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Triple Crown News Minute Presented By Kentucky Equine Research: Blue Grass In July

If anything is stranger in American horse racing than a Kentucky Derby in September, it's a Blue Grass Stakes in July. But that's where we find ourselves in this year of the coronavirus pandemic: nothing is normal, and we're grateful that racing, unlike most other sports, has been able to continue along a slightly erratic path.

The Grade 2 Blue Grass, with a $600,000 purse, is run at its traditional 1 1/8 miles and will offer 100-40-20-10 qualifying points for the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby. It's drawn a field of 13, including a well-traveled filly, multiple graded stakes winner Swiss Skydiver from the barn of Kenny McPeek. She's run at five different tracks in her five starts this year, winning her last three.

In this edition of the Triple Crown News Minute, Ray Paulick and news editor Chelsea Hackbarth take a look at the leading contenders in the Blue Grass,including the up-and-coming Art Collector, a 3-year-old by Bernardini making his return to graded stakes following a pair of impressive allowance victories at Churchill Downs.

They also analyze the field for the G1 Ashland Stakes, a qualifying points race for the Sept. 4 Kentucky Oaks. Despite only drawing a field of six, the Ashland Stakes has a solid field of contenders ready to take on the 6-5 morning line favorite, Venetian Harbor.

Watch the latest Triple Crown News Minute below:

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Venetian Harbor, Bonny South, Tonalist’s Shape Face Off In Grade 1 Ashland

Graded stakes winners Bonny South, Tonalist's Shape and Venetian Harbor headline a field of six 3-year-old fillies entered Wednesday for Saturday's 83rd running of the $400,000 Central Bank Ashland (G1) going 1 1/16 miles on the main track at Keeneland.

The Central Bank Ashland offers 170 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks (G1) on a 100-40-20-10 scale to the first four finishers. The $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks is limited to the top 14 point earners that pass the entry box for the Sept. 4 race.

Post time for the Central Bank Ashland, the seventh race on Saturday's 10-race program, is 4:24 p.m.

Juddmonte Farms' Bonny South, winner of the Fair Grounds Oaks on March 21, has been working consistently at Keeneland since late April. Trained by Brad Cox, who won the 2018 Central Bank Ashland with champion Monomoy Girl, Bonny South is second on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard with 100 points.

John Velazquez, who rode Fleet Renee to an Ashland victory in 2001, has the mount on Bonny South and will break from post position three

Ciaglia Racing, Highland Yard, River Oak Farm and Dominic Savides' Venetian Harbor, winner of the Las Virgenes (G3) at Santa Anita, comes in from California for trainer Richard Baltas. Standing 11th on the Oaks leaderboard with 50 points, Venetian Harbor finished second behind Swiss Skydiver in the Fantasy (G3) in her most recent start finishing 10¾ lengths ahead of the third-place finisher.

Joel Rosario has the mount on Venetian Harbor and will break from post position two.

Slam Dunk Racing, Doug Branham and Legacy Ranch's Tonalist's Shape is seventh on the Oaks leaderboard with 60 points. A winner of six of seven career starts for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., Tonalist's Shape has victories this year in the Davona Dale (G2) and Forward Gal (G3) at Gulfstream Park.

Tyler Gaffalione has the mount on Tonalist's Shape and will exit post five.

The field for the Central Bank Ashland, with riders from the rail out, is: Alta's Award (Ricardo Santana Jr.), Venetian Harbor (Rosario), Bonny South (Velazquez), Envoutante (Jose Ortiz), Tonalist's Shape (Gaffalione), Speech (Javier Castellano). All starters will carry 121 pounds.

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Swiss Skydiver to Take on Boys in the Blue Grass

The filly Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) will be out to make history Saturday when she takes on males in the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland. No filly has ever won the prestigious race.

Trainer Kenny McPeek had nominated Swiss Skydiver for both the Blue Grass and the GI Ashland S. for fillies. He waited until Wednesday morning, shortly before the draw, to make his decision. He said a major factor was that he has another filly for the Ashland in Envoutante (Uncle Mo).

“In any other year, this would have been an easier decision, but I have Envoutante running in the Ashland and I think she has a big chance there,” he said. “I hate running entries where you know you are going to beat yourself with one or the other. [Owner] Peter Callahan is as game as Dick Tracy and I am too. I do think it will be fun. If she can jump through this hoop great. If she can’t we will backtrack and go to the [GI] Alabama or just wait for the [GI] Kentucky Oaks.”

Envoutante, who is owned by Walking L Thoroughbreds, LLC and Three Chimneys Farm, won an allowance race at Churchill in her last start.

Another factor McPeek considered was the weights.

“I like the fact she is getting a pretty good weight break,” he said. “She’ll carry 118 and gets six pounds off her last race. Some of the colts will pick up weight off their last races. How much difference does that make, it’s hard to say? She’s a big filly. She weighs 1,100 pounds. The weights are an edge and that’s why it is there.”

McPeek also found a year in which the Blue Grass did not come up with a stellar field. Repositioned to the summer because Keeneland had to cancel its spring meet due to the coronavirus, the Blue Grass is sandwiched among a number of stakes for 3-year-olds, all of them vying for the top talent

“A lot of the colts in this race are big question marks,” McPeek said. “It’s questionable if they want to go that far or whether they want to race at that level. The fillies that are running in the Ashland are good filles. Envoutante is not a stakes winner, but she’s a good filly in her own right. None of the colts in the Blue Grass have won a graded race this year. [Swiss Skydiver] has proven herself in her last three starts. It would be pretty cool to win the Blue Grass with a filly.”

The Blue Grass purse is $600,000. The Ashland purse is $400,000.

A Blue Grass victory would give Swiss Skydiver enough points to make it into the field for the GI Kentucky Derby. She is nominated to the Triple Crown. When asked if a Blue Grass win would mean a Derby start for Swiss Skydiver, McPeek replied: “It might. I know if she can’t win this then she’s not a Derby horse. A loss would answer that question.”

Only one other filly has started in the Blue Grass. Coming off a win in the Ashland, Harriet Sue ran fifth in the 1944 Blue Grass.

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Joseph Sophomores Tune Up

A pair of sophomores from trainer Saffie Joseph’s barn tuned up for graded stakes engagements with five-furlong works at Gulfstream Park Sunday.

Ny Traffic (Cross Traffic), currently seventh in the Sept. 5 GI Kentucky Derby qualifying-points standings, breezed five furlongs in :58.64 (1/12) in preparation for a likely start in the July 18 GI Haskell S. at Monmouth Park.

“I worked him Monday last week, so he came back in six days. I wanted to get a good work into him and he worked super. He finished up really good. He ran the last quarter in :22 4/5 and galloped out strong,” Joseph said. “After that work today, I’d say we’re probably going to run him in the Haskell, 95% sure.”

Ny Traffic, third in the GII Risen Star S. in February, was runner-up in both the Mar. 25 GII Louisiana Derby and the May 23 GIII Matt Winn S.

Joseph also sent Tonalist’s Shape (Tonalist) out to work Sunday at Gulfstream. The filly went five furlongs in :59.43 (3/12) after turning in a four-furlong work in :45.35 (2/60) last Monday.

“Last week’s work was a little quicker than ideal, so we just tried to slow her down a little. Once again, she worked super. We’re very happy with where we are with her,” said Joseph.

Of the filly’s next start, Joseph said, “We still haven’t decided. It’ll be either [Saturday’s 1 1/16-mile GI] Ashland S. [at Keeneland] or the [July 18 1 1/8-mile GI] Coaching Club American Oaks [at Saratoga]. We’ll probably decide [Monday].”

Tonalist’s Shape, winner of the GIII Forward Gal S. in February and GII Davona Dale S. Feb. 29, was a well-beaten seventh while trying a route for the first time in the Mar. 28 GII Gulfstream Park Oaks, but rebounded to win the 1 1/16-mile Hollywood Wildcat S. May 15 at Gulfstream in her most recent start. She currently ranks seventh in qualifying points for the Sept. 4 GI Kentucky Oaks.

Math Wizard (Algorithms), who gave Joseph his first Grade I success in last year’s Pennsylvania Derby at Parx, breezed a half-mile in :49.14 (16/58) in preparation for the GIII Monmouth Cup on the Haskell undercard.

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