LEXINGTON, Ky.—Whit Beckman, assistant to trainer Chad Brown, said Maker’s Mark Mile (G1) winner Raging Bull (FR) and third-place finisher Sacred Life (FR) were doing fine Saturday morning.
In the Friday race, Raging Bull made a huge move on the far turn under Irad Ortiz Jr. and then angled out at the top of stretch to sweep past dueling leaders and coast to a 2-length victory.
“I think Irad is head and shoulders above any turf rider in America,” Beckman said. “He saw the opportunity and went on with it.”
Beckman was not sure about whether the stablemates would make a quick turnaround in the $1 million Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic (G1) going 1 1/8 miles at Churchill Downs on May 1.
“I think he (Brown) has others like (defending champion) Digital Age (IRE) and (Grade 1) winner Domestic Spending (GB),” Beckman said.
One horse considered likely to wheel back in three weeks in the Turf Classic at Churchill is Ride a Comet, who recorded his first Grade 1 placing with Friday’s runner-up finish.
“That’s the plan,” trainer Mark Casse said via text.
Ride a Comet is expected to rejoin Casse’s string at Churchill in the next few days.
Maker’s Mark Mile Replay
Trainer Mike Maker said via text the Turf Classic also was a possibility for Field Pass and Somelikeithotbrown, who finished fourth and seventh, respectively, in the Maker’s Mark Mile. The two are expected to return to Maker’s main base of operations at the Trackside Training Center in Louisville today.
Hit the Road, who finished fifth as the favorite, will return to his home base at Santa Anita on Monday for trainer Dan Blacker.
“He was a little flat yesterday; we learned a lot and we will regroup,” Blacker said of Hit the Road’s first trip out of California. “You have to bring your ‘A’ game against these kinds of horses. I am confident he can compete with these.”
“He was a little flat yesterday; we learned a lot and we will regroup,” Blacker said of Hit the Road’s first trip out of California. “You have to bring your ‘A’ game against these kinds of horses. I am confident he can compete with these.”
The Shoemaker Mile (G1) on May 31 had been mentioned by Blacker as a next possible spot for Hit the Road, but Saturday morning the trainer said “it is too early to tell on the Shoemaker. The goal is the Breeders’ Cup (Nov. 6 at Del Mar) and we will work backward for that race. I want to have him on his ‘A’ game.”
Trainer Tom Bush said that Get Smokin lost a shoe in the race in which he dueled for the early lead with Somelikeithotbrown through fast fractions before finishing eighth.
“He probably lost it coming out of the gate when he lurched a little after the break,” Bush said. “But that has been taken care of this morning and he is good.”
Get Smokin will head to Bush’s main base at Belmont Park next week with the $250,000 Poker (G3) going a mile on the turf June 20 as a possible target.
Keeneland Press Release
Photo: Raging Bull, (Coady Photography)
