(John the Beer Man / Photo Courtesy of NYRA)

STAKES PREVIEW: G2 LIGHT AND WONDER TURF SPRINT, G2 AINSWORTH MUSIC CITY, G2 RESOLUTE RACING LADIES TURF

From the Kentucky Downs’ Media Team / Ryan Martin:

Michael Dubb and Michael J. Caruso’s Graded stakes-winner John the Beer Man will look to build on his recent accomplishments when taking on 11 others in Saturday’s Grade 2, $1.75 million Light And Wonder Turf Sprint going six furlongs at Kentucky Downs.

 

The Light And Wonder Turf Sprint will kick off the Graded stakes action on Saturday, as the

first of five Graded events slated for the first day of the three-day U.S. Open of Turf

Championships, and is a Breeders’ Cup “Win And You’re In” qualifier for the Grade 1, $1

million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland. Also featured on the action-packed program

are the Grade 2, $3 million 1/ST BET Nashville Derby, the Grade 2, $2 million AGS Kentucky

Turf Cup (a “Win And You’re In” qualifier for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf), the Grade 2,

$1.5 million Resolute Racing Ladies Turf, and the Grade 2, $1.5 million Ainsworth Music City.

 

John the Beer Man has won 3-of-4 starts since joining the stable of trainer Rob Atras, including

a close third in the Grade 1 Jaipur on June 6 at Saratoga. The 5-year-old son of More Than

Ready enters the Light And Wonder Turf Sprint from a hard-fought triumph in the Grade 2

Troy on August 9 at Saratoga. There, he displayed his usual frontrunning tactics down the

backstretch under jockey Kendrick Carmouche and was challenged by two opponents to his

outside in deep stretch. John the Beer Man fended off the confrontations from rivals Waralo

and Doncho to win by a head, while surviving an inquiry launched by stewards which resulted

in second-place finisher Waralo being disqualified to third.

 

“After the race, Kendrick told me that he was waiting on the horses to come to him, and when

they finally came to him, he reengaged,” Atras recalled. “He [Kendrick Carmouche] did go to

the left hand, but we came over maybe a half lane and we didn’t make contact until the outside horse came down, and unfortunately the horse in between pinballed in between. I don’t think we caused any problems.”

 

A third-out maiden winner going 1 1/16 miles in May 2024 for his former trainer Chad Brown,

John the Beer Man emerged from a 22-month layoff in March to defeat winners going 5 ½

furlongs at Fair Grounds. One month later, he captured a second-level allowance optional

claimer going six furlongs over a yielding Aqueduct turf.

 

“I put that right up there with some of his top efforts,” Atras said. “The turf that day took a ton

of rain and we were right there down on the inside. The way he battled on in that race was a

tremendous effort. I really thought highly of that effort, and it made me think a lot of him.”

 

The configuration at Kentucky Downs will be a new challenge for John the Beer Man, but Atras

believes his horse has what it takes to handle it.

 

“There are a lot of variables at Kentucky Downs. This race almost plays like a seven-furlong

race, you go uphill down a sweeping turn, and there’s the last sixteenth where there’s an uphill

left hook,” Atras said. “I don’t think he’s distance limited, he’s won at a mile and a sixteenth before. I know it looks on paper that it might be too far, but Kendrick has told me that he sort

of waits on horses when he gets to the front, so I’m hopeful that he can get it. You don’t really

know until you do it.”

 

Carmouche, the pilot aboard John the Beer Man’s last three starts, returns to the irons from

post 11.

 

Donamire Farm’s Grade 1-winning Kentucky homebred Troubleshooting will pursue another

meaningful victory at Kentucky Downs when emerging from post 1 under four-time Kentucky

Downs leading rider Tyler Gaffalione.

 

The 4-year-old son of leading North American sire Not This Time gave trainer Greg Foley his

first Grade 1 victory as a trainer when he defeated stakes-winner and returning rival Golden

Afternoon [post 9, Jaime Torres] by a half-length in the 6 ½-furlong Franklin-Simpson. That

effort was followed by a triumphant stretch-out to a two-turn mile in Keeneland’s Grade 3

Bryan Station, where he led a Not This Time-sired superfecta over Tenacious Leader, Giocoso,

and Dream On. Winless in three starts this year, Troubleshooting enters from a pair of third-

place finishes at stakes level.

 

Gary Barber’s Graded stakes winning millionaire My Boy Prince [post 10, John Velazquez] will

make his Kentucky Downs debut for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse. The 5-year-old son of

Cairo Prince won this year’s Grade 2 Shakertown on April 4 at Keeneland, which earned him a

101 Beyer Speed Figure. He arrives from a late-rallying victory in the Van Clief at Colonial

Downs.

 

Completing the field are three-time winner We’re in Trouble [post 2, Yedsit Hazlewood],

stakes-winner Mondogetsbuckets [post 3, Florent Geroux], multiple Graded stakes-placed

Beach Gold [post 4, Keith Asmussen], Graded stakes-placed Quereme Pass [post 5, Luis

Saez], Graded stakes-winner Possiblemente [post 6, Jose Ortiz], multiple dual-surface stakes-

winner Usually Wrong [post 7, Geovanni Franco], Graded stakes-placed Okiro [post 8, Joe

Bravo], and multiple Graded stakes-winning millionaire Durante [post 12, Javier Castellano].

Five-time winners Let My People Go [post 13, Antonio Fresu] and Anmer Hall [post 14,

Antonio Fresu] have been entered as also eligible.

 

The Light And Wonder Turf Sprint is carded as Race 6 on Saturday’s 12-race card with a 3:21

PM CT post.

 

***

 

Reigning Breeders’ Cup champion Cy Fair will make the journey to Kentucky Downs to take on

a field of 12 assembled for Saturday’s Grade 2, $1.5 million Ainsworth Music City for 3-year-

old fillies going 6 ½ furlongs.

 

The Music City is one of five Graded events carded for a blockbuster program on Saturday

afternoon, which is the first day of the U.S. Open of Turf Racing. Spearheaded by the Grade 2,

$3 million Nashville Derby, the day also includes the Grade 2, $2 million Kentucky Turf Cup

Invitational and the Grade 2, $1.75 million Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint–both Breeders’ Cup

“Win And You’re In” events–as well as the Grade 2, $1.5 million Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf.

 

Trained by George Weaver, Cy Fair defeated males in last year’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup

Juvenile Turf Sprint, becoming the first 2-year-old filly in over 30 years to beat the boys in a Grade 1.

 

Now a 3-year-old, the daughter of leading North American sire Not This Time was ultra

impressive in the last-out Grade 3 Coronation Cup at Saratoga. There, she tracked second

along the hedge and to the inside of familiar foe Sapphire Beach, before dropping back to third

around the far turn. She tipped a path to the outside in midstretch with dead aim on Sapphire

Beach and drew off to an impressive 2 ½-length victory under Hall of Famer John Velazquez.

The win earned her a career-high 97 Beyer Speed Figure as well as millionaire status,

enhancing her lifetime bankroll to $1,016,005.

 

“We talked hard about it with all of the partners and her trainer, and George thought she was

doing really well,” said co-owner Reagan Swinbank, who owns Cy Fair in partnership with

Medallion Racing, Joey Platts, and Mark Stanton. “There aren’t that many big money races for

turf sprinters. After talking to [jockey] Johnny V after her last win, he was comfortable that she

would get six-and-a-half. Everyone wants to find a reason or an opportunity to go to Kentucky

Downs, and we think she can handle the distance and the track. There aren’t too many chances

to run for a purse like that. With a horse like her, we’re comfortable taking that shot.”

 

Velazquez will retain the mount from post 1.

 

“No one knows the horse better than the jockey,” Swinbank said. “Johnny rode her in her first

two starts, and so he knows her very well. He’s comfortable that she can get the distance at

the track.”

 

Hat Creek Racing’s Grade 1-winning millionaire Percy’s Bar will try turf for the first time for

trainer Ben Colebrook. The daughter of Upstart brings a consistent 9-3-3-1 record to the

Kentucky-Tennessee border, which includes a victory in the Grade 1 Ashland on April 3 at

Keeneland in her 2026 debut. The aforementioned triumph garnered a career-high 87 Beyer

Speed Figure, and was her first start since finishing third in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile

Fillies last November at Del Mar. She most recently finished second in the Grade 1 Test on

August 8 at Saratoga.

 

Jockey Luan Machado, the rider in 8-of-9 starts, will return to the irons from post 8.

 

Boyd Racing’s Group 1-placed Green Sense [post 4, Micah Husbands] will make her North

American debut for her new trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. Bred in Ireland and formerly trained by

Joseph O’Brien, the daughter of Starman was third in last August’s Group 1 Phoenix going six

furlongs at The Curragh. That effort came less than a month after she had won the Group 2

Prix Robert Papin over soft ground at Chantilly in France.

 

Keith Abrahams’ Kentucky homebred Somerset West [post 7, Luis Saez] will venture outside

of her Southern California base for the first time, entering from a victory in the one-mile Grade

2 San Clemente at Del Mar. The deep-closing triumph came on the heels of a 2 ¼-length

maiden victory in June, going the Music City distance at Santa Anita.

 

NBS Stable’s Graded stakes-winner Ground Support [post 3, Adam Beschizza] will return to

the site of her debut victory last August for trainer Kelsey Danner. The Army Mule filly was a

three-quarters length winner going one mile at Kentucky Downs, before winning the 1 1/16-

mile Grade 2 Miss Grillo at Aqueduct. She completed her juvenile season with a third-place

finish in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar. Fifth in both of her starts

this year, Ground Support will see her largest cutback in distance for Saturday’s race having

never run less than one mile.

 

Emcee Stable’s Irish-bred Graded stakes-winner Lion Lake [post 6, Tyler Gaffalione] will seek

a return to winning form for trainer Brendan Walsh. The gray daughter of Dark Angel defeated

multiple stakes-winner Sister Troienne by a head in the Grade 3 Herecomesthebride in

February at Gulfstream Park. She followed that effort with a trio of narrow placings at Graded

stakes level, finishing third in both the Grade 2 Appalachian at Keeneland and Grade 2 Edgewood at Churchill Downs before running second in Saratoga’s Grade 2 Wonder Again in

June.

 

Completing the field are last year’s Untapable winner Quiet Street [post 2, Taylor Kingsley],

Graded stakes-placed Light Won Up [post 5, Antonio Fresu], Graded stakes-winner Final

Accord [post 9, Axel Concepcion], multiple Graded stakes-placed Sapphire Beach [post 10,

Jose Ortiz], stakes-winner Coco Connect [post 11, Edgar Morales], and dual stakes-winner

Cadenza [post 12, Florent Geroux].

 

French Friction [post 13, Cristian Torres], Essential Lady [post 14, John Velazquez], Triskelion [post 15, Luis Saez], and Just a Minute [post 16, Mario Gutierrez] have been entered as also eligible.

 

The Ainsworth Music City is carded as Race 10 on Saturday’s 12-race card with a 5:49 PM CT

post.

 

***

 

Gary Barber, Blue Crevalle Racing, and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners’ Grade 1-winner

Classic Q will seek to keep her winning form afloat in Saturday’s Grade 2, $1.5 million

Resolute Racing Ladies Turf going one mile for fillies and mares at Kentucky Downs.

 

Trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, Classic Q enters the Resolute Racing Ladies Turf from a

pair of gate-to-wire wins at Graded level. Five weeks after she fended off a late rally from

Grade 1-winner Portfolio Duration in the Grade 2 Distaff Turf Mile at Churchill Downs, she

earned a career-high 99 Beyer Speed Figure when taking the Grade 1 Just a Game at

Saratoga.

 

Classic Q contested Kentucky Downs last year, finishing fourth beaten 4 ¾ lengths by

eventual Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Shisospicy in the Grade 2 Music City.

 

“I think she’s just gotten better and better,” Casse said. “She ran 6 ½ [furlongs] and had a

really tough trip. She’s a better horse now than she was. I’ve always thought she had some big

ones in her, and she’s shown that this year.”

 

Classic Q brags a field-high $1,349,865 in lifetime earnings through a 15-5-3-1 record.

 

Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, who guided Classic Q to her two recent wins, retains the

mount from post 2.

 

Multiple Grade 1-placed Bless the Broken will try turf for the first time for trainer Brad Cox.

The 4-year-old daughter of Laoban was second in this year’s Grade 1 Beholder Mile at Santa

Anita before finishing third in the Grade 1 La Troienne at Churchill Downs. She was second at

Grade 1 level once more when dead-heating for the place spot in the Ogden Phipps at

Saratoga. She enters from a distant fourth in the Grade 2 Shuvee on July 24 at Saratoga.

 

Jockey Florent Geroux, a three-time Ladies Turf winner, will ride from post 1.

 

Augustin Stable’s dual Graded stakes-winning Kentucky homebred Rashmi [post 7, Luis Saez]

will return to turf for trainer Jonathan Thomas. Fifth last out in the Grade 3 Trillium over

Woodbine’s all-weather surface, Rashmi emerged from a year-long layoff to win the Grade 3

Wilshire in March at Santa Anita. The 5-year-old daughter of Oscar Performance followed that

effort with a Grade 1-placing two months later in Santa Anita’s Gamely. She additionally won

last year’s Grade 3 Megahertz at Santa Anita.

 

Completing the field are multiple stakes-winner Vive Veuve [post 3, Jose Ortiz], dual Graded

stakes-winner Hang the Moon [post 4, Micah Husbands], Graded stakes-winner Fast Market

[post 5, Tyler Gaffalione], Peruvian-bred Graded stakes-winner Princesa Moche [post 6, Joe

Bravo], and multiple Graded stakes-placed Kentucky Downs winner Buttercream Babe [post

8, Axel Concepcion].

 

The Resolute Racing Ladies Turf is carded as Race 9 on Saturday’s 12-race card with a 5:11 PM CT post.

 

The 1/ST BET Kentucky Downs Meet will be broadcast live each day of the seven-day meet on Peacock, FanDuelTV, as well as Kentucky Downs’ YouTube channel @kydownsracing. NBC Sports also will provide live coverage of Opening Day from 3:00-5:00 PM CT, while NBC will air Kentucky Downs on Saturday, September 5 during the same time slot.

 

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