Carson’s Run winning the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby under Dylan Davis. (Coglianese/Janet Napolitano)
G1 Saratoga Derby Winner Carson’s Run and Cugino will run in $3.1M Nashville Derby
Kentucky Downs Notes
FRANKLIN, Ky.— Having moved from New York to Bowling Green five years ago to be near their daughter and grandchildren, Terry and Debbie Finley’s home track is 20 miles away at Kentucky Downs, even if for only seven days a year.
But those seven days are the most lucrative in America and among the richest in the world. And the Finleys’ West Point Thoroughbreds partnerships will have two swings at Kentucky Downs’ signature stakes: the $3.1 million Nashville Derby (G3) on the second day of the all-turf meet that runs Aug. 29, 31 and Sept. 1, 5, 7, 8 and 11.
In Carson’s Run and Cugino, West Point will have two of the 1 5/16-mile Nashville Derby favorites in the richest race for Kentucky-bred 3-year-olds behind only the $5 million Kentucky Derby. The $1.9 million base purse by itself is the country’s richest turf stakes outside the Breeders’ Cup.
“We’ll have a lot of people there,” Finley said, adding, “It doesn’t do any good how big the purse is if you run up the racetrack. But Kentucky, as a result of the horsemen and the organizations and the commission and everybody rowing in the same direction by and large, shows how you can get to the top of the charts if you work together. It’s good in so many different ways. There’s no doubt that owners see that, and they’re more apt to breed and spend money at the sales. It’s a win, win, win.”
Trained by Christophe Clement, Carson’s Run will be competing three weeks after his three-quarters of a length triumph under jockey Dylan Davis in the Grade 1, 1 3/16-mile Saratoga Derby Invitational, which was delayed eight days by rain. Clement also finished third in the $600,000 Saratoga Derby with Deterministic, who also is expected for the Nashville Derby.
The Shug McGaughey-trained Cugino was supposed to be in the Saratoga Derby as well but was knocked out by a particularly untimely temperature and will make his first start since his front-running, 4 1/4-length frolic in Churchill Downs’ June 1 Audubon.
“Obviously pushing the Saratoga Derby back a week we didn’t love,” Finley said by phone from Saratoga. “Interestingly, I think the race lightened up a touch. Aidan O’Brien didn’t run his horse (favored Diego Velazquez) at Saratoga. But I think what gives us confidence is we ran him back quick at Woodbine last year after he was second in the With Anticipation at Saratoga, and he ran really, really well. And that was two weeks.
“So, we’re not that worried about it. He’s a 3-year-old, and we’re not going to the Breeders’ Cup.”
So, the Nashville Derby serves as the colts’ Breeders’ Cup. “These 3-year-olds just can’t compete with those older European horses, by and large,” Finley said.
Carson’s Run, who also won Woodbine’s Grade 1 Summer Stakes last fall, is named for 31-year-old Carson Jost, the oldest son of Finley’s former United States Military Academy classmate Wade Jost. Carson suffers from Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, the same debilitating chromosomal condition that afflicted Cody Dorman, for whom 2023 Horse of the Year Cody’s Wish was named.
“He’s got three kids who were Division 1 athletes,” Finley said of Wade Jost, who is part of the West Point partnership in the colt. “That’s why we named him Carson’s Run, because he’ll never run. His brother and two sisters are really great athletes. They follow the races and we’ve made new fans for the industry.”
Carson’s Run has sold three times at auction, the last for $170,000 as a 2-year-old purchase for West Point. which owns the chestnut Cupid colt in partnership with Steven Bouchey.
“He’s just a nice horse,” Finley said. “We didn’t pay a lot for him. We certainly didn’t think we were going to be standing in the winner’s circle of the Saratoga Derby, I can tell you that.… Clement is very straight forward. He didn’t think Carson’s Run had made the turn from 2 to 3. He was in Florida for a while, and Christophe just didn’t think he’d had as good a move forward and development as some of his other horses. Then he bolted in his first start back. Then he ran really well at Monmouth winning a little overnight stakes. We were trying to decide between the (mile) Hall of Fame (G2) and the Saratoga Derby. Christophe made the decision to go the farther distance.
“It was a decent set-up. It wasn’t a hot pace. He just put in a really, really good performance, so we were really proud of the horse. Dylan is a Saratoga High kid, and it was his first Grade 1 win in America.”
Cugino lost Keeneland’s Grade 3 Transylvania by a nose, then was fourth in Churchill Downs’ American Turf (G2) on Derby Day. A month later he won the 1 1/8-mile Audubon with Flavien Prat aboard for the first time.
West Point bred Cugino through its breeding operation, Gage Hill Stables, in partnership with W.S. Farish. Finley purchased the Twirling Candy colt for $225,000 for another West Point partnership at Keeneland’s 2022 September Yearling Sale. West Point campaigns Cugino in partnership with Jim Hughes’ Jimmy Kahig LLC.
“We really liked the horse at the sale, and didn’t have to pay a lot for him,” Finley said. “We’ve been very happy. He’s just gotten better and better, and Prat’s committed to ride him.
“We were going to run him in the Saratoga Derby, and he had a temperature like four days before. He was probably going to be the favorite. He’s come back fine and worked really well. It just wasn’t to be, but I know he’s very comparable to a horse like Carson’s Run. One group of partners was upset and sad and another group was very happy.”
Nominations are out for Kentucky Downs’ first four non-invitational stakes and the $500,000 National Thoroughbred League Overnight Handicap. Click here for nominations list and Equibase past performances.
