Grand Sonata’s participation in the $2 million Turf Cup last year at Kentucky Downs came as something of an afterthought. The horse had run well over the course in the 2022 Dueling Grounds Derby, so there was that, and when he barely ran at all in the Sword Dancer at Saratoga, connections decided to roll the dice and run back on two weeks’ rest.
Grand Sonata, at odds of 15-1, won the Turf Cup by a half-length. Since that time, the Grade 2, $2.5 million Turf Cup on Saturday has stood as the horse’s main goal.
“It wasn’t the original plan last year,” said trainer Todd Pletcher. “Since last year, this race has been highlighted on the calendar.”
Yet Grand Sonata comes forth only as one of many legitimate contenders in the 1 1/2-mile Turf Cup, part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series and thus offering its winner automatic fees-paid entry into the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar.
The morning line lists Grand Sonata as a most tepid 4-1 favorite in an 11-horse contest. The Turf Cup is the last of six stakes on a 12-race Saturday card, the richest program in North America outside Breeders’ Cup Saturday. Stakes purses including ample Kentucky-bred supplements total $13 million. The program has an early first post, 11:30 a.m. Central, with the Turf Cup scheduled for 5:21. The weather looks iffy. Rain is likely in the morning, possible in the early afternoon, with a high temperature that might not hit 70.
Pletcher learned something from last summer’s schedule: Grand Sonata thrives on racing. Saturday marks his third start since the United Nations Stakes on July 19, and the plan all along was to wedge the Arlington Million on Aug. 9 between the United Nations and the Turf Cup. Grand Sonata has come through the schedule looking well, but that’s nothing new.
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“He’s not a complicated read, but he’s the type of horse who always has the best skin coat in the barn, dappled out head to toe, a little studdish and vocal, but always looking good and feeling well,” Pletcher said.
His form’s strong, too. A good second in the U.N., Grand Sonata overcame a dangerous moment on the far turn of the Million when he clipped heels and briefly stumbled before finishing second by a half-length. Other than the stumble, which didn’t much hurt his chances, Grand Sonata got a good trip, finding room on the inside and rallying unimpeded up the rail.
Pletcher does have a horse coming out of this year’s Sword Dancer, El Rezeen, who sheds blinkers after a fairly disappointing fifth on Aug. 9.
“We felt like he was never as relaxed early on as we wanted him to be and hope that lets him drop the bridle a little bit,” Pletcher said of the equipment change. “I think the horse is capable of better than what we saw last time.”
Tawny Port, a solid third in this race a year ago, returns on a week’s rest after running into a German buzz saw named Flatten the Curve in the 2 1/16-mile Nashville Gold Cup.
Mercante, who nearly won the Grade 1 Turf Classic in May, will race prominently while making his first start beyond 1 1/8 miles.
Utah Beach finished a decent fourth in the Sword Dancer and handled the Kentucky Downs course in his lone trip over it.
Ole Crazy Bone and Anglophile finished two-three in the Ellis Park prep for this race. Ole Crazy Bone, who moved way up last time off a Mike Maker claim, never has started at Kentucky Downs, while Anglophile, fifth in the 2024 Turf Cup, won the 2023 Dueling Grounds Derby.
Corruption figures to set the pace if Mercante does not.
The race’s most likely winner, however, is Arlington Million winner Fort Washington, who had to rally outside while Grand Sonata hugged the fence at Colonial Downs. And while Fort Washington never had won a race as important as the Million, his performance there was no outlier.
At age 6, Fort Washington finally has mastered the racing game. He’s 3 for 5 this year, the two losses entirely excusable, and Fort Washington has shown a strong fondness for Kentucky Downs.
Fort Washington went through a period of breaking terribly from the gate, compromising his chances, and generally had failed to realize his potential before this year. Trainer Shug McGaughey credits jockey Junior Alvarado, aboard for the last five starts, for helping steer the ship.
“The horse has figured it out, and Alvarado understands him very well,” McGaughey said. “At Saratoga this year, he trained like a different horse.”
McGaughey once wondered if Fort Washington was a miler, but Fort Washington hit the line hard going 1 1/4 miles for the first time in the Million, and Alvarado told McGaughey shortly thereafter he believed 1 1/2 miles would pose no issue. Fort Washington drew poorly in post 11, but Alvarado, rider of the tremendous colt Sovereignty, brims with confidence right now. He can work out a trip, and Fort Washington can win the Turf Cup.
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