Bourbon Memory remained unbeaten by winning Saturday’s closing-night feature at Turfway Park, the $125,000 Serena’s Song Stakes for 3-year-old fillies sprinting. In the process, she emerged as the winningest horse of the Florence track’s roughly four-month stand.
Turfway officially splits its season into two meets – the holiday meet in December and the winter-spring meet from Jan. 1 to March 29. Three horses – Altobelli, Bourbon Memory, and Ransomware – won three races each at the just-concluded winter-spring meet. Of those, Bourbon Memory was the only one to get a win in December as well.
Bourbon Memory edged Family by a head following a stretch-long duel in the Serena’s Song, earning a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 87. The Bolt d’Oro filly, who is trained by Brendan Walsh for Bourbon Lane Stable, Seidman Stables, All My Hart Racing, Fergus Galvin, and Carl Barry, won her debut on Dec. 27 in a maiden special weight. She went on to win in starter-allowance company on Jan. 31, allowance/optional claiming company on March 1, and, finally, in her stakes debut on Saturday.
Altobelli, a 3-year-old colt from the first crop of Authentic, got his first Turfway win in a Feb. 14 claiming race for owner Niall Collum and trainer John Ennis. After finishing fifth in an allowance/optional claiming race, he won another claiming race on March 15 and was picked up for $15,000 by owner-trainer Nery Alvarez. He then wheeled back to take a starter-allowance race March 27.
Ransomware, a 5-year-old Ransom the Moon gelding, won three straight claiming races at the Turfway meet, starting out with wins on Jan. 25 and Feb. 5 for Southwest Racing Stables, Steve Lewis, and trainer Genaro Garcia. He won again for them on March 5 but was claimed for $5,000 by trainer Ismael Bahena on behalf of Reyes Gutierrez. He got in one start for his new connections at the meet, but was eighth in a starter allowance.
Maker, Machado take titles
Trainer Mike Maker swept the training titles at the two meets that make up Turfway Park’s season. Maker won the training title at the holiday meet, with seven wins to four each for Brad Cox, John Ennis, and Brendan Walsh. He then edged Kelsey Danner, 19 to 17, at the winter-spring meet, where Ennis saddled 15 winners.
Jockey Luan Machado won the biggest race of the meet, the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks, aboard Final Gambit, and also took the overall meet title, with 51 wins to 42 for multiple stakes-winning apprentice Irving Moncada. Machado tied for second at the holiday meet, as Gerardo Corrales rode 14 winners to 11 each for Machado, Moncada, and Fernando De La Cruz.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.