NEWS
Cloudy’s Knight scores comeback victory in Ky. Cup Turf
Posted: Saturday, September 19, 2009 9:03 PM
CLOUDY'S KNIGHT
Jeff Zamaiko photo
To view the Kentucky Cup Turf Stakes, click here.
by Myra Lewyn
Sidelined for a year with a serious tendon injury, nine-year-old Cloudy’s Knight launched an improbable comeback on Saturday and scored a clear win in the $150,000 Kentucky Cup Turf Stakes (G3) at Kentucky Downs.
The former Canadian champion got a ground-saving trip under Rosemary Homeister Jr., gamely split horses in midstretch, and seized command. Cloudy’s Knight kicked clear to win by 2½ lengths from 33.10-to-1 longshot Rezif and completed 1½ miles in 2:33.96 on turf rated as good.
The chestnut Lord Avie gelding had not raced since finishing eighth in the Northern Dancer Turf Stakes Presented by VTech (Can-G1) on September 7, 2008, at Woodbine for trainer Frank Kirby. Cloudy’s Knight subsequently was sidelined with the tendon injury.
He was transferred to Racing Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard, who on suggestion of owner SJ Stables’ veterinarian used a European-style training regimen to prepare his new charge for a possible return to racing. The Kentucky Cup Turf run on the unique European-style turf course at the Western Kentucky track turned out to be the perfect race in which to bring the chestnut gelding back.
Homeister settled Cloudy’s Knight in eighth in the ten-horse field as Rumor Has It and Guadalcanal dueled through six furlongs. Guadalcanal took control on the backstretch and opened a clear lead through the second turn, where Cloudy’s Knight moved within striking distance, but the front-runner lacked a response with a quarter-mile to run when called upon by jockey Dean Mernagh.
Cloudy’s Knight was angled out entering the stretch and was ready with a forceful answer when Homeister asked for his rally. He quickly opened a 2½-length advantage and was unchallenged to the finish line.
Rezif was 1 3/4 lengths clear of third-place finisher Silver Mountain. Deal Making, the 5-to-2 favorite, finished fourth.
Bred in Kentucky by Jerrold Schwartz, Cloudy’s Knight won the 2007 Pattison Canadian International (Can-G1) and Sky Classic (Can-G2) Stakes at Woodbine and was honored as Canada’s champion turf horse that season.
With Saturday’s victory, Cloudy’s Knight improved to 11 wins, eight seconds, and four thirds in 37 career starts and earnings of $2,180,626. A half brother to multiple stakes winner Stormy Impact, Cloudy’s Knight is out of the Solar City mare Cloudy Spot.
Earlier on the card, Team Block’s veteran Fort Prado rallied from off the pace and caught 2.10-to-1 favorite Yankee Injunuity in the shadow of the wire to win the $50,000 Kentucky Cup Turf Dash Stakes in a thrilling finish (video).
The eight-year-old El Prado (Ire) horse, second in last year’s edition of the race, covered six furlongs in 1:11.49.
Racing for the first time since the 2008 Canadian Stakes (Can-G2)—on the same card as Cloudy’s Knight’s previous start in the Northern Dancer—late-running Danzon inhaled the front-runners inside the final furlong and powered clear to an upset victory in the $50,000 Belle-Meade Plantation Kentucky Cup Ladies Turf Stakes.
Owned by Joseph Allen, the six-year-old Royal Academy mare won by 1½ lengths from Secret Kin and competed one mile in 1:40.70 at odds of 25.40-to-1.
Happiness Is, the 5-to-2 favorite, was never a factor and finished eighth.
For the Equibase charts, click here.
Myra Lewyn is a Thorougbred Times TODAY editor
