NEWS
Future Prospect pulls upset in Kentucky Cup
Posted: Saturday, September 24, 2011 8:09 PM
FUTURE PROSPECT
PhotosByZ.com/Thoroughbred Times
For video of the Kentucky Cup Stakes, click here.
by Ron Parker
Kentucky Cup Day at Turfway Park on Saturday turned out to be a big day for trainer Mike Maker who saddled the winner of two of three graded stakes races and one of two juvenile stakes, but the big one got away from the veteran conditioner.
The $169,999 WinStar Kentucky Cup Stakes (G2) included Maker’s Baryshnikov as the 2.10-to-1 favorite but the five-year-old failed to fire as Future Prospect, the longest price in the eight horse field at odds of 18.20-to-1, dueling for the early lead and powered to a three-quarter length victory in the 1 1/16-mile feature for owner-trainer Dodson Skaggs.
The Kentucky Cup was the fourth consecutive victory for the seven-year-old stakes-winning Freud gelding, who earned his first graded stakes win.
“He was ready to go,” winning jockey Edgar Prado said. “He was warming up beautifully. Around the backside, he was pretty much in command. I just had to wait as long as I could, but when I turned him loose, he responded.”
Future Prospect covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.71 on the synthetic Polytrack surface.
“I was going to run him in the Presque Isle Mile [Stakes] and drew the 12 hole,” Skaggs said. “I didn’t like that, so I chose this race. He’ll run all over the place. He’s run at seven different tracks and he’s run well at all of them.”
Grade 1 winner General Quarters finished second, six lengths clear of Demarcation.
Out of the winning Marshua’s Dancer mare Devil’s Waltz, Future Prospect upped his earnings to $475,263 with 14 wins from 29 starts.
“We’ll see how the horse comes back,” Skaggs said. “I might look at those races [on the Breeders’ Cup World Championships card]. He’s Breeders’ Cup nominated, but I’m not sure if we’ll take a shot or not.”
In the $100,000 Distorted Humor Kentucky Cup Distaff Stakes (G3) Tracy Farmer’s stakes-winning homebred La Gran Bailadora added a graded stakes victory to her résumé, rallying from last of seven after three-quarters of a mile for a one-length victory for Maker. (video)
The win snapped a five-race losing streak for the four-year-old Afleet Alex filly, who has never finished worse than third in six starts at Turfway. Bella Medaglia finished second, eight lengths clear of Kiss Mine. The winner covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.90.
Out of the Grade 3-placed, stakes-winning Affirmed mare Affirmed Dancer, La Gran Bailadora increased her earnings to $205,699 with five wins from 19 starts.
Thomas and Matt Conway’s Matthewsburg proved best of 11 three-year-olds in the $100,000 Speightstown Kentucky Cup Sprint Stakes (G3) as the Ghostzapper colt settled in mid-pack early under jockey Victor Lebron, rallied six wide, and swept to the front turning for home en route to a 2 ¼-length victory. (video)
Matthewsburg covered six furlongs in 1:10.28. The Kentucky Cup Sprint was the first stakes win for the chestnut colt, who made his stakes debut in his previous race for Maker, a runner-up finish in the East Hanover Stakes on July 30 at Penn National Race Course.
Bred in Kentucky by Adena Springs, Mathhewsburg is out of the stakes-placed winning A.P. Indy mare Romantic Comedy and increased his bankroll to $123,609 with three wins from ten starts.
The card also featured a pair of two-year-old stakes and Kendall Hansen’s homebred Hansen paired his front-running 12 ¼-length debut victory with a 13 ¼-length victory in the $95,000 Bluegrass Cat Kentucky Cup Juvenile Stakes (video), the first of Maker’s three stakes wins on the card. Gold Mark Farm’s Charming Vixen proved much the best in the $100,000 Tiznow Kentucky Cup Juvenile Fillies Stakes for trainer Tom Amoss (video).
For Equibase charts, click here.
Ron Parker is a Thoroughbred Times contributing writer
