Nobals taking the Twin Spires Turf Sprint. (Daniella Ricci/Past The Wire)
2YO mile stakes on tap Sunday with Aspenite back in Juvenile
By Mike Kane
FRANKLIN, Ky.– Trainer Larry Rivelli said he broke one of his basic rules when purchasing the gelding Nobals for Patricia’s Hope LLC. The 4-year-old son of Noble Mission – acquired as a yearling for $3,500 by owner-trainer Leland Hayes – brings a record of eight wins in 16 career starts and earnings of $843,274 into the $1 million, Grade 2 Ainsworth Turf Sprint at Kentucky Downs.
“Somebody else bought him real young,” Rivelli said. “After he broke his maiden in his first race at Presque Isle with a 52 Beyer, someone presented the horse. I get a million of these horses that are for sale all over the place all the time. I’m kind of a horse snob and I pass on all of them.
“A horse has to absolutely jump off the page for me to want to buy it. For some reason, for this horse, even though the number was bad, it was the way he won that race. I kind of pride myself on being able to pick out an athlete and just know what I like in a horse and what I see. I really liked the horse, so we pursued it and we bought the horse off the guy that paid $3,500. He did well and obviously we did really well, and it ended up a being a good purchase.”
Nobals is 2-2-0 in five starts this season. He won the Grade 2 Twin Spires Turf Sprint at 38-1 on the Kentucky Derby program.
2YO mile stakes on tap Sunday with Aspenite back in Juvenile
By Jennie Rees
Aspenite, who narrowly lost the $250,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sales allowance race on opening day of the FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs, runs back 11 days later in Sunday’s $500,000 Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile.
Owned by Kentucky Downs co-managing partner Ron Winchell, Aspenite set the pace before settling to fourth in his debut at Saratoga in a mile maiden race that came off the turf. He set the pace again in the Kentucky Downs allowance race, leading by three lengths at the eighth-pole before finishing second by a half-length. Cristian Torres picks up the mount for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen.
Saffie Joseph sends out Ken Ramsey’s Billy the Greek, who boasts a nose win at Saratoga in a maiden race and a fourth in the Skidmore, both races taken off the turf. Tyler Gaffalione will be aboard.
Others in the full field of 12 include maiden winners from a variety of tracks: Sambalover (at Horseshoe Indy), Tough Little Nut (Hawthorne), Legal Titan (Ellis Park), Rose Collector(Monmouth Park), Value Engineer (Horseshoe Indy), Blue Eyed George (Ellis), Good Bali(Ellis), Mozlzil (Ellis) and Baytown Parfait (in a $50,000 maiden-claiming race at Ellis Park). Gamblin George, fifth in his only start at Colonial Downs, completes the field.
A capacity field of 12, plus an also-eligible, also was entered Tuesday for Sunday’s co-featured $500,000 Global Tote Juvenile Fillies. Kodiac Wintergreen, trained by Rusty Arnold for Houston Astros standout Alex Bregman, comes in off a maiden victory at Saratoga in her second start.
The Tom Morley-trained Belmont maiden winner Cynane comes to Kentucky Downs after finishing out of the money in a stakes at Royal Ascot.
Carlos Santamaria, the longtime assistant trainer who earned his first victory as a trainer when Bella Haze won an Ellis Park maiden race, will try that filly on turf for the first time in the stakes.
Sea Dancer and Latte Lizzie come into the stakes after finishing second and third, respectively, in a fast-run maiden race at Saratoga. Coming out of Ellis Park maiden victories are Fancy Looker, Beautiful Dancer, Austere and Sweetcatherinerose; from Colonial Downs (Mo Fox Givin), Indiana (Kamikazi Umagi) and Presque Isle (Shot Girl).
