Prep Winner Hush Of A Storm Tops 63 Nominees Chasing Derby Points In Turfway’s Jeff Ruby Steaks

Joseph P. Morey Trust's $100,000 John Battaglia Memorial winner Hush of a Storm topped a roster of 63 horses that were nominated to the premiere race of Turfway Park's meet, the $250,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks (Grade 3).

The Jeff Ruby Steaks, a Road to the Kentucky Derby Championship Series race, will be one of six stakes events carded on Saturday, March 27 at the Florence, Ky. oval. The 1 1/8-mile event over the new Tapeta synthetic surface will award the Top 4 finishers 100-40-20-10 points for the $3 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) on May 1.

New for 2021, the point structure in the Jeff Ruby Steaks and its counterpart for 3-year-old fillies, the $150,000 Bourbonette Oaks, were both boosted from their previously offered 10-4-2-1 points. The Bourbonette Oaks (Listed) offers the Top 4 finishers 50-20-10-5 points toward the $1.25 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI) on April 30.

Other stakes on the afternoon card will be the $150,000 TwinSpires.com Kentucky Cup Classic (Listed) for 4-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles; the $100,000 Rushaway for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles; the $100,000 Latonia Stakes for fillies and mares at one mile; and the $65,000 Animal Kingdom Stakes for 3-year-olds at 6 ½ furlongs. Nominations for all six races cumulatively worth $815,000 closed Saturday and will be available at https://www.turfway.com/horsemen.

“This is the day of racing many of us in the jocks room look forward to,” said jockey Chris Landeros, who ranks second in Turfway Park's jockey standings with 26 wins. “I chose to stay home this winter to ride at Turfway and the meet has been great to us so far. I'm looking forward to ending it with a bang.”

The Jeff Ruby Steaks is likely to be featured by Hush of a Storm, who garnered 10 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby with his victory in the Feb. 26 John Battaglia Memorial. Trained by Bill Morey, Hush of a Storm is scheduled to be joined in the starting gate by the top four finishers of the Battaglia Memorial: M Racing Group's runner-up Like the King; Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gary Barber's third-place finisher Gretzky the Great; and Bourbon Lane Stable's fourth Hard Rye Guy.

Trainer Mike Maker has six wins in the Jeff Ruby Steaks, including victories in the last two editions with Somelikeithotbrown (2019) and Field Pass (2020), respectively. Maker nominated six horses to this year's Jeff Ruby Steaks including $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) winner Fire At Will.

The Bourbonette Oaks had 57 nominations. Maker won two of the last three runnings of the Bourbonette Oaks with Go Noni Go (2018) and Queen of God (2020). He nominated four fillies to this year's race including Albert Frassetto's $65,000 Cincinnati Trophy runner-up Phantom Vision. In the 6 ½-furlong Cincinnati Trophy, the local prep for the Bourbonette Oaks, she was defeated two lengths to Hartwell Farm and SF Racing's 15-1 upset winner, and fellow Bourbonette Oaks nominee, Wait for Nairobi.

Another featured event on the day is the Kentucky Cup Classic for older horses. The 65 nominees include Crystal Racing Enterprises and Contreras Stable's back-to-back Kentucky Cup Classic winner Nun the Less. Trained by Cipriano Contreras, Nun the Less was on the sidelines since his victory in last year's event but has been training at Turfway Park for a possible three-peat attempt.

Turfway Park's 12-race daytime spectacular will be drawn Wednesday, March 24. Fans can watch and wager on Turfway Park at TwinSpires.com – the official wagering provider of Churchill Downs Inc.

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Triple Crown Weekend Prep Report Card: Life Is Good … Getting Better

Last week's grading period came and went without a Report Card on the winners of the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes from Gulfstream Park, the G3 Southwest Stakes from Oaklawn and the listed John Battaglia Memorial Stakes from Turfway Park. The author got a little behind on his homework.

We'll review those three races from Feb. 26-27 and three big 85 point Kentucky Derby preps that were run last Saturday: the G2 Gotham Stakes from Aqueduct, G2 Tampa Bay Derby from Tampa Bay Downs and G2 San Felipe Stakes from Santa Anita. The winners of those three races assured themselves a spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate on May 1.

Of the six races, I'd have to rank the San Felipe the most impactful, at least in recent history, with two of the last seven winners (Authentic in 2020 and California Chrome in 2014) having gone on to victory in the Kentucky Derby. At the other end of the spectrum is the John Battaglia Memorial which has a roster of winners that reads like a “who's that?” Strikingly more significant than the Battaglia is the Gotham, which hasn't produced a Kentucky Derby winner from among its winners since Triple Crown winner Secretariat in 1973. There have been some very good horses since then to win the Gotham, but not so much in the last decade. Let's face it: the best New York horses are still in Florida on the first Saturday in March.

Here's a quick analysis of all the points races of the past two weeks, from best to worst in terms of my grading scale, which is based on my personal eyeball test, Beyer Speed Figures received, historical significance of the race and perceived quality of field.

March 6 – San Felipe Stakes, 1 1/16 miles, Santa Anita

Was not that impressed with Life Is Good's G3 Sham Stakes victory on Jan. 2 when he idled down the stretch and was threatened late by Bob Baffert stablemate Medina Spirit, but the eight-length San Felipe win was something else again. The Into Mischief colt was simply too fast for his opposition, breaking from the rail under Mike Smith, controlling a quick pace (quarter miles in :23.63, :23.20, :23.72 and :24.91 before a final sixteenth in 6.72 seconds), and drawing off impressively while a bit erratic down the stretch, eventually finishing out in the middle of the track.

Life Is Good and Mike Smith winning the San Felipe Stakes by eight lengths

The San Felipe was G2 and included stakes veterans Medina Spirit, The Great One and Roman Centurian and impressive recent maiden winner Dream Shake for Peter Eurton (receiving a 96 Beyer Speed Figure on his debut).

Life Is Good received a 107 Beyer Speed Figure, up from his 101 in the Sham, and that puts him on the top of the heap at this stage of the season. Future wager players made him 2-1 in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager's March pool, the lowest odds for any individual horse in the March pool since the wager was inaugurated.

Grade: A

Feb. 27 – Southwest Stakes, 1 1/16 miles, Oaklawn

It's hard to find fault with Brad Cox-trained Essential Quality, who ran his record to a perfect 4-for-4 while making his 2021 debut in the twice-delayed Southwest, run on a very sloppy racetrack. Breaking from the No. 1 post, jockey Luis Saez cleverly moved him to the three path into the first turn and sat just a few lengths behind quick but distance challenged Jackie's Warrior for a moderate six furlongs in 1:13.59. Saez moved the Tapit colt to the lead on the turn and it was quickly over as he drew off to a 4 ¼-length victory while demonstrating a paddling motion with his left front down the stretch.

Essential Quality rolled to his fourth consecutive win in the Southwest, his 2021 debut

Aside from the winner and Jackie's Warrior (a two-time G1 winner going one turn as a 2-year-old), the only other proven commodity in the Southwest lineup was Spielberg, the Baffert runner who won the G2 Los Alamitos Futurity by a nose over The Great One, a maiden at the time who came back to beat non-winners by 14 lengths and then was crushed by Life Is Good in the San Felipe. Essential Quality received a 96 Beyer Speed Figure, one point higher than his Breeders' Cup Juvenile victory.

Grade: A-

Feb. 27 – Fountain of Youth, 1 1/16 miles, Gulfstream Park

Not unlike Essential Quality in the Southwest, even-money favorite  Greatest Honour (also by Tapit) was chasing a fast one-turn horse, Drain the Clock, unsuccessfully trying to stretch his speed around two turns in the Fountain of Youth.

For most of the race, the Shug McGaughey runner did not look comfortable while racing in eighth and ninth in the 10-horse field. When Jose Ortiz guided him five wide to the outside on the far turn, he took off, gaining five lengths in the final furlong and drawing away to a 1 ½-length victory. He received an 89 Beyer Speed Figure, identical to the number he got while winning the Holy Bull Stakes four weeks earlier.

Greatest Honour and Jose Ortiz winning the Fountain of Youth

However, he made up ground on a horse that doesn't want to go this far, and if Greatest Honour doesn't like getting dirt in his face with a 10-horse field at Gulfstream, what's it going to be like at Churchill Downs with an expected 20-horse field for the Kentucky Derby? It doesn't appear as if his connections have an option to put him closer to the lead as he has yet to show any tactical speed.

Grade: B+

March 6 – Tampa Bay Derby, 1 1/16 miles, Tampa Bay Downs

Mark Casse-trained Helium first caught my eye last fall at Woodbine when he displayed a very nice turn of foot to win the listed Display Stakes going away. That race was on the Canadian track's Tapeta synthetic surface and Helium is from the first crop of Ironicus, a Distorted Humor stallion who only won on turf during his 15-race career from ages 2 to 5. I was skeptical that he could pack the same punch on dirt.

I was also skeptical of the Tampa Bay Derby favorite, Candy Man Rocket, who was coming off a win in the G3 Sam F. Davis over the same track that I graded a C- because it looked as though the Candy Ride colt was being stretched to the limit distance wise.

Helium had shown speed in his sprint starts at Woodbine and Casse's Plan A was for jockey Jose Ferrer to put him close to the lead. That went out the window when he broke slowly and had just two horses beat for the opening quarter mile.

Helium won for the third time in three starts, taking the Tampa Bay Derby under Jose Ferrer

Ferrer kept Helium to the far outside in the run down the backstretch and around the far turn, and Casse's runner was battling for the lead with front-running Boca Boy, who'd led and then tired in the stretch in the Sam F. Davis. Helium put him away, then was quickly joined by third-place Sam F. Davis finisher Hidden Stash, who pressed Helium for the final furlongs but couldn't get past, losing by three-quarters in a nice effort.

The winner's 84 Beyer Speed Figure compared favorably to his 75 on Tapeta last October but is low among the Derby prep race winners this winter. Casse has talked about not running the horse again before the Kentucky Derby, so although Helium would enter the classic unbeaten in three starts, he'd still be a pretty big price.

Grade: C+

March 6 – Gotham Stakes, one mile, Aqueduct

Chad Brown-trained Highly Motivated was the heavy favorite here as he made his first start since winning the listed Nyquist Stakes going 6 ½ furlongs at Keeneland on the Breeders' Cup undercard Nov. 6. He bobbled at the start, then had a nightmare trip with traffic in the early stages of this one-turn mile race. Second betting choice was Freedom Fighter, coming off a second-place finish in the G2 San Vicente at Santa Anita for Bob Baffert, losing to highly touted stablemate Concert Tour by a half-length.

Freedom Fighter broke sharply and led through moderate fractions while being dogged by 46-1 longshot Weyburn, a James Jerkens-trained colt by Pioneerof the Nile ridden by Trevor McCarthy. Weyburn put the Baffert runner away inside the quarter pole then was challenged by Chad Brown's other runner, Crowded Trade, who, like Weyburn broke his maiden this winter at Aqueduct. Crowded Trade, a More Than Ready colt, put his nose in front inside the furlong pole but Weyburn fought back in the final yards to prevail by a nose.

Weyburn (inside) re-rallied in deep stretch to win the Gotham over Crowded Trade

The top two horses received a 95 Beyer Speed Figure, with Highly Motivated finishing third, 1 ¾ lengths back after a tough trip, and earning a 92 Beyer. As I wrote in the intro, the best of the New York Thoroughbred population head south to Florida for the winter and both Weyburn and Crowded Trade remained in New York. Highly Motivated trained for his debut at Payson Park in Florida and probably will accomplish more than the two who beat him.

Grade: C

Feb. 26 – John Battaglia Memorial Stakes, 1 1/16 miles, Turfway Park

A workmanlike victory in his stakes debut gave the William Morey-trained Hush of a Storm 10 Kentucky Derby points in the Battaglia and he received an 86 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort.

The Creative Cause colt didn't do anything wrong in winning the Battaglia on the synthetic Tapeta surface at the Northern Kentucky track, but there was not a lot behind him, with the exception of Gretzky the Great, who'd won the G1 Summer Stakes on turf at Woodbine last year. He'll need more points, obviously, and the only way to earn them will be on the dirt and against much stiffer competition.

Grade: C-

 

 

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Creative Cause Colt Survives Inquiry in Battaglia

New York-bred Hush of a Storm benefitted from a duel between his stablemate Pico d'Oro (Curlin) and even-money GISW Gretzky the Great (Nyquist) to remain perfect on the Tapeta and score a first stakes win after surviving a lengthy inquiry. A no show when unveiled in a $150,000 maiden claiming sprint at Churchill Nov. 19, the bay woke up on the surface switch and stretch out to air by 5 1/2 lengths at 14-1 odds here Dec. 19. He doubled up in an optional claimer Jan. 6, earning a 74 Beyer Speed Figure that stacked up well enough with everyone but the chalk.

Hush of a Storm tucked in along the fence towards the back as Pico d'Oro took it to Gretzky the Great through splits of :23.86 and :47.11. He advanced in between rivals heading for home, came wide for the stretch drive and continued along to hit the front in midstretch. Shifting in as he took over, Hush of a Storm appeared to trigger a chain reaction that forced Like the King to into Gretzky with Hard Rye Guy (Hard Spun) also taking up in between. After many views of a head-on replay that appeared inconclusive, the stewards let the result stand.

With the victory, Hush of a Storm earned 10 qualifying points towards the GI Kentucky Derby.

The winner is out of a full sister to pricey 2-year-old seller and MSW/MGSP Brigand (Flatter). He has a 2-year-old half-sister by Runhappy and a yearling half-brother by Mastery. Hush Now most recently visited Distorted Humor.

JOHN BATTAGLIA MEMORIAL S., $82,830, Turfway, 2-26, 3yo,
1 1/16m (AWT), 1:44.00, ft.
1–HUSH OF A STORM, 118, c, 3, by Creative Cause
                1st Dam: Hush Now, by Flatter
                2nd Dam: Silence Please, by Quiet American
                3rd Dam: Notice Me, by Distinctive
($60,000 Ylg '19 SARAUG; $75,000 2yo '20 OBSAPR).
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. O-Joseph P. Morey, Jr. Revocable Trust;
B-Berkshire Stud (NY); T-William E. Morey; J-Santiago
Gonzalez. $43,710. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-0, $65,985.
2–Like the King, 118, c, 3, Palace Malice–Like a Queen, by
Corinthian. ($28,000 Wlg '18 KEENOV; $170,000 Ylg '19
OBSOCT). O-M Racing Group, LLC; B-Horseshoe Racing, LLC
(KY); T-Wesley A. Ward. $18,800.
3–Gretzky the Great, 124, c, 3, Nyquist–Pearl Turn, by
Bernardini. ($295,000 RNA Ylg '19 FTKOCT). O-Eclipse
Thoroughbred Partners and Barber, Gary; B-Anderson Farms
Ont. Inc. (ON); T-Mark E. Casse. $7,050.
Margins: 1HF, NK, 1 1/4. Odds: 6.70, 5.20, 1.00.
Also Ran: Hard Rye Guy, Catman, Twirling Mamba, Fort Moultrie, Pico d'Oro, Notable Exception, The Predicament, Bakwena. Scratched: Kinetic Sky, Warrior in Chief. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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