Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Turf Sprint

Trainer Oliver, Jockey Bejarano Celebrate Multi-Win Day At Ellis Park Saturday

Trainer Vicki Oliver and jockey Rafael Bejarano proved the stars of Saturday's first day of Kentucky Downs Preview Weekend at the RUNHAPPY Meet at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., teaming for three victories, with the rider winning four overall.

Oliver brought two 3-year-old fillies from her Keeneland base. But instead of running both Flippant and Core Values in the $100,000 Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Dueling Grounds Oaks, she opted to put Core Values in against boys in the $100,000 Kentucky Downs Preview Dueling Grounds Derby. That resulted in a nose victory over favored Royal Prince, with Flippant winning the $100,000 Kentucky Downs Preview Dueling Grounds Oaks two races later by a half-length over Caldee.

The trainer and jockey also teamed to take the third race, a $52,000 turf allowance sprint, with the 4-year-old filly Never Forget, who is out of the same mare (Frivolous) as Flippant. Both fillies are owned by breeder G. Watts Humphrey, the trainer's dad.

Bejarano's big day started with victory in the second race aboard Casino Star in an optional claiming $40,000 allowance race.

Oliver said it was only the second time in her career that she'd won three races on a card, the last time coming in June 19, 2006, at The Meadowlands' all-grass meet. She said it was her first time winning two stakes.

Oliver said she's hoping to run all three winning fillies in stakes at Kentucky Downs' meet in early September.

“I love Kentucky Downs. Love Ellis Park, and it's fun to be here supporting them,” she said. “I think it's fantastic they have this day. It's great for all of us who stay here and support the Kentucky circuit. It keeps us staying here. And we get a leg up to get into Kentucky Downs for that.”

Meet-leading trainer Brad Cox — who was busy winning Saratoga's Grade 1 Whitney Stakes with Knicks Go (an Ellis Park 2-year-old winner and runner-up in the Ellis Park Derby) — won the first of the stakes quartet as Shared Sense took the $65,000 Tri-State Overnight Stakes under Brian Hernandez Jr. Trainer Brendan Walsh — at Saratoga, where he was second in the Whitney with Maxfield, who trained all summer as a 2-year-old at Ellis Park — captured the $100,000 Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Turf Sprint with favored Born Great, ridden by Adam Beschizza.

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Walsh’s Born Great Best In Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Turf Sprint At Ellis

Born Great probably needed to win the $100,000 Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Turf Sprint at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., to get a shot at the big money offered at his favorite track, Kentucky Downs. The 5-year-old gelding did his part, finishing fastest under Adam Beschizza to defeat Siem Riep by 1 1/4 lengths while covering 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:00.48. That was just off Totally Boss' 2019 track record of 1:00.26 in the same race.

Trained by Brendan Walsh, Born Great won a maiden and allowance race in a one-week span at Kentucky Downs last year. So obviously the plan was to win this race to get an automatic fees-paid spot in the $1 million FanDuel Turf Sprint on Sept. 11 at that track. The winner of the Grade 3 FanDuel Turf Sprint, which will be televised live by NBC, in turn gets a fees-paid spot in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar.

Because graded-stakes winners and then stakes winners are preferred if the Kentucky Downs stakes gets more than 12 entries, getting the automatic qualifier was critical.

“Obviously it's a big deal for him to win,” said assistant trainer Paul Madden, who runs Walsh's Ellis Park division. “But most importantly for him to qualify for Kentucky Downs, which is huge, a place where he was 2 for 2 last year.

“But he's a really neat horse. He always gives 100 percent. He had a little time off after the Fair Grounds and was second at Churchill not that long ago, but just lacked a little sharpness. Brendan was here on Wednesday and was thrilled with him and knew he was sitting on a big race. So we weren't surprised how he ran to be honest.”

Beschizza had Born Great settled into eighth in the field of 10 older sprinters as High Crime set a torrid pace. Though in mid-stretch it looked like almost any horse could win, Born Great surged through the stretch, blowing to the lead in the final sixteenth-mile. He paid $7.20 as the favorite.

“Most of the horses I've been riding early on in the day have all been speed close to the lead types of horses,” Beschizza said. “As fast as the turf is playing, it's not really paying off. Horses are coming from behind and reaping the reward from the fast pace up front. Kentucky Downs really suits him. Ideally, I think his best trip is probably three-quarters (of a mile). At 5 1/2, if he's got a decent pace in front of him, he usually can reel them back in within reason. He did it pretty comfortably in the end.”

Born Great, a son of the deceased Scat Daddy, now is 4-2-1 in nine starts, earning $2442,025 for owners Marc Detampel and Fergus Galvin.

“It's perfect that his beloved Kentucky Downs is just around the corner, and obviously he's going to get the course and distance there,” Beschizza said of the six-furlong $1 million FanDuel Turf Sprint. “Thanks to Marc Detampel, Brendan and Paul here for having him in good shape coming into this race, and I don't think he's done yet this summer.”

The Terry Brennan-trained Siem Riep, making only his second start since he was second by a neck in the 2019 Preview Turf Mile, rallied from last. It marked his third time to be second in a Preview race, also finishing second in 2018 in the Preview Turf Mile. It was another 1 1/4 lengths back to Gray Attempt, making his turf debut.

“We got a little bit shuffled back on the turn, but when you don't have that sprinter speed early, it's kind of tough to hold your position,” said Graham, who rode Siem Riep in his three Ellis Park runners-up finishes. “But he made a good account for him today. He's a cool little horse, and he tries. I ran after Born Great. He got to save ground around the turn. He took my spot going into the turn, so I had to go around. But I can't say anything. My horse was looking for a little bit more ground anyway. But he finished the right way.”

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Siem Riep Readies For Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Turf Sprint

Two years ago, trainer Terry Brennan brought Siem Riep to Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., for the Kentucky Downs Preview's mile stakes. It was the first start since the gelding had been purchased for $117,000 at the Fasig-Tipton horses of racing age sale a month earlier. Siem Riep led all the way until getting nailed at the wire by a neck.

Unfortunately, that was Siem Riep's last race for almost two years, as he suffered a soft-tissue injury preparing for the mile stakes at Kentucky Downs.

Now the Arkansas-based Brennan brought the horse back to Ellis Park, this time for the $100,000 Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Turf Sprint. He says the 7-year-old Siem Riep is completely sound — “He's had so many ultrasound tests that I could have bought the machine,” he quips — and the gelding doesn't even wear protective bandages while training.

Brennan got one prep into Siem Riep, a front-runner around two turns who closed to take second by a head in a Lone Star Park allowance race July 11. That marked the first time the son of Tapit had sprinted.

Siem Riep also was second in the Preview mile stakes in 2018, again leading until very late.

Asked if he thought he'd found a new home sprinting for Siem Riep, Brennan joked, “I don't know. I just hope we can put together more than two races.”

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Walsh Prepares Four For Kentucky Downs Previews At Ellis Park

Trainer Brendan Walsh hopes to use the $100,000 Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Turf Sprint as a stepping stone to competing in the compact meet at Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Ky. Born Great proved last year that he relished that undulating surface by winning not once, but twice. Though not unprecedented, it is rare for horses to race more than once at Kentucky Downs' short all-turf meet. Born Great did so with great success, knocking out a maiden victory that he followed with an allowance score a week later.

Born Great in his last start finished second by a neck in a Churchill Downs turf sprint won by graded-stakes winner Angaston.

“He's doing great,” Walsh said. “We'll see how it goes, but hopefully it will set him up good for Kentucky Downs. He really liked it there last year. He might be as good this year as last, if not better. He ran a really good race at the end of the Churchill spring meet and was very unlucky. Five-and-a-half (furlongs) is probably as short as he would want. But the 6 1/2 at Kentucky Downs set him really well last year.

“But this is a tough race. There are two or three really nice horses in there. It's a good race.”

Walsh also has Ethical Judgement in Saturday's $100,000 Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Dueling Grounds Derby, Amazima in Sunday's $100,000 Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Ladies Sprint, and the 4-year-old filly Family Way taking on the boys in the $125,000 Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Turf Cup.

Ethical Judgement gets back to turf for the first time since he was second in his first race. He ran well in three starts rained off the turf before finishing fifth in the Ohio Derby at 1 1/8 miles on dirt, the same distance as the Preview Dueling Grounds Derby.

“He seems to be good on the dirt as well,” Walsh said. “But he's another one we'd like to try him back on the grass. And if that worked well, maybe he'd be a horse for the Dueling Grounds Derby at Kentucky Downs.”

Amazima did not run well over Arlington Park's Polytrack in the Grade 3 Matron Stakes. But before that, she was a good third in a turf sprint after shortening up in distance.

Family Way ran seventh in Arlington's Grade 3 Modesty at 1 3/16 miles on turf after having a win and a second in two allowance starts since arriving from France.

“Why not?” the Irish-born Walsh said of taking on males. “In Europe, we do it all the time. The distance is what I really like about it. The mile and a quarter would really hit her right between the eyes. There isn't a whole lot around that distance.”

Walsh is a big fan of Ellis' Kentucky Downs Preview series.

“We've got a barn at Ellis, so we don't have to go too far to run,” he said. “They're nice prep races for Kentucky Downs.”

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Walsh will saddle the 4-year-old Maxfield in Saturday's Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Maxfield, who is 4, never ran at Ellis Park but spent all summer of his 2-year-old season training at the Pea Patch before launching his career at Churchill Downs. The Whitney's field of five is composed of all Kentucky-based horses, including Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Knicks Go and By My Standards, owned by Chester Thomas of Madisonville. The 5-year-old Knicks Go broke his maiden at Ellis Park and finished second the next year in the Ellis Park Derby.

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