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Blockbuster Kentucky Downs Card on Tap Saturday

Kentucky Downs will host six graded events Saturday, led by the 'Win and You're In' $1-million GII Fanduel Turf Sprint S. and $1-million GII Kentucky Turf Cup S. NBC Sports will broadcast both live on CNBC.

After successfully defending his title in Saratoga's GI Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer S. Aug. 27, Gufo (Declaration of War) returns on short notice for the Kentucky Turf Cup. He is the 7-5 morning-line favorite. The 8-year-old Arklow (Arch) looks for his third win from five attempts in this contest following victories in 2018 and 2020, respectively.

Drawn widest of all in post 12, GII Twin Spires Turf Sprint S. winner and last out GI Jaipur S. runner-up Arrest Me Red (Pioneerof the Nile) is the 9-5 morning-line favorite in the Fanduel Turf Sprint.

The rescheduled GIII WinStar Mint Million S. features last year's winner Pixelate (City Zip). Originally carded for last Saturday, inclement weather forced the cancellation of racing following the day's seventh race.

The streaking Big Invasion (Declaration of War) is the clear-cut one to beat in the GII Franklin-Simpson S. following impressive wins in Saratoga's GIII Quick Call S. and Mahony S. “Every time he runs, he gets better,” jockey Joel Rosario said.

Princess Grace (Karakontie {Jpn}) and Dalika (Ger) (Pastorius {Ger}), one-two in the 2021 GIII Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf S., face off again in Saturday's renewal. Dalika got the better of her aforementioned rival by a half-length in last month's GI Beverly D. S. at Churchill Downs.

The globetrotting Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), most recently a dead-heat third in Royal Ascot's G1 Platinum Jubilee S., returns in the GIII Mint Ladies Sprint S. The full field of 12 also includes the race's defending winner In Good Spirits (Ghostzapper).

“For a non-Breeders' Cup card, this is truly amazing,” Ted Nicholson, Kentucky Downs' Vice President for Racing, said of Saturday's 12-race program.

Baffert Shooting for Fourth Straight Debutante…

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will be represented by a pair, led by 9-5 morning-line favorite and 'TDN Rising Star' Home Cooking (Honor Code), while looking for a fourth straight victory and 11th win overall in Saturday's GI TVG Del Mar Debutante S.

Home Cooking romped by 9 1/4 lengths with blinkers off at second asking Aug. 21 while her stablemate Fast and Shiny (Bernardini) won at a generous 6-1 on debut Aug. 7. Both are owned by Pegram, Watson and Weitman.

The rail-drawn Vegas Magic (Good Magic) puts a perfect three-for-three record on the line for Doug O'Neill following a 14-1 upset in the GII Sorrento S. Aug. 13.

Saturday's graded stakes action also includes: Del Mar's GII John C. Mabee S.; Pimlico's GIII Baltimore/Washington International Turf Cup S.; and the GIII British Columbia Derby at Hastings.

The post Blockbuster Kentucky Downs Card on Tap Saturday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Gear Jockey Ridden to Perfection in Turf Sprint

Gear Jockey (Twirling Candy), third at 67-1 as a maiden in the 2019 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita, delivered a career high while punching his ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint.

The Calumet Farm homebred sat just off the pacesetting Bombard (War Front) in second, took over under confident handling as they hit the quarter pole and took care of business from there to win for fun.

Longshot Diamond Oops (Lookin At Lucky) nosed out Bombard for second.

Gear Jockey, a maiden winner at ninth asking at Gulfstream Jan. 21, was a close third in the GIII Canadian Turf S. going 1 1/16 miles Feb. 27. A Keeneland allowance winner going a mile this spring, he cut back to a pair of 5 1/2-furlong turf sprints in his last two, scoring in an optional claimer at Saratoga July 17, then rallying for third in the GIII Troy S. Aug. 6.

Trainer Rusty Arnold has also enjoyed success with Twirling Candy's GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S. heroine Concrete Rose and MGSW Morticia.

“He's been working good,” winning jockey Jose Lezcano said. “He felt very good. He broke right on top and I let him follow [Bombard] and when I asked him at the three-sixteenths, he took off again. At the quarter [pole] he had already taken me there, but at three-sixteenths, I had to ask him because no one was coming and he might hang and fool around. The whole way he gave me the feeling that I had so much horse. When I asked, him he really kicked on.”

Favored two-time GI Fourstardave H. heroine Got Stormy (Get Stormy) was a disappointing sixth.

“You've always heard me say that she likes hard ground,” trainer Mark Casse said. “I think when she's sprinting she probably would actually like it a little softer. Today they were just a little too fast for her. But she's fine. We knew this was a tall task, but this will get us ready for the Breeders' Cup.”

Pedigree Notes:

Gear Jockey, whose granddam is a half-sister to GISW Stroll (Pulpit), has effectively salvaged the last two generations of his female family from a scarcity of black-type. Gear Jockey's dam spent her early producing years delivering foals by obscure stallion Calimonco until being purchased for $20,000 by Calumet with the Turf Sprint winner in utero at the 2017 Keeneland January sale. Her most recent foals–2-year-old colt Double Clutch (Optimizer) and yearling colt Keen to Go (Keen Ice)–are by resident Calumet stallions. She has been bred back to Calumet's Bravazo for next term. Gear Jockey became the 50th black-type winner out of a Tapit mare with the Kentucky Downs score and the second by Twirling Candy out of a Tapit mare, joining Venezuelan MSW Believe (Ven). Twirling Candy is having a fabulous year, with Gear Jockey his eighth black-type winner of 2021 and joining the ranks of GI Preakness S. winner Rombauer, as well as last week's GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity winner Pinehurst. Gear Jockey marks Twirling Candy's 12th graded winner and 31st stakes winner in seven crops.

Saturday, Kentucky Downs
FANDUEL TURF SPRINT S.-GIII, $995,500, Kentucky Downs, 9-11, 3yo/up, 6fT, 1:07.90 (NCR), fm.
1–GEAR JOCKEY, 121, c, 4, by Twirling Candy
                1st Dam: Switching Gears, by Tapit
                2nd Dam: Pace, by Indian Ridge (Ire)
                3rd Dam: Maid for Walking (GB), by Prince Sabo (GB)
   1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN.
O/B-Calumet Farm (KY); T-George R. Arnold, II; J-Jose Lezcano.
$576,600. Lifetime Record: GISP, 15-4-2-5, $902,875. Click for
   eNicks report & 5-cross catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick
   Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*.
2–Diamond Oops, 121, g, 6, Lookin At Lucky–Patriotic Viva, by
Whywhywhy. ($42,000 RNA Wlg '15 KEENOV). O-Diamond 100
Racing Club, LLC, Amy Dunne, D P Racing LLC & Patrick L.
Biancone Racing LLC; B-Kin Hui Racing Stables LLC (KY);
T-Patrick L. Biancone. $186,000.
3–Bombard, 125, g, 8, War Front–Witty, by Distorted Humor.
O/B-Raydelz Stable (KY); T-Richard E. Mandella. $93,000.
Margins: 2HF, NO, HD. Odds: 5.70, 21.90, 6.30.
Also Ran: Fast Boat, Casa Creed, Got Stormy, Front Run the Fed, Chewing Gum, Stubbins, Imprimis, Siem Riep, Born Great. Scratched: Johnny Unleashed. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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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.

The post ‘Stormy’ Forecast at Kentucky Downs appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Biancone: Diamond Oops ‘Runs his Best When He’s Doing Something Different’

When Andie Biancone saddles Diamond Oops in Kentucky Downs $1 million G3 FanDuel Turf Sprint on Saturday it will be yet another episode in the ongoing multi-generational, two-family affair.

Diamond Oops, the 6-year-old son of Lookin At Lucky, is a member of the third of four generations of his family trained by Biancone's father, Patrick. Andie has joined the family business, is an assistant trainer and the exercise rider for the multiple graded-stakes winning millionaire gelding.

After Diamond Oops ran third as the 8-5 favorite in the six-furlong G3 Smile Stakes on dirt on July 3 at Gulfstream Park, his connections decided that it was time to try something new and began preparing for a September trip to Kentucky Downs.

“Initially, the plan for this year was to really focus on six furlongs on the dirt, because that's really his niche. That's really where we feel like he does his best,” she said. “But last race, we ran him and he just ran like a pretty flat third. We think it's because he's bored. This horse runs his best when he's doing something different. He loves to run six furlongs on the dirt, a mile on the turf, five furlongs on the turf. He loves the change. He's so intelligent and he really appreciates doing things differently. I think that's why he loves Kentucky Downs so much. It's because it's not a race track. It's so big, so different. And he's just so happy.”

During training hours Wednesday, Diamond Oops showed Biancone, 24, just how pleased he is to be at the sprawling track in rural southern Kentucky very close to the border with Tennessee.

“It's like he's at Disneyland here,” she said. “It's just kind of blowing his mind a little bit. The space. The grass. Everything. He's so excited. He's also just so well right now. My dad really has him in his best form.

“He came out of the barn, heard some gravel move and then he just reared straight up and bashed me in the face with his head. I'm a little concussed, but it's a long way from my heart. It's okay. I can survive. He definitely felt sorry afterwards. He was giving me the baby eyes like 'Mom, I'm so sorry.' I was like, 'Hmm. OK. You can make it up to me on Saturday.' I'm like, 'Save it, save it for the race. Please keep yourself composed for 48 hours.”

The horse and human connections go back more than 20 years when Patrick Biancone was training Diamond Oops' grandsire, the multiple graded-stakes winner Whywhywhy and his second dam Patriotic Diva, owned by Kin Hui. After Patriotic Diva retired, Hui bred her to Whywhywhy and that mating produced the 2007 filly Patriotic Viva, who became the dam of Diamond Oops. Patrick Biancone also trained other foals dropped by Patriotic Viva. This summer, the 2-year-old Diamond Wow, a daughter of Diamond Oops' sister, Patriotic Diamond, broke her maiden at Gulfstream Park.

“It's been really cool. They're just such a classy family,” Andie Biancone said.

Bred by Hui, Diamond Oops is co-owned by Hui's Diamond 100 Racing Club, Amy Dunne, D P Racing and Patrick Biancone Racing. He wasn't supposed to end up in Biancone's care.

“We named him Oops, because he was so ugly and we got stuck with him, kind of,” Andie Biancone said. “We tried to, sell him as a weanling and he was a no-bid at the sale. It's so funny because when he won the Phoenix (in 2020), Keeneland posted like a little video of him in the ring, I always wondered what he looked like as a baby. And they posted this video of him in the ring. I was like, 'Oh my gosh, a mule.' He really looked like a donkey. It's so funny how much he's grown into himself. He's obviously gorgeous now.”

Diamond Oops won a pair of stakes as a 2-year-old, but was limited to a single start as a 3-year-old by what was feared to be a career-ending leg injury. After a 10-month layoff, Diamond Oops returned to competition and won the Smile in his third start. He was second in a pair of G1 stakes, the A.G. Vanderbilt on dirt and the Shadwell Turf Mile, and was eighth in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and completed his season with a victory in the G3 Mr. Prospector.

Last year, he captured G2 stakes on turf and dirt and was sixth in the Breeders' Cup Sprint.

Noting that Diamond Oops wasn't at his best later in the season in the Breeders' Cup, his connections gave him a couple of months off during the winter and plotted a conservative schedule for 2021. The Turf Sprint at Kentucky Downs was a reworking of the plan and will be his sixth career start on grass. A victory will earn him a guaranteed, fees-paid berth in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint through the “Win and You're In” program.

Based on his history and the way he feels under her in the morning, Andie Biancone expects him to run well Saturday.

“He's gutsy,” she said. “When he ran the Shadwell Turf Mile, I thought that was pretty bold to run him two turns, but he finished a really game second. That's just him. He loves a challenge. He's not afraid. He doesn't back down and he literally thinks he's like the only horse in the world. It's just that cocky attitude of his.”

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