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‘Stormy’ Forecast at Kentucky Downs

After annexing her second career win in the GI Fourstardave H. at Saratoga this summer, Got Stormy (Get Stormy) will take on males once again in Saturday's 'Win and You're In' GIII Fanduel Turf Sprint S. going six furlongs at Kentucky Downs.

A winner of the GIII Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint S. at an additional half of a furlong here last term, Got Stormy narrowly captured the GIII Honey Fox S. at Gulfstream Feb. 27 before rolling a pair of fives in the GII Longines Churchill Distaff Turf Mile S. May 1 and GI Jackpocket Jaipur S. at Belmont June 5.

Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed) was given the nod on the morning-line at odds of 7-2 in this wide-open affair. A flashy come-from-behind upset winner in the Jaipur on the GI Belmont S. undercard two back, he rallied for third in the Fourstardave last time.

Last year's narrow Turf Sprint winner Imprimis (Broken Vow), drawn widest of all in post 12, and dead-heat second-place finishers Bombard (War Front) and Front Run the Fed (Fed Biz) will renew acquaintances again here.

Save a disappointing sixth in the Jaipur, Fast Boat (City Zip) has won three out of his last four, led by a sharp win in Saratoga's GIII Troy S. last time Aug. 6.

Saturday's loaded program at Kentucky Downs also features: the 'Win and You're In' GII Calumet Turf Cup; the GII Franklin-Simpson S., led by GI Bruce D. winner Point Me By (Point of Entry); the GIII Mint Ladies Sprint S., featuring the speedy Venetian Harbor (Munnings); and the GIII Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf S.

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Kentucky Downs Takes Entries, Draws Post Positions For Sept. 11 Graded Stakes Card

The fields are set for the summer's biggest day of turf racing, as entries were taken and post positions drawn Saturday for the FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs' blockbuster Sept. 11 card featuring five graded stakes at the Franklin, Ky., track.

The Super Saturday is the marquee attraction among six huge days of racing Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sept. 11 and 12. First post is 12:20 p.m. Central. All the races will be shown on TVG.

Purses for next Saturday's 11 races total $4,692,000, of which $2.2 million comes from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund for registered Kentucky-bred horses. That's the vast majority of the horses running, but even the base purse that everyone competes for reflects some of the richest pots in the country.

“The card is amazing,” said Kentucky Downs Vice President for Racing Ted Nicholson. “Hats off to our racing office.”

The headliners are the $1 million Grade 2 Calumet Turf Cup at 1 1/2 miles and the $1 million Grade 3 FanDuel Turf Sprint at six furlongs. Both are “Win and You're In” stops on the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series and will be televised live by NBC. The Turf Cup winner will get a fees-paid berth in the $4 million Longines Breeders' Cup Turf and the FanDuel winner the same in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., on Nov. 6.

Donegal Racing's Arklow, the 2020 and 2018 Calumet Turf Cup winner, renews his rivalry with Michael Hui's 2019 victor Zulu Alpha, who was sidelined after last year's stakes and is 0 for 2 this year. Arklow would be the first three-time winner of the race. But they'll have to beat another Grade 1 winner in Channel Cat, returning to Kentucky Downs for the first time since he captured the 2018 Dueling Grounds Derby. He's owned by stakes sponsor Calumet Farm.

Arklow won Churchill Downs' Louisville Stakes and most recently was seventh in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap, but beaten only 1 3/4 lengths for everything.

Mike Maker, a five-time meet-leader and Kentucky Downs' record-holder in career wins, has five of the 12 horses in the body of the Calumet Turf Cup, headed by Zulu Alpha. The others are Tide of the Sea, a Kentucky Downs winner last year and Gulfstream's Grade 3 McKnight this year; Ellis Park's Kentucky Downs TVG Preview winner Bluegrass Parkway; Grade 2 Belmont Gold Cup third-place finisher Ajourneytofreedom, and Glynn County, third in Arlington Park's Grade 1 Mr. D, the race formerly known as the Arlington Million. A sixth Maker entrant, Dynadrive, needs three scratches to get in the field.

Also in the field: Breakpoint, a triple Grade 1 winner in his native Chile, goes for his first U.S. win in three starts; Irish Group 3 winner Crossfirehurricane; Grade 1 United Nations runner-up Imperador and United Nations third Epic Bromance. Big Dreaming, second in last year's Dueling Grounds Derby, needs a defection to get in.

The FanDuel Turf Sprint brings back last year's top three finishers in Imprimis and the dead-heat runners-up Bombard and Front Run the Fed, who finished a neck behind the winner. But the favorite is likely to be boys-beater Got Stormy, winner of last year's Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint over very soft turf in her first attempt at sprinting. Got Stormy is the only filly or mare to win Saratoga's Grade 1 Fourstardave, having done so in her last start and in 2019 after taking second last year. She has been second in three other Grade 1 starts against males, including in the 2019 Breeders' Cup Mile.

“We've never backed down from a challenge,” says Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse, who acknowledges his desire to pad Got Stormy's own Hall of Fame credentials.

Other challengers: Casa Creed, winner of Belmont's Grade 1 Jackpocket Jaipur at the six-furlong distance; multiple graded stakes-winner Diamond Oops; the blossoming Fast Boat, a past winner over the course who last out won Saratoga's Grade 3 Troy Stakes, and Born Great, who last year won a Kentucky Downs maiden and allowance race in the span of a week.

The Richard Baltas-trained Venetian Harbor ships in from California for the $600,000 The Mint Ladies Sprint. The 4-year-old filly has been worse than second only once in 10 starts. In two turf races, she was second in her debut and won Santa Anita's Grade 2 Monrovia.

Also in from the West Coast is the multiple stakes winner and graded stakes-placed Superstition for Hall of Famer Richard Mandella. John Sadler sends out Santa Anita stakes-winner Constantia in the overflow field of 14.

The beer will be flowing in Henderson if Yes It's Ginger prevails. There were so many people connected to Henderson beer distributor Mike “Hotdog” Utley, as well as the Brilliant Racing and Tagg Team Racing partnerships, that the winner's circle presentation had to move to the main track after “Ginger” prevailed in the Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Ladies Sprint, which gave her a free roll in this 6 1/2-furlong race.

The Casse-trained Jeanie B lost a Grade 2 stakes at Woodbine by a nose in her last start for owner CJ Thoroughbreds, whose managing partner Corey Johnsen was president and part-owner of Kentucky Downs before its sale to Ron Winchell and Marc Falcone.

Violenza enters the race off victory in a $100,000 turf sprint at Colonial Downs in her stakes debut for trainer Ian Wilkes and his son-in-law jockey Chris Landeros. The Maker-trained Jakarta has been off form but won a starter-allowance race here last year.

The $750,000 Kentucky Downs Ladies Mile is headlined by 5-for-6 Princess Grace, winner of three straight stakes capped by Del Mar's Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon. The Mike Stidham-trained Princess Grace shares the 126-pound high-weight with 2020 One Dreamer winner Dalika.

She'sonthewarpath, an eight-time winner out of 19 starts, is in peak form off of two stakes victories at Ellis Park. Florida trainer Saffie Joseph has the horse to catch in Shifty She, a two-time stakes-winner at Gulfstream and a good third in Saratoga's De La Rose won by 2020 Ladies Mile winner Regal Glory.

Summer in Saratoga, an allowance winner here last year for trainer Joe Sharp, won Indiana Grand's Indiana General Assembly Distaff in her last start.

With The Lir Jet, Qatar Racing will try to win the $600,000 Franklin-Simpson for the third straight year, and the first time with the stakes a Grade 2. Qatar Racing won last year's stakes with Guildsman, who like The Lir Jet is trained by Brendan Walsh, and in 2019 with the Doug O'Neill-trained Legends of War. The Lir Jet won Royal Ascot's Group 2 Norfolk as a 2-year-old but is winless since. He makes his debut both in the United States and as a gelding.

Sharing high weight status of 124 pounds with The Lir Jet is the Eddie Kenneally-trained Point Me By, winner of Arlington Park's Grade 1 Bruce D. Stakes (formerly the Secretariat).

The field of twelve 3-year-old stakes-winners, with three others on the also-eligible list, includes the filly Miss Amulet, a Group 2 winner in England and a close second in a Group 1. Other contenders in a talented field: Woodbine's Grade 3 Marine winner Easy Time; the Wesley Ward duo of Churchill Downs' War Chant winner Next and Ellis Park's Dade Park Dash victor Into the Sunrise, and American Derby winner Tango Tango Tango. Other stakes-winners are Bodenheimer, King of Miami, Omaha City, and County Final. Last year's Kentucky Downs Juvenile Sprint runner-up Fauci, also trained by Ward, needs a scratch to get in the field.

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High Oak May Go For BC Juvenile Spot In Champagne At Belmont

LRE Racing and JEH Racing Stable's High Oak improved to 2-for-2 with an impressive 4 1/4-length score in Saturday's $200,000 Grade 2 Saratoga Special presented by Miller Lite, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for juveniles at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the Gormley bay bid three-wide at the top of the lane under Junior Alvarado, overtaking Doctor Jeff and the runner-up Gunite to stop the clock in 1:16.53.

High Oak closed to win his debut by a neck sprinting 5 1/2-furlongs in June at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., but the bettors let the $70,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase leave the gate at odds of 10-1 on Saturday.

Mott said High Oak ran to his training, including a bullet half-mile breeze in :48.11 seconds on August 7 on the Oklahoma dirt training track.

“We were pleased but not totally surprised,” Mott said. “He had been working quite well and he had run well enough in his first race.”

Mott said he was pleased with how High Oak, who garnered a career-best 90 Beyer Speed Figure, finished up the race.

“He was determined,” Mott said.

While Mott said he will leave all options open, the next likely consideration for High Oak is the $500,000 Grade 1 Champagne on October 2 at Belmont, which offers a “Win and You're In” berth to the $2 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile on November 5 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

The win by High Oak completed a Mott-trained double that launched a race earlier when Godolphin homebred Speaker's Corner drew off to a 5 1/4-length allowance score, registering a 101 Beyer.

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With Jose Ortiz up, the 3-year-old Street Sense bay bobbled at the start of the seven-furlong main-track sprint but quickly found his footing to track the pacesetting Mahaamel from third before taking command at the five-sixteenths and powering home in a final time of 1:22.29.

Speaker's Corner graduated at second asking with a three-quarter length score over eventual graded-stakes placed Caddo River and multiple graded-stakes winner Greatest Honour in a seven-furlong maiden special weight in October at Belmont.

Mott said he had hoped to start Speaker's Corner around two turns but was pleasantly surprised at Saturday's one-turn score.

“Visually, he ran good and numbers-wise he ran good. And he came back good, too,” Mott said. “We had entered him in a two-turn race the day before which didn't fill thinking that this might not work out that well for him because I knew there would be some fast horses in there, but we got lucky and it worked out.”

Mott said he had initially hoped to get the lightly-raced colt to the Grade 1 Runhappy Travers slated for August 28 at the Spa but circumstances led to a more patient schedule.

“That's what we were hoping for, but it didn't work out that way. One little setback after another and before you know it, the Travers is upon us,” Mott said. “There's other races and we'll have to make it count somewhere else, hopefully.”

Among a number of options for Speaker's Corner is the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby on September 25 at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Penn.

“That would have to be on the radar. It would fit into the timing,” Mott said. “But everything is an option. We try to keep all our options open.”

LRE Racing and JEH Racing Stable's Casa Creed closed five-wide to finish third in Saturday's Grade 1 Fourstardave, just two lengths in arrears of the more prominently placed Got Stormy.

The 5-year-old Jimmy Creed bay entered the one-mile inner turf test from a two-length score in the six-furlong Grade 1 Jackpocket Jaipur on June 5 at Belmont.

“He ran a good race. It's hard not to be pleased with his effort,” Mott said.

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‘Stormy’ Forecast Ahead in Fourstardave

The contingent behind MGISW Got Stormy (Get Stormy) has been carefully monitoring the weather this week as the 6-year-old turf specialist prepares for her third appearance in Saratoga's GI Fourstardave H. Possible scattered overnight thunderstorms leading up to Saturday's card could soften the turf more than the fan-favorite mare would prefer.

“For a horse named Got Stormy, she doesn't like much rain,” her recently inducted Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse said. “If the turf gets soft on Saturday, a mile is stretching her distance ability. We'll see what happens, but we're keeping our fingers crossed.”

Got Stormy became the first female in history to win the mile-long Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” Challenge in 2019, besting MGISW Raging Bull (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}), one of the expected favorites in this year's edition of the race, as well as eventual Eclipse champion Uni (GB) (More Than Ready) on the firm turf. Her win in 1:32 flat was a course-record time.

During last year's renewal of the event over a softer course, Got Stormy finished second just over a length behind wire-to-wire victor Halladay (War Front).

“Last year we weren't supposed to get rain and the morning of the race, it stormed,” Casse recalled. “There was a little give in the ground and it probably cost her the race.”

Later last year, a day after finishing fifth in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, Got Stormy sold for $2.75 million at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton November Sale to Spendthrift Farm. Now co-owned by My Racehorse Stable, the chestnut returned this year with a score in the GIII Honey Fox S. followed by a pair of disappointing fifth-place finishes in the GII Longines Churchill Distaff Turf Mile S. and GI Jackpot Jaipur S.

Her recent absence from the winner's circle is not a big concern for Casse, who believes the mare has blossomed since her return to the Spa last month.

“I see a lot of similarities from last year to this year,” he said. “She struggled a little bit before she got to Saratoga last year and then she ran a great race in the Fourstardave. She gets better in the summer and fall. I think a lot of it has to do with how she loves training here and she tends to blossom at Saratoga.”

He continued, “Tyler Gaffalione worked her [on Aug. 1] and he came back with a big smile and said, 'She's back.' So if Tyler is happy, I'm happy. Looking at the race, one of the things she likes is to have a target. There seems to be a fair amount of speed and it's something she hasn't gotten recently, so it should play out well.”

Raging Bull (inside) worked in company with three-time Grade I winner Domestic Spending (GB) (Kingman {GB}) on Aug. 8. | Sarah Andrew

Got Stormy will face a field of seven other rivals on Saturday.

Raging Bull, the 2019 second-place finisher, made his six-year-old debut at Keeneland this spring with a two-length victory in the GI Maker's Mark Mile S. The three-time Grade I winner and Chad Brown pupil enters Saturday's race following a nail-biting close second to Oleksandra (Aus) (Animal Kingdom) in the GIII Poker S.

“He's still going strong at age six and he's really doing as well as he's ever done,” said Brown, who has yet to win the prestigious Grade I turf contest. “His race at Keeneland was dynamite-one of his best ever. Last time out, he just got in some trouble and was kind of stuck inside. Hopefully he has a better trip this time.”

Fellow Chad Brown-trained, Peter Brant-owned entry Blowout (GB) (Dansili {GB}) looks to get the lead early, but will have to do so from the eight hole. The 5-year-old mare made it to the winner's circle in the GII Churchill Distaff Turf Mile S. in her only start this year.

Brown explained that the speedy Blowout is not in the race to set up Raging Bull.

“She has a little bit of a layoff to overcome, but she's very dangerous if she gets to the front and has things her way,” Brown said. “She should be setting the pace but make no mistake, she's in the race to win. If she can get around there on an easy pace, I'm fine with that. I don't want to get beat by a horse that is loose on the lead either. If someone wins loose on the lead, it's going to be her.”

Other top considerations in the field include Set Piece (GB) (Dansili {GB}), who has gone undefeated in his last three starts at Churchill Downs this year for Brad Cox and was last seen besting a 10-horse field in the GII Wise Dan S. on June 26., as well as Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed), who also enters coming off a win in the GI Jackpot Jaipur S. for trainer Bill Mott.

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