Fillies And Mares In Kentucky Downs Tuesday Spotlight In Trio Of Rescheduled Stakes

Fillies and mares will be in the spotlight Tuesday, with three stakes headlining the rescheduled penultimate card of the RUNHAPPY at Kentucky Downs meet in Franklin, Ky.

The $400,000 Untapable Stakes for 2-year-old filly sprinters and $400,000 Music City Stakes for 3-year-old filly sprinters are new this year, with the $500,000 TVG Stakes at 1 5/16 miles in its 10th running.

The 11-race card was moved from Sunday to Tuesday because of the rain that pelted the area during Saturday's races and again Sunday morning. Any horses who were early scratches out of Sunday's races now have been reinstated, with horsemen having to re-scratch if they wish to come out. Scratch time for Tuesday's races is Monday at 9 a.m. Central, with stakes horses on the also-eligible list having until 10 a.m. Tuesday to draw into the field.

Here's a look at the stakes:

$500,000 TVG Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 5/16 miles (race 9, 4:32 p.m. Central) — Mrs. Sippy is the even-money favorite in the field of six as she makes her second start of her 5-year-old season, having been second in Saratoga's Grade 3 Waya Stakes at 1 1/2 miles by a neck. A Grade 2 winner last year, Mrs. Sippy also was a close second in Belmont's Grade 1 Flower Bowl to top mare Sister Charlie.

Michael Dickinson ships in from Maryland with 5-2 second choice Theodora B., front-running winner of Woodbine's Grade 2 Dance Smartly in her last start. She's also run well over courses with some give in the ground so anticipated overnight rain shouldn't be an issue.

Trainer Rusty Arnold scratched English Affair, winner of Ellis Park's Kentucky Downs Preview Ladies Turf in a bog, out of Saturday's $500,000 English Channel Ladies Turf in hopes of getting softer turf and also the longer distance. The irony is English Affair now might encounter firmer turf, with the forecast calling for sunshine Monday and Tuesday. Rounding out the field California invader Siberian Iris, Over Thinking and Delta's Kingdom.

Here's the field in post position order (with jockey, trainer and odds): Delta's Kingdom (Florent Geroux/Bill Mott 20-1), Theodora B. (Irad Ortiz/Michael Dickinson 5-2), Mrs. Sippy (Joel Rosario/Graham Motion even), English Affair (Rafael Bejarano/Rusty Arnold 7-2), Siberian Iris (Flavien Prat/Richard Mandella 12-1), Over Thinking (Luis Saez/Victoria Oliver 8-1).

$400,000 Untapable for 2-year-old fillies at 6 1/2 furlongs (race 10, 5:04 p.m. Central) — The Wesley Ward-trained Red Ghost is the 3-1 favorite in the field of 11 off winning her debut by 8 1/2 lengths at Saratoga in a race taken off the turf.

Mad Maddy certainly has an experience edge, with four seconds in four maiden races, the last two on turf at Saratoga. The daughter of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah is trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen for Ron Winchell, co-owner of Kentucky Downs and whose Winchell Thoroughbreds bred and campaigned champion Untapable, the 2014 Kentucky Oaks and Breeders' Cup Distaff winner for whom the stakes is named.

Other contenders include Ellis Park debut winners La Libertee, Lady Edith, Emro and Lady Goldstart; out-of-state invaders Taylor's Tourist (Louisiana), Fouzia (Florida), Kewpie Doll (Maryland), Becca's Bouquet (Texas). Taylor's Tourist is an interesting horse at 12-1 odds in the morning line, coming in off a 9 3/4-length win at Evangeline Downs. And while that's considered the comparative minor leagues to Kentucky, New York and California, her speed figures for that performance put her in the thick of things should she take to the grass. Mike Maker, Kentucky Downs' all-time win leader, will saddle Herald Angel, who was second in a New York-bred maiden race at Saratoga. The fact that he didn't keep the filly in New York with his Belmont Park division is telling.

Here's the field in post position order (with jockey, trainer and odds): Lady Goldstart (Chris Landeros/Ian Wilkes 8-1), Taylor's Tourist (Florent Geroux/Scott Geiner 12-1), Red Ghost (Jose Ortiz/Wesley Ward 3-1), Becca's Bouquet (Robby Albarado/Scott Geiner 20-1), Herald Angel (Irad Ortiz/Mike Maker 12-1), Kewpie Doll (Tyler Gaffalione, Cathal Lynch 20-1), Fouzia (Julien Leparoux/Saffie Joseph Jr. 20-1), Lady Edith (Colby Hernandez/Tommy Drury 6-1), Mad Maddy (Ricardo Santana/Steve Asmussen 8-1), La Libertee (Adam Beschizza/Mark Casse 9-2), Emro (Shaun Bridgmohan/Brad Cox 6-1).

$400,000 Music City for 3-year-old fillies at 6 1/2 furlongs (11th race, 5:36 p.m. Central): Kimari, scratched out of Saturday's $500,000, Grade 3 Real Solution Ladies Sprint, is the 3-1 favorite, with trainer Wesley Ward also entering her in Wednesday's closing-day feature, the $500,000, Grade 3 Franklin-Simpson against males. However, on Saturday Ward said his plan is to run Kimari in the Music City. In two starts this year, Kimari won Oaklawn Park's Purple Martin in the slop then was a rallying second after being left at the start in Royal Ascot's Group 1 Commonwealth Cup in England. Kimari was one of the top 2-year-old turf sprinters of either sex.

Winchell Thoroughbreds' Finite, who stamped herself as one of the best of her generation over the winter, comes in off almost a six-month layoff following the surgical removal of a bone chip after a fourth-place finish in the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks. After winning a Kentucky Downs maiden race a year ago in her only start on turf, Finite reeled off four stakes victories on dirt, capped by the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra in New Orleans.

The Shug McGaughey-trained Enola Gay, winner of Keeneland's Grade 2 Appalachian at a mile before finishing fifth in the 1 3/16-mile Saratoga Oaks, shortens back to sprinting over the course where she won her debut last year. She's My Type, trained by Christophe Clement, won Saratoga's $100,000 Coronation Cup in her last start and never runs a bad race.

Santa Anita stakes-winner She's So Special and Lighthouse ship in from California. Other contenders include Grade 3 Florida Oaks winner Outburst, Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks runner-up Lucrezia and stakes-winners Miss J McKay and She's So Special. Mom's Red Lipstick, Fashionable Lady, Poseidon's Passion and Lucky Jingle were early scratches but now have been reinstated into the field unless their connections opt to again scratch them.

Here's the field in post position order (with jockey, trainer and odds): Lucrezia (James Graham/Arnaud Delacour 12-1), Outburst (Florent Geroux/Eddie Kenneally 20-1), Mom's Red Lipstick (Ricardo Santana, Chris Block 30-1), Bredenbury (Luis Saez/Graham Motion 12-1), Enola Gay (Julien Leparoux/Shug McGaughey 9-2), She's My Type (Joel Rosario/Christophe Clement 5-1), She's So Special (Flavien Prat/Peter Miller 12-1), Finite (Jose Ortiz/Steve Asmussen 8-1), Lighthouse (Umberto Rispoli/Simon Callaghan 8-1), Kimari (Irad Ortiz/Wesley Ward 3-1), Miss J McKay (Tyler Gaffalione/Cathal Lynch 10-1), Hear My Prayer (Rafael Bejarano/David Fisher 30-1), Fashionable Lady (Florent Geroux/Michael Ann Ewing 30-1), Evil Lyn (Shaun Bridgmohan/Mike Maker 20-1), Poseidon's Passion (Mitchell Murrill/James Gulick 30-1), Lucky Jingle (Jose Ortiz/Graham Motion 30-1).

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Kentucky Downs Postpones Sunday Card to Tuesday

As a result of afternoon-long rains that pelted the track and with more inclement weather forecast for Sunday, officials at Kentucky Downs announced late Saturday afternoon that the 11-race program originally scheduled for Sunday would be postponed and run in its entirety on Tuesday.

“With the steady rain that we had from the fifth race on and the projected forecast for rain overnight and tomorrow, we felt it the prudent thing to do safety-wise for both horses and riders,” said Ted Nicholson, Kentucky Downs’ senior vice president and general manager. “With the forecast being much more favorable for Tuesday and Wednesday, it was the right thing to do.”

Sunday’s card was to include the $500,000 TVG S., the $400,000 Untapable S. and the $400,000 Music City S. The Kentucky Downs meeting concludes Wednesday with a program that features the GIII Nevada State Bank Franklin-Simpson S. for 3-year-olds at 6 1/2 furlongs.

 

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Got Stormy Handles Soft Turf, Shorter Distance In Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint Stakes

One thing trainer Mark Casse has had on a wish list for his charge Got Stormy in 2020 was for the 5-year-old mare to finally get the foot-rattling ground she has done her best running over. So when rain began soaking the turf at Kentucky Downs in  Franklin, Ky., over the course of Saturday afternoon, turning the conditions to soft in the process, one could forgive the Hall of Fame conditioner if he started to get a twist of dread in his stomach heading into the Grade 3 Real Solution Ladies Sprint Stakes.

Class can overcome a lot of would-be setbacks and for Got Stormy, her superiority would not be dulled this day even if the ground beneath her was. The multiple Grade 1-winning daughter of Get Stormy exploded down the lane to take the $500,000 Ladies Sprint Stakes by 3 1/4 lengths, ending a five-race losing skid and earning her first victory of 2020.

Prior to the 6 1/2-furlong Ladies Sprint, the only time Got Stormy had raced at shorter than a mile was her debut as 2-year-old in a 7 1/2-furlong race, which at Gulfstream Park is staged around two turns. Since capturing the Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes last December to close out a 2019 campaign that also saw her best males in the Grade 1 Fourstardave Handicap, the chestnut mare hadn't been able to find the form that made her an Eclipse Award finalist for champion turf female last season.

“For her to get a mile, she needs it extremely, extremely hard. And she hasn't gotten that once this year,” Casse said. “We always felt that way (that she'd sprint) but there's never been an opportunity. For $500,000, we figured this would be a good time to do it. I've always said she'd handle soft going; it just limits how far she can run.

“The bit of the give in the ground (today) was a little worrisome, but it kind of played to her favor.”

With her regular pilot Tyler Gaffalione in the irons on Saturday, Got Stormy indeed looked at home as the 9-5 favorite rated between horses in fourth through the opening quarter mile in :22.54 in the Ladies Sprint. After pacesetter Surrender Now took the field 12-horse field through a half mile in :46.27 and into the stretch, Got Stormy was angled to the outside around rivals by Gaffalione, striking the front near the eighth pole and continuing to draw clear en route to covering the distance in 1:15.41.

“The filly broke great today. We were worried about the soft ground, but she handled it beautifully,” Gaffalione said. “She felt like a winner every step and when I got her out she finished the job. She's got so much class and is a tremendous filly. Great job by Mark and his team having her ready.”

“She's hard not to love,” Casse added. “I've felt bad for her this year because she's gotten some bad 'rap,' that she isn't what she was. And it's not true. Like when she won the Fourstardave last year the track was so hard and so fast. And she just hasn't gotten that. That's what she likes. The softer it is, the shorter she needs to run.”

Winning Envelope ran on from well back to get second in the Ladies Sprint with Into Mystic third.

Owned by Gary Barber, Got Stormy improves her record to nine wins from 24 starts with $1,901,378 in earnings.

“I'll talk to Gary (owner Gary Barber) but we'll probably come back and run her 5 1/2 (furlongs) in the Breeders' Cup” (Turf Sprint at Keeneland),” Casse said “I think she'll like that 5 1/2. (Gaffalione) said he could have been on the lead, no problem. I know she cannot go a mile at Keeneland in the fall. We know that.”

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Kentucky Downs Moves Sunday Card, Handicapping Challenge To Tuesday; Saturday’s Card Sets Wagering Mark

Kentucky Downs announced that because of Saturday's rain and expectations of more inclement weather that Sunday's 11-race card is being moved to Tuesday, Sept. 15. The meet then will conclude with Wednesday's scheduled card.

“With the steady rain that we had from the fifth race on and the projected forecast for rain overnight and tomorrow, we felt it the prudent thing to do safety-wise for both horses and riders,” said Ted Nicholson, Kentucky Downs' senior vice president and general manager. “With the forecast being much more favorable for Tuesday and Wednesday, it was the right thing to do.”

In addition, the Kentucky Downs Turf Handicapping Challenge's first live-money tournament scheduled for Sunday now will be on Tuesday's card. With the postponement, all the contest wagers will be made on Kentucky Downs races, as Monmouth Park does not run on Tuesday. Wednesday's handicapping tournament will go on as scheduled that day.

Kentucky chief state steward Barbara Borden said that any scratches from Sunday's card will be reinstated for Tuesday, including those on the also-eligible list. Trainers are advised that if they don't want to run, their horses must be withdrawn by Monday's 9 a.m. Central scratch time.

Meanwhile, the weather didn't dampen bettors' enthusiasm for Kentucky Downs' Saturday card. The track smashed its record for single-day wagering on its races with $17,437,731 bet on the 11 races. The previous record was $11,321,492 on the 10-race card held on last year's corresponding Saturday.

“It's great that even with an inclement weather day that we were able to have everyone around the country enjoy our races,” Nicholson said. “We are extremely pleased to see so many big-time horses continue to run well here, including Grade 1 winners Arklow and Got Stormy and Grade 2 winners Imprimis and Regal Glory coming away with stakes victories today and many other top horses hitting the board. But these races have gotten very tough, and we're confident we'll see some horses who might have been outrun on this day come back and win marquee races.”

Betting on the first four days of the meet comes to $41,389,764. That's $7,430,607 more than four equivalent days last year, when handle totaled $33,959,157, then a record.

Top five days of handle at Kentucky Downs
$17,437,731 – Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020
$11,321,492 – Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019
$10,039,008 – Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018
$8,983,981 – Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020
$8,487,323 – Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017

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