Accredit Scores Upset With Gate-To-Wire Win In Dueling Grounds Derby

It was a day to be on the lead at Kentucky Downs, as another front runner came home the winner at the Franklin, Ky., track. Adventuring had won in near gate to wire fashion the race before, with Accredit doing much the same in the 1 5/16-mile Dueling Grounds Derby.

Breaking from post one, jockey Martin Garcia hustled Accredit to the lead, the field of ten other 3-year-old colts and geldings strung out behind him through the early part of the race. Behind him, Modern Science took up second with Yes This Time and Hillard rounding out the top four. Accredit controlled the pace throughout, setting fractions of :24.17, :49.03, and 1:14.31 over the first six furlongs. By the time the field reached the final bend, Accredit was three lengths in front.

Into the long Kentucky Downs stretch, the easy early pace allowed Accredit to hang on to front runner status, as Modern Science and Cellist made a run at him early in the straight. The son of Flatter had plenty in reserve, holding off those challengers and then a surging Yes This Time in the final sixteenth to win the Dueling Grounds Derby by a length. Yes This Time, Cellist, and Modern Science rounded out the top four.

The final time for the 1 5/16-miles was 2:10.58. Find this race's chart here.

Accredit paid $75.00, $28.80, and $12.20. Yes This Time paid $5.60 and $4.00. Cellist paid $3.60.

Bred in Kentucky by E. H. Beau Lane III, Accredit is out of the unraced Bernstein mare Berncredit. He is trained by Pavel Matejka, who also co-owns the colt with Bob Grayson, Jr. Accredit was a $60,000 RNA consigned by Beau Lane Bloodstock at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. With his win in the Dueling Grounds Derby, the 3-year-old colt has three wins in seven lifetime starts for career earnings of $572,619.

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Mott-Trained Du Jour Headlines Full Field Of 3-Year-Olds For $750,000 Dueling Grounds Derby

Du Jour, winner of Churchill Downs' Grade 2 American Turf on Kentucky Derby Day, heads a capacity field of twelve 3-year-olds entered for Sunday's $750,000 Big Ass Fans Dueling Grounds Derby on opening day of the FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs.

The Vicki Oliver-trained Core Values, fresh off beating boys in Ellis Park's prep for the Dueling Grounds Derby, goes back in against fillies while putting her three-race win streak on the line in the co-featured $500,000 Exacta Systems Dueling Grounds Oaks. Both stakes are 1 5/16 miles, one lap around Kentucky Downs' undulating, kidney-shaped course.

A total of 145 horses are on the program for Sunday's 11-race card, with an extra race added because of the strong demand. There are 124 horses in the body of the races, with another 21 needing defections in order to run. Seven races attracted at least 12 entries. The Dueling Grounds Oaks' field of nine is the smallest field, with an 11-horse field and a pair of 10-horse fields rounding out the card.

Du Jour most recently was third in Saratoga's $1 million, Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational after finishing fourth in the $1 million, Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational in his first two races for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. The colt previously was trained by California-based Bob Baffert, whose wife, Jill, is Du Jour's co-owner. Du Jour's American Turf was part of a huge day at Churchill Downs for Baffert, who finished first with Medina Spirit for what seemed to be his record-breaking seventh Kentucky Derby victory. That victory is in doubt, however, with Medina Spirit facing potential disqualification after subsequently testing positive for a therapeutic medication at more than the permitted level on race day.

Reigning Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox has a strong tandem in the 3-year-old stakes with Royal Prince in the Dueling Grounds Derby and Adventuring in the Dueling Grounds Oaks.

Royal Prince lost Ellis Park's Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Dueling Grounds Derby by a nose to Core Values after garnering a second and third in a pair of $75,000 stakes at the Fair Grounds and Sam Houston earlier in the year. Royal Prince has the distinction of finishing first in his debut at Kentucky Downs a year ago, only to have the race declared a no-contest because of a gate malfunction.

Modern Science gets another crack at Royal Prince after leading all the way in the Ellis Park prep only to get passed late to finish third by a total of a neck.

Among other Dueling Grounds Derby contenders: Kelly Breen ships Delaware's Grade 3 Kent Stakes victor Yes This Time in from Saratoga where the colt's five-race win streak ended with an eighth place in the Saratoga Derby after being pinched off at the start.

The Rusty Arnold-trained Cellist was sixth in the Saratoga Derby and third in the Belmont Derby after defeating Dueling Grounds Derby entrant Palazzi and Royal Prince in Churchill Downs' Audubon Stakes. Arnold also has Grey Streak in the Dueling Grounds Derby, with both colts owned by Calumet Farm.

Adventuring was third, by a total of a half-length, as the favorite in Ellis Park's Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Dueling Grounds Oaks, won by Core Value's stablemate Flippant in a stakes sweep for Oliver. The winner of Turfway Park's Bourbonette, Adventuring worked a half-mile in a sparkling 47 2/5 seconds on Monday – the fastest of the morning — in company with Royal Prince.

Also back from Ellis Park's Preview Dueling Grounds Oaks is fourth-place finisher Oliviaofthedesert. Trainer Kenny McPeek has enjoyed a lot of success in the Dueling Grounds Oaks, winning in 2019 with Princesa Carolina and in 2017 with Daddys Lil Darlin and coming in second in 2018 with Princess Warrior.

Mark Casse, voted into racing's Hall of Fame last year and formally inducted this year after a COVID delay, sends out the entry of Woodbine allowance winner Inthewinnerscircle and Earth Strike in the Dueling Grounds Oaks among his seven horses in on Sunday.

Joel Rosario comes in from Saratoga to ride the opening card and has been named on 10 horses, including Du Jour and Adventuring. Also leaving Saratoga early is defending meet champion Tyler Gaffalione, who likewise is in every race but one.

Mike Maker, Kentucky Downs' all-time win leader who captured his fifth training crown last year, has a relatively calm opening day by the frenetic standards he's set at the entry box for the track. Maker has six horses in the entries, two of which are on the also-eligible list and will need defections to run. Among those assured of being in the race is Hilliard, a $40,000 claim at Saratoga in his last start. Maker will try to make the gelding his latest stakes winner by running him longer distances on turf.

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Dreaming of Anna Colt Takes Dirt Bow at Keeneland

4th-Keeneland, $73,000, Alw (NW2X), Opt. Clm ($100,000), 10-8, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:43.18, ft, 1 1/4 lengths.
BIG DREAMING (c, 3, Declaration of War–Dreaming of Anna {Ch. 2yo Filly, GISW-US, GSW-Can, $2,024,550}, by Rahy), a first-out second over the Tampa turf for Mike Stidham, was turned over to the trainer who conditioned this dam to a victory in the 2006 GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and graduated at Churchill June 20. A popular Arlington allowance winner Aug. 1, the homebred made the running in the Dueling Grounds Derby when last seen Sept. 10 and held on grimly to finish second by a half-length. Trying the dirt for the first time here as the 19-10 second pick, the half to Fast Anna (Medaglia d’Oro), GISP, $296,731; and Dreamologist (Tapit), GSW, $203,710, stalked the pace outside of Ragtime Blues (Union Rags), took over from that one with a quarter mile to race and easily accounted last-out GII Pat Day Mile S. runner-up Sonneman (Curlin) by 1 1/4 lengths. Big Dreaming is the last live foal from his dam, a half-sister to MGSW Lewis Michael (Rahy) and MSW/GISP Justenuffhumor (Distorted Humor). Big Dreaming’s third dam is none other than Kitten’s First (Lear Fan), responsible for the likes of leading sire Kitten’s Joy (El Prado {Ire}) and MGISW Precious Kitten (Catienus), herself the dam of Midlantic-based GSW/MGISP stallion Divining Rod (Tapit) and GSW Jehozacat (Tapit). Lifetime Record: SP, 5-3-2-0, $248,864. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
O/B-Frank Carl Calabrese (KY); T-Wayne M Catalano.

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Honor Roll Presented By The Runhappy Meet At Kentucky Downs: Social Paranoia’s Road From The Sale Ring To The Dueling Grounds Derby

Joe Seitz remembers $75,000 being a “fair price” when the now 4-year-old Social Paranoia sold as part of the Brookdale Sales consignment at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July Yearling Sale in 2017.

Street Boss, the colt's sire, was standing for $10,000 live foal at Darley when Social Paranoia was conceived, so 7.5 times the stud fee was a profitable multiple for his breeders, Mineola Farm and Silent Grove Farm.

Social Paranoia's buyer and current owner, Stuart Grant's The Elkstone Group, has enjoyed an even higher multiple off the purchase price. After 15 career starts for trainer Todd Pletcher, Social Paranoia has earned $929,710, more than one-third of that coming from his 2019 victory at Kentucky Downs in the $600,000 Exacta Systems Dueling Grounds Derby.

Ridden by Jose Ortiz, Social Paranoia raced closed to the lead on the European-style turf layout at Kentucky Downs, moved to the lead inside the furlong pole and edged clear late to win by a half-length. His time of 2:08.50 for 1 5/16 miles established a new course record.

“I remember him clearly when he was at Fasig-Tipton,” Seitz said recently. “He was very popular, an awesome sale horse. We got $75,000, which was a fine price, but I had hoped he would do more.

“Fortunately, he got in the right hands, with Stuart Grant and Todd Pletcher.”

Slow to leave the maiden ranks (though he was third in the Grade 3 Pilgrim in the last of five starts at two), Social Paranoia scored his initial career win in his first start at three at Gulfstream Park and has exclusively competed in stakes competition ever since.

His big score at Kentucky Downs was the final start of 2019 for Social Paranoia, who began his 2020 campaign with a victory in the G3 Appleton Stakes at Gulfstream. Most recently he unleashed a furious stretch rally to win the G3 Poker Stakes at Belmont on July 4. He's just resumed training after a minor setback following the Poker and was not nominated for any stakes at the upcoming Runhappy Kentucky Downs meet, according to Pletcher.

Brookdale will be offering a full-brother to Social Paranoia in Book 2 of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

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