Arklow searches for “Threepeat” in the Kentucky Turf Cup

Arklow won the Kentucky Turf Cup (G2T) twice, but the 8-year-old faces the daunting task of finding a “bapeat” in a $1 million extension on September 10 at Kentucky Downs.

Standing upright in his way is Gufo a multi-ranked stake winner after his second win in Casino World Casino Sword Dancer Staking (G1T) at Racecourse Saratoga. Also in the overflow field is Red Knight another 8-year-old boy finished second behind Arklow in the 2020 Turf Cup at the unique track on the Kentucky-Tennessee border.

Arklow, a Roof gelding out Empire Maker mare Unparalleled Empire , trained by Brad Cox for Donegal Racing in partnership with Joseph Bulger. He holds a key takeaway from racing: Experience on track and at 1/2 mile.

With two wins and two seconds from four games that started at the Kentucky Downs, Arklow knew the maneuver well. He won the Cup in 2018, runner-up in 2019 and won again in 2020 — all while being a Calumet Farm-sponsored 3rd grader. The race was awarded 2nd place status in 2021 and Arklow reported second, one share behind Imperador .

Gufo, a 5-year-old son of Declaration of war trained by Christophe Clement, made his Kentucky Downs debut shortly after his Sword Dancer victory on August 27. A year ago, he took a longer break before returning to third place in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Staking (G1T) at Belmont Park October 9 and continued to finish 10th at Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1T) at Del Mar.

Gufo was selected as the 7-5 morning line favorite, and jockey Joel Rosario, who last year won a record 17 races at the Kentucky Downs meeting, said he seemed like the right race. with him despite his lack of experience in the course.

“I mean, he’s a strong horse,” said Rosario. “He seems to love such big and long races. We’ll see how he handles the track. We don’t know until we go see. He runs very well. Every run, he’s all getting better.”

Red Knight returns after winning Colonial Cup Stakes at Colony Downs in Virginia for his final start on July 27. The New York-bred dog, trained by Mike Maker, was ineligible for $450,000 in the Kentucky Purebred Development Fund portion of the $1 million. dollars and is one of only three cons in the field running for a base of $550,000.

The others are Breakpoints group 1 winner in South America, who finished seventh last year at the Turf Cup, and Another mystery . Another mystery, a 6-year-old, half-Illinois son of Temple City Trained by Chris Block for family Team Block, started second to Red Knight in Virginia and has been known to cause an upset.

In comparison to other people, Glynn beads finished third in the 2021 Turf Cup and is the only athlete outside of Arklow to have a win on the course, a first in 2020. Maker trains him alongside Red Knight; Temple , who is 0 for 3 at the Kentucky Downs; and Keystone School who stepped up from the optional claim ranks at Churchill Downs.