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Y42 Steward’s Cup Recap: Turf Sprinters Edition
Original article written by Jack Meyer posted 8 years 1 week ago
It’s time to go away from the Poly track and introduce our first taste of the grass in the form of the Turf Sprinters. The 2YO Filly division had an extremely deep field with eight out of the nine fillies sporting zero to 2 losses in their lives headed into the Steward’s Cup, it was an extremely wide open affair. The colts division was an equally deep race with the majority having either never lost or lost just once heading in. The Turf Sprint was setting up to be a showdown between Chromed Twin Moon, Timelord, and Doesit Need Saying, would it live up to the hype? And the Filly and Mare Turf had heavyweights Southern Belle, Double Starred, A Scary Song, and Its All About You set to square off in what was a farewell race for several familiar faces.
First up we have the Steward’s Cup Filly Turf Dash, the speedy Witch took the lead out of the gate making every pole a winning one as she help off the fast closing duo of Perfect Landing and China Doll Moon to score the ½ length victory. Witch is a homebred by Amy Atkins and was coming in off a disappointing 5th place finish last out in the Canto Stakes behind China Doll Moon, she turned the tables on that one snapping her streak of five wins in a row. Witch’s 85 Speed Figure was a new career high, I’m sure Amy was happy to see her little filly get her confidence back as her path to next year Steward’s Cup started off on the right hoof.
In the Steward’s Cup Turf Dash, newcomer Vanille Reynolds saw her Steward bred sensation The Stolen Earth turn back the challenge of a strong field to come away with a neck victory. The son of Typhoon Bay stalked the duo of Many Nights and Being Ridiculous until the top of the stretch then wore them down in the final strides to nip the feisty pair right at the wire. The victory was sweet revenge for The Stolen Earth as he turned the tables on Dusty Klatt’s 2 million dollar purchase Many Nights who snapped his undefeated streak last out in the Silver Slipper Stakes. I have a feeling this talented group, like the ladies before them, will be around for quite some time making the future in the Turf Sprint division looking very bright.
Its All About You sat perfectly behind the battling duo of A Scary Song and Loyal to the Last before turning on the afterburners in the stretch to run down A Scary Song in the last 1/8th of a mile to score a 1 ½ victory in the Steward’s Cup Filly and Mare Turf Sprint. Its All About You made it seventeen wins in twenty-seven starts bringing her total earning right on the brink of the 2 million dollar mark. It looks as if she will have a chance to surpass that mark as owner Art Cage still has her in training telling me that she will continue on the track for her 6YO campaign.
The final race on the card is the 2 million dollar Turf Sprint, Todd Lucas’ Timelord set an honest pace blowing through every obstacle including the constant pressure from runner-up Almighty Status, the pair held off the furious late charge of Chromed Twin Moon in the stretch. Timelord added 1 million dollars to his bankroll bringing his total earnings up to 3.2 million heading into his 5YO season. This race was so competitive that the top five finishers recorded 80 or higher Speed Figures with Timelord clocking in at a remarkable 89 for his nose victory, and with the exception of Chrome Twin Moon, it looks like the majority of this group will stay intact heading into next year giving the SIM fans a lot of hope to see a repeat of this epic showdown one more time in Lexington.
That does it for the Turf Sprints, next up we will switch to the dirt as Graces and company get their chance to shine in the midst of the fastest dirt animals on the face of the SIM planet, I’ll see you next time.
Jack Meyer