame this meet Kentucky Downs.

Maker has seven horses running the next eight days in Kentucky Downs stakes that were bought out of claiming races, albeit high-priced claiming races.

Maker has  one of the favorites for Thursday’s $150,000 Old Friends Stakes in Bigger Picture, a $32,000 claim at Aqueduct last fall who since then has won three of four starts.

He will saddle the first and second choices in Saturday’s $600,000 Calumet Farm Kentucky Turf Cup in 2015 winner Da Big Hoss, the 7-5 favorite who has won six stakes for Louisville-based Skychai Racing since being claimed for $50,000 at Churchill Downs, and Greengrassofyoming, a $62,500 claim who in two races for new owner Michael Hui won Arlington’s Grade 3 Stars and Stripes and was a close fourth in the Arlington Million.

When they claimed Da Big Hoss, the Skychai brass and Maker felt that the son of Belmont and Travers Stakes winner Lemon Drop Kid was a horse that would appreciate running marathon distances.

“With his pedigree and the way he looks, we just felt he needed more ground to be his best,” Maker said. “And his best was pretty darn good.” (Note: Tuesday’s press note incorrectly called Da Big Hoss a gelding. He indeed has a stud career in his future.)

Watchyourownbobber was claimed by Ken Ramsey almost two years ago out of a $50,000 maiden-claiming race in order to be a “rabbit,” or pacesetter for a late-running stablemate. But he was so good that he soon was in for the win. Watchyourownbobber will try to earn a fourth stakes for Ramsey in Saturday’s $400,000 More Than Ready Mile at a mile. Watchyourownbobber comes into the race off victories in Indiana’s Warrior Veterans and Mountaineer’s West Virginia Speaker’s Cup.

Stephanie Carroll’s Try Your Luck, who goes in Sunday’s $200,000 Dueling Grounds Oaks, was haltered out of a $75,000 maiden-claiming race at Gulfstream last winter in her second start. Third in Churchill Downs’ Grade 3 Regret and the $100,000 Ta Wee at Indiana Grand, she finished first in Arlington’s Grade 3 Pucker Up but was disqualified for interference and placed third.

Then there’s Oscar Nominated, also plucked out of a $75,000 maiden-claiming race last fall at Belmont. He wound up winning Turfway Park’s Grade 3, $350,000 Spiral Stakes, with Ramsey putting up the $200,000 supplemental entry fee to run in the Kentucky Derby. He finished 17th in his only race on dirt, but returned to finish a close second in Arlington’s Grade 3 American Derby and a close fifth in the Grade 1 Secretariat.

“In those particular horses, yes, the higher-level claimers, if they look good and they pan out, we try to point them toward small stakes,” which can lead to bigger stakes, said Maker, whose main base is Churchill Downs’ Trackside training facility. “If you claim in New York and throughout the Midwest, it’s easy to shop for small little stakes. In the case of Whatyourownbobber, he was claimed to be a ‘rabbit’ and he turned out to be one heck of a horse.

“So you’ve got to get lucky.”

Asked for which horse was Watchyourownbobber supposed to be the sacrificial rabbit, Maker said in laughing reference to Ramsey having so many turf horses by his top-class stallion Kitten’s Joy, “No telling. Somebody with Kitten in their name.”

Then there’s the Ramsey-owned Al’s Gal, who will run in the $350,000 Kentucky Downs Ladies Marathon on Sept. 15, the closing card of the five-date meet. She was claimed for a reasonable $35,000 1 1/2 years ago at Gulfstream Park and went on to take Churchill’s Keertana and most recently finished second in Arlington’s Grade 1 Beverly D Stakes.

Old Friends Day at Kentucky Downs

Bigger Picture is among the favorites in Thursday’s featured $150,000 Old Friends Stakes at a mile and 70 yards for horses that have not won a stakes in 2016.

Maker claimed Bigger Picture for $32,000 last fall at Aqueduct and has won three of four starts with the 5-year-old gelding, including an Aug. 12 allowance race at Saratoga at 1 3/8 miles. The lone defeat was an eighth-place finish — though losing by a total of only 6 1/2 lengths — in the Grade 1 United Nations won by the well-regarded World Approval.

Last year’s Kentucky Turf Dash winner Sweet Luca is in the field for trainer Chris Block, who loves Kentucky Downs, even though most of the horses he brings are Illinois-breds that aren’t eligible for the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund purse supplements.

Also in the capacity field of 12 (plus an also-eligible if there are any scratches) is Power Ped, last year’s Kentucky Turf Cup runner-up. By Arlington Million winner Powerscourt and out of the Black Minnaloushe mare Madame Blackfoot, Power Ped is a full brother to this year’s Kentucky Turf Cup entrant Power Foot.

In its second running, the Old Friends Stakes honors the Old Friends thoroughbred retirement center that cares for more than 160 former racehorses at its main farm in Georgetown, Ky., but also with satellite facilities at Kentucky Downs and in upstate New York. The Old Friends Stakes is sponsored by Tribute Equine Nutrition, the official feed supplier to Old Friends.

Several races on the card are dedicated to horses pensioned at the non-profit organization. Those are the Game On Dude, sponsored by Red Brand Horse Fence, honoring the three-time Santa Anita Handicap winner; the Silver Charm, sponsored by the online wagering platform AmWager, paying tribute to the 1997 Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Dubai World Cup winner; and the Little Mike, sponsored by John Deere, celebrating the 2012 Arlington Million and Breeders’ Cup Turf winner.

All proceeds from the day’s race sponsorships goes to Old Friends, including the Ercel Ellis (sponsored by Park Equine Hospital) and the Theo & George Dickinson Memorial Race (the Sargent Family and Clearview Farm).

“Having a stakes race named after us is such a milestone,” said Old Friends’ founder Michael Blowen. “This represents enormous recognition from the racing industry, and I can’t think of a better way to honor our horses, so many of whom were stakes winners.

“Our thanks goes out to Kentucky Downs for all that they’ve done to support Old Friends and to all of our race day sponsors today, including Tribute for their continued sponsorship of the Old Friends Stakes. I hope everyone will come out and spend the day with us.”

Perfectly Majestic brings Hess back to Kentucky Downs

Trainer Bob Hess brought Del Mar allowance winner Perfectly Majestic in for the Old Friends. The 4-year-old gelding will be ridden by three-time Kentucky Derby winner Kent Desormeaux, who this year won the Preakness aboard Exaggerator, trained by his brother, Keith Desormeaux.

Hess and Kent Desormeaux teamed in 1993 to win Kentucky Downs’ big 1 1/2-mile turf race, then $300,000 and known as the Sam Houston, with Know Heights.

“We’re excited,” Hess, who will fly in Thursday morning, said by phone from Del Mar. “Kent and I won that mile-and-a-half race in ’93, so we’ve had success there. This horse, throw out his soft-turf form, and he has a heck of a record. He really needs it real hard. We’ve kind of kept an eye on the weather. Unless I’m wrong, it looks like it will be dry and fast and he should love it. I think he’s going to run huge. Really know excuses. Perfect distance. I think he’ll love the undulating course. We flew him in nine days ago, so he’s been there training and happy and healthy and getting ready for an A-plus effort.”

Mississippi Delta heads $350,000 KD Ladies Sprint

Coming off of a third-place finish behind millionaire Lady Shipman in the Royal North (Grade 3) at Woodbine on July 31, Jackpot Ranch and Mike G. Rutherford’s Mississippi Delta heads a field of 10 as the 5-2 morning-line favorite in Saturday’s $350,000 Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint, the final race of Kentucky Downs’ 10-race card.

While the daughter of Giant’s Causeway was previously training at trainer Mark Casse’s Woodbine base in Canada, she shipped to Churchill Downs to prepare for her start on Saturday, including breezing a half-mile in 48 seconds on Sept. 3.

“We’ve had her here a couple of weeks and she’s trained well. Hopefully she’ll run a big race for us,” said Casse assistant David Carroll.

Mississippi Delta will be looking for her first win since her 4-year-old debut, when she faced allowance company at Gulfstream Park on March 6. Since then she has ran a pair of second-place efforts in the Honey Fox at Gulfstream Park on Apr. 2 and the Nassau at Woodbine on May 29, both Grade 2 events. She followed these seconds with two off-the-board finishes in the Intercontinental  and the Perfect Sting Stakes, both non-graded events at Belmont Park where she finished a respective sixth and fourth.

She is running at Kentucky Downs for the first time.

“Obviously the one factor is how they’ll handle the turf course down there,” Carroll said. “It’s a bit of an unknown, but on the form she fits in there beautifully. She’s coming off a good work. She’s only been here for a few weeks but she seems to be doing really well.”

Mississippi Delta, who drew post 3, is only one of two horses in the 10-horse field that made their previous start in a graded stakes. Rapid Rhythm, who breaks to her inside from post 2, also emerges from the Royal North, where she finished sixth.

Jockey Florent Geroux has the mount for Saturday’s race.

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On the air, on the ’net

It’s also ESPN day Thursday at Kentucky Downs, with Louisville’s ESPN 680-AM personality Bob Valvano and station general manager John Salzman, both racing fans, broadcasting The V Show from the media/officials tower near the paddock from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Central. Chase McCabe of The Game Nashville (ESPN 102.5-FM) will broadcast from the first floor of the clubhouse from 2-4 p.m. Central.

Kentucky Downs analyst Gary West will be on Winning Ponies with John Engelhardt Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Central (8:30 p.m. Eastern) to discuss Saturday’s blockbuster card. Live streaming at winningponies.com, with podcast posted Friday. West also is the co-author with Bob Fortus of the definite book about jockeys: Ride to Win: An Inside Look at the Jockey’s Craft.

Coming attractions

Family Fun Days 1-5 p.m. Central this Saturday and Sunday — Petting zoo, face painters, kids bouncy-ball races on course, Dixieland band. Located trackside.

Old Friends Day, Thursday, Sept. 8 — Old Friends equine retirement center, which has a satellite facility at Kentucky Downs, is recognized with a stakes in its honor and receiving proceeds from race sponsorships. Proceeds from an online BetAmerica handicapping contest on Kentucky Downs card also will go to Old Friends.

Handicapping contest, Saturday, Sept. 10 — The Kentucky Downs Turf Handicapping Challenge will send its top three finishers to the 2017 National Handicapping Championship in Jan. 27-29 in Las Vegas. The entry fee is $200 (maximum two entries), with $100 going to the player’s bankroll and the rest to the prize pool. Contestants keep their remaining bankroll at the tournament’s conclusion. The top three also will receive a $400 travel voucher and hotel accommodations. Players wager $5 each to win and place on one horse in all of the 10 Kentucky Downs races that day. There are no caps on payouts. Kentucky Downs will add a fourth NHC berth if there are at least 160 entries.

HBPA College Day, Sunday, Sept. 11 — The Kentucky division of the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association will give out a laptop after every race to a registered college student.

Source: Kentucky Downs (Jennie Rees)