Signalman comes back in Turfway's Kentucky Cup Classic

Signalman, a familiar name from last year’s Triple Crown trail, will return as an older horse on Saturday in a crowded field for Turfway Park’s $150,000 Kentucky Cup Classic.

The 1 1/8-mile event on the Polytrack runs on a stakes-packed card in northern Kentucky led by the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3), a Kentucky Derby prep.

Kenny McPeek-trained Signalman enters with some top credentials having won the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) and run third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at age 2. As a 3-year-old, he placed in another pair of graded events and competed in the Preakness Stakes.

McPeek had aims of running the General Quarters colt in summer staples such as Saratoga’s Travers (G1) before Signalman was diagnosed with a “minor injury” requiring a few months off.

Campaigned by a partnership including Tommie Lewis, Steve Crabtree, Dean Demaree, David Bernsen, Jim Chambers and McPeek’s Magdalena Racing, Signalman has worked for his 4-year-old debut at Gulfstream Park.

Signalman drew post nine and will have jockey Corey Lanerie up.

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Other top contenders include Somelikeithotbrown, a local favorite with three wins over Turfway’s Polytrack. Those include 2019’s John Battaglia Memorial and Jeff Ruby Steaks. In a comeback from his own injury, the Big Brown colt won second off the bench in a Feb. 21 allowance at Turfway to earn a try at this spot.

Notably, as a New York-bred, Mike Maker-trained Somelikeithotbrown won’t be eligible for portions of the purse contributed from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund. He’ll break from post 10 with Irad Ortiz Jr. in to ride.

All horses in the overflow field will tote 120 pounds except for Blended Citizen, a 5-year-old son of Proud Citizen who has found new life since transferred to trainer Brad Cox. Winless since the 2018 Peter Pan (G3) when conditioned by Doug O’Neill, Blended Citizen has won two of three for the new barn, with the Jan. 18 Louisiana Stakes at Fair Grounds now credited to him due to a positive test by the first horse across the wire, Silver Dust.

Florent Geroux has the return assignment aboard Blended Citizen from the No. 12 hole.

Should any defections occur, Lo’s Journey and Apreciado could draw into the field from the also-eligible list.

Post time for the Kentucky Cup Classic is 5:17 p.m. ET.