Tumbarumba rumbles in the Ack Ack (Jenny Doyle/Past The Wire)
Churchill Downs Press Release
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Louisiana-bred Tumbarumba pressured odds-on 1-4 favorite Most Wanted throughout the race before putting away that rival inside the final furlong to spring the upset and win Saturday’s 33rd renewal of the $335,000 Ack Ack (Grade III) at Churchill Downs by three quarters of a length.
Tumbarumba, a 5-year-old gelded son of Oscar Performance, ran one mile on a “fast” track in 1:35.44. Tyler Gaffalione rode the winner for trainer Brian Lynch and owner Wathnan Racing of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar.
A start in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile is next.
Breaking from post No. 4 in the one-turn mile, Tumbarumba, the runner-up in last year’s Ack Ack, did not let heavy favorite Most Wanted get away with an unpressured early lead. The Brad Cox-trained Most Wanted, last year’s $400,000 Oklahoma Derby (GIII) winner, broke from the rail and set quick early splits of :22.68, :45.26 and 1:09.32 as Tumbarumba sat just off his right hip. The two match strides through upper stretch before Tumbarumba poked his nose in front from the outside and inched clear late.
“All the credit goes to this horse and Brian and his team,” Gaffalione said. “He’s such a fun horse to ride who tries so hard every time. He deserved to win this race.”
The first prize was $182,280 and hiked Tumbarumba’s bankroll to $960,020 with a record of 7-7-4 from 24 starts. It was his fourth career stakes win and second in a row. Previously, he won the $200,000 R.A. “Cowboys” Jones over a mile at Ellis Park on Aug. 10. At age 3, he prevailed in the $250,000 Ellis Park Derby and later would win last year’s $150,000 Fred Hooper (GIII) at Gulfstream Park as a 4-year-old.
Tumbarumba paid $16.78, $3.98 and $2.60 as the 7-1 third betting choice. Most Wanted, ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., paid $2.32 and $2.10. Indispensable, under Luis Saez, was another 1 ½ lengths back in third at 8-1 paid $3.04 to show.
Who Dey was fourth and was followed by last year’s Ack Ack winner Three Technique, 7-1 second choice Will Take It and Surly Furious. This Is Uscar was scratched.
Tumbarumba, out of the Street Sense mare Naïve Enough, was bred by Coteau Grove Farms LLC.
“Tyler and this horse get along so well,” Lynch said. “He rode a great race today and it’s back to the Breeders’ Cup again this year. He ran well there last year (fourth) but I think this year he’s a more mature horse and can show different dynamics within the race.”
Nine of the last 12 Ack Ack winners – Pants On Fire (2013), Tapiture (2015), Tom’s Ready (2016), Awesome Slew (2017), Seeking the Soul (2018), Mr. Money (2020), Senor Buscador (2022), Zozos (2023) and Three Technique (2024) – used the race as a springboard to the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (GI), which will be held this year at Del Mar around two turns on Saturday, Nov. 1.
The race is named in honor of Cain Hoy Stable’s 1971 Horse of the Year Ack Ack, who is enshrined in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. In his only Churchill Downs appearance, Ack Ack won the 1969 Derby Trial in 1:34.40 which was a track record for one mile that has since been eclipsed.
