'Problem-free' Tobys Heart runs like a future star for Lynch
When rain started hitting Churchill Downs' turf prior to the start of Thursday's fourth race, trainer Brian Lynch said he was a little concerned.
Lynch had a 2-year-old filly about to make her debut in a 5 1/2-furlong sprint over the lawn. Luckily, the intensity of the rain subsided quickly.
When the gates opened, Lynch had something else to worry about for first time starter Tobys Heart, a filly he co-owns with Terry Hamilton.
"I was a little panicked at the start when she didn't break that well," Lynch said on Friday.
All the trepidation soon diminished when the Jack Milton Filly made up lengths lost at the start by the time the field reached the turn. Then Tobys Heart turned on the afterburners when she tipped out, splitting horses in the stretch and drawing away by 6 3/4 lengths.
"It didn't surprise me to see her run that well," Lynch said. "She's been very impressive in the morning watching her breeze. She always gave you the hopes that because of her pedigree you'd think grass was in the future for her.
"If she improved on the grass better than she had been working on the dirt then I thought we'd have a little filly to have fun with."
Lynch has been receiving offers for the filly since she crossed the finish line.
"There's been plenty of interest in her," he said. "People are trying to buy her. We had to sleep on that. Fortunately, at the moment, she's on our team. We're not playing against her, and that's a good thing."
Out of a stakes-winning Lil's Lad mare named Pick of the Pack, Tobys Heart was bred in Kentucky at Trackside Farm.
"She came out of the race good," Lynch said. "She's been a problem-free filly. She cleaned up everything that we put in front of her last night and she's happy and bouncing around here this morning."
Lynch said he has no immediate plans for Tobys Heart's next race.