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Coach Remains Unbeaten With Easy Rags To Riches Victory

Coach remained unbeaten in three starts when she drew away from Lady Traveler in deep stretch to win Sunday's eighth running of the $98,000 Rags to Riches Overnight Stakes for 2-year-old fillies by 2 ½ lengths on opening day at Churchill Downs.

Ridden by Florent Geroux and trained by Brad Cox, Coach ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.14 while making her two-turn debut. Previously she recorded dominant victories in sprints at Indiana Grand, including a 4 ¼-length maiden win and a first-level allowance score by 9 ¾ lengths.

Malibu Bird and Salty as Can Be dictated the Rags to Riches pace as they led the field of nine 2-year-old fillies through opening splits of :23.44, :47.98 and 1:12.98. Coach tracked from third in the clear down the backstretch and took over the lead leaving the far turn. Lady Traveler rallied into contention down the stretch but was no match for Coach who drew clear late.

“We sat a really good trip all along,” said Geroux, who has won the Rags to Riches in three of the last four years (note: the other wins came with Monomoy Girl in 2017 and Mother Mother in 2018). “It was her first time at two turns and she really handled the extra distance well. We galloped out really strong, too.”

Coach paid $6.80, $4.40 and $3.40 as the second betting choice. Lady Traveler, ridden by Joe Talamo, returned $5.60 and $4.20. It was another 1 ½ lengths back in third to Oliviaofthedesert, who paid $4.20 under Brian Hernandez Jr.

Dash to the Top, 2-1 favorite Midnight Ballerina, Torsie's Charm, Orsetto, Malibu Bird and Salty as Can Be completed the running order.

Sunday's payday was worth $58,440 and Coach improved her record to 3-3-0-0—$96,540 for owner Rick Kueber's Kueber Racing LLC.

By Commissioner, Coach is a Kentucky-bred filly out of the Exchange Rate mare And Stay Out. She was bred by Three Lyons Racing.

“With the pedigree, we thought she would like the extra distance,” Cox said. “With a horse making their start around two turns for the first time, you never really know how they'll handle the extra ground. She showed today that she loved it.”

Sunday's race is named in honor of Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor's 2007 Kentucky Oaks (GI) winner. Three years ago, Michael Dubb and Monomoy Stables' Monomoy Girl, also trained by Cox, cruised to a 6 ½-length score in the Rags to Riches prior to her triumph in the 2018 Kentucky Oaks.

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‘Derby-Type Horse’ King Fury, Son Of Grade 1 Winner Taris, Captures Street Sense Stakes

King Fury, named after superstar boxer Tyson Fury, collared odds-on 4-5 favorite Super Stock inside the final furlong and grinded his way to a half-length victory in Sunday's eighth running of the $98,000 Street Sense Overnight Stakes on opening day of Churchill Downs' 24-day Fall Meet.

“This is a Kentucky Derby-type horse,” winning trainer Kenny McPeek said. “We may look at the (Nov. 6) Breeders' Cup Juvenile but more than likely just wait for the (Nov. 28) Kentucky Jockey Club. The future is very bright for a horse like this.”

Brian Hernandez Jr. rode the well-bred 2-year-old colt for McPeek and owners Fern Circle Stables (Paul Fireman) and Three Chimneys Farm LLC (Goncalo Torrealba). The son of 2007-08 Horse of the Year Curlin ran 1 1/16 miles over a fast track in 1:44.30.

Purchased for $950,000 at Fasig-Tipton's 2019 Saratoga Sale, King Fury is the first foal out of six-time stakes winner and 2016 Humana Distaff (Grade I) hero Taris.

Breaking from post No. 4 in the field of six juveniles, King Fury rated just behind Franz Josef and Super Stock as the leader rattled off comfortable early quarter-mile clips of :24.60, :49.51 and 1:14.34. King Fury circled three-wide around the final turn as Super Stock took over leaving the final turn. The chestnut colt with a big white blaze found his best running in deep stretch and held off Super Stock as the two battled on determinedly to the wire. A half-length separated the top two at the finish and it was another 3 ¾ lengths back to third-place finisher Oncoming Train.

King Fury, who earned $59,835 for the win and improved his record to 3-2-0-0—$116,979, paid $7.40, $3.40 and $3 as the 5-2 second betting choice. Super Stock, ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr., returned $2.80 and $2.40. Oncoming Train, with Rafael Bejarano up, paid $3.

Arabian Prince finished fourth and was followed by Franz Josef and Crime Spree. Eucharist was scratched.

King Fury, bred in Kentucky by Heider Family Stables, broke his maiden by 2 ¾ lengths in his career debut on Sept. 3 at Churchill Downs, but subsequently finished eighth one month later after racing four-wide throughout in the $400,000 Breeders' Futurity (GI) at Keeneland.

“His last race at Keeneland was pretty puzzling because we thought he'd run a lot better than he did,” McPeek said. “I think the track ended up being pretty forward that day and his trip didn't really help things.”

Should McPeek bypass the Breeders' Cup Juvenile which comes 12 days after the Street Sense, King Fury could vie for favoritism in the $200,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (GII), a 1 1/16-mile race for 2-year-olds at Churchill Downs on Saturday, Nov. 28. The Kentucky Jockey Club is part of the “Road to the Kentucky Derby” point series that will determine the field of 20 horses that will compete in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (GI) at Churchill Downs on Saturday, May 1.

The Street Sense is named in honor of 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense who became the first horse to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (GI) as a 2-year-old and the Run for the Roses at age 3. He also was the first Champion Two-Year-Old Colt to win the Kentucky Derby since Spectacular Bid who won the Kentucky Derby in 1979.

Each of Sunday's races was for 2-year-olds, and Sunday marked the first time spectators watched live racing at Churchill Downs since Dec. 1, 2019, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. A limited attendance of 1,534 was on-hand with proper social distancing as Churchill Downs followed the COVID-19 health and safety protocols for Venues and Events as mandated by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Racing continues every Wednesday-Sunday at 1 p.m. ET through Sunday, Nov. 29.

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Breeders’ Cup Commemorative Maker’s Mark Bottle Will Benefit PDJF

With the Nov. 6-7 return of the Breeders' Cup World Championships to Keeneland Race Course, a unique commemorative item available to race fans and bourbon lovers alike will also be a great way to benefit a worthy cause. Maker's Mark®, the official bourbon of the Breeders' Cup, has partnered with Keeneland for the second time in 2020 to create a uniquely designed, limited-edition bottle with proceeds supporting the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund.

This distinctive collectible is a stunning all-white Maker's Mark bottle featuring the Breeders' Cup 2020 logo, a green wax Keeneland medallion, and a green and gold Keeneland strip stamp over purple wax sealing the bottle in the bourbon's trademark style.

The bottles will go on sale in limited quantities at select local retailers around Kentucky on Friday, October 30.

“On behalf of the men and women that the PDJF serves, we are grateful for the support of Keeneland and Maker's Mark for making the PDJF the charity beneficiary of the sales of these bottles commemorating the Breeders' Cup World Championships,” said PDJF President Nancy LaSala.

“Keeneland served the very first cases of Maker's Mark ever sold,” said Rob Samuels, eighth-generation whisky maker and Managing Director of Maker's Mark, whose grandparents founded the brand. “With that in mind, we wanted to commemorate the return of the Breeders' Cup to Keeneland and felt that supporting the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund was the perfect way to celebrate our long partnership.”

Maker's Mark and Keeneland released a different commemorative bottle earlier this summer before Keeneland's Summer Meet in July, which featured the running of the Maker's Mark Mile, a Grade 1 turf race. That bottle sold out quickly with those proceeds also benefiting PDJF.

“This gorgeous Maker's Mark bottle is a wonderful way for our fans to celebrate the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland and to benefit the important work of the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund,” said Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason. “We especially thank our partner, Maker's Mark, for their decades-long support of Keeneland and Thoroughbred racing.”

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Bucchero Breeds 291 Mares In 2019-20; Leads All Florida Sires

While Mendelssohn and Justify never faced Bucchero on the track, it was Bucchero that filled out the trifecta for most mares bred by second year sires in 2020 according to the Report of Mares Bred issued by the Jockey Club on Friday.

After breeding to 130 mares in his first season at stud, multiple graded stakes winner Bucchero followed up his first-year success by breeding to 161 mares in 2020. Second in Florida only to Khozan, his total topped standout second year sires such as Collected, Bolt d'Oro and City of Light. His 291 mares bred in 2019-20 made him the most-popular stallion in Florida over the past two years.

“Kantharos and Bucchero's direct family is as hot as any up-and-coming family in America” said the ownership group's managing partner Harlan Malter. “Between his sire Kantharos and Bucchero's three-quarters relative, multiple Grade 1 winner World of Trouble, this direct family bred to 421 mares in 2020. I think this really says a lot about how breeders feel about the explosive potential of this 'Freaky Fast Family.'”

Bucchero is the first son to stud by Kantharos, whose tremendous success as a Florida-based sire resulted in his being transferred to Kentucky to continue his career at Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa. Kantharos's current 15 2-year-old winners from his first Kentucky-conceived crop is more than American Pharoah, Munnings and Tapit.

Bucchero enters his third year at Pleasant Acres Stallions in Florida in 2021, where he will continue to stand for $5,000.

“We were excited to bring the Kantharos bloodline back to Florida and once the breeders were able to see him in person, he really sells himself” commented Joe Barbazon, owner of Pleasant Acres. “Breeders realize that the Florida program and 2-year-old sales put a lot of emphasis on speed and precociousness, and they see that Bucchero checks these boxes. We have had the chance to see many of his first crop foals and breeders report back that he is really stamping them – smart, correct and fast looking.”

A winner of 11 races, with earnings of $947,936, Bucchero won stakes going long and short, on dirt and turf, and was stakes placed on synthetic.

Bucchero won seven black-type races, including the $200,000 Grade 2 Woodford Stakes at Keeneland in both 2017 and 2018. He was stakes-placed seven times, including second in the $200,000 G2 Shakertown Stakes and third in the $150,000 G3 Twin Spires Turf Sprint Stakes.

Bucchero was the rare horse who was both precocious and durable. Debuting as a 2-year-old in stakes company, and finishing second by a half-length, he then broke his maiden at second asking running a Thorograph 4. Durable and sound, he raced 31 times at 13 different tracks, winning his second Woodford at the end of his 6-year-old campaign.

An “Early Bird” discount of $1,000 will be offered for bookings made before Jan. 1, 2021.

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