Ward's Invader Battles Maker Trio in Jeff Ruby Steaks

As they have throughout the winter at Turfway Park, leading trainers Wesley Ward and Mike Maker are packing equine heat in the $250,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) at the Northern Kentucky track. Ward fires in the 12-horse Triple Crown prep March 14 with John Battaglia Memorial Stakes winner Invader, and Maker counters with more of a shotgun approach, starting Fancy Liquor, Field Pass, and Victory Boulevard.

At stake in the 1 1/8-mile race on Polytrack are 34 qualifying points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, distributed on a 20-8-4-2 scale to the top four finishers. This value has historically not been enough to assure a position in the typically oversubscribed Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), necessitating another pre-Derby bid for points.

The Jeff Ruby is filled mostly with turf and synthetic runners, led by Invader. After going winless in his first four starts on turf, he has rattled off a pair of local wins. He broke his maiden by 12 3/4 lengths Dec. 4 and followed with a 6 1/4-length score in the Feb. 14 Battaglia.

Video: John Battaglia Memorial S. (BT)

The 3-year-old son of War Front  owned by Grandview Equine, Cheyenne Stables, and LNJ Foxwoods will be ridden by meet leader Albin Jimenez, who piloted him to victory in the Battaglia. A 7-2 morning-line shot, he bids to give Jimenez and Ward their first victories in the race.

"I know it's not going to be easy, but it's my home court and the horse has run two big races on it, and this is where he has worked all winter long. They're going to have to come into my spot to play, which is good," Ward said. "He's got a rider that knows the track, which is key at Turfway."

None of the Maker-trained trio have raced on a synthetic track, though Fancy Liquor and Field Pass are turf types Maker regularly aims to test on the surface.

The 22-time leading trainer at Turfway has won the Jeff Ruby five times—all since its first running on Polytrack in 2006 after the track had a dirt surface. Three of those have come over the past four years, including in 2019 with Somelikeithotbrown.

Three Diamonds Farm's Field Pass, who was second last year in the With Anticipation Stakes (G3T) at Saratoga Race Course, is his most established entrant after winning the Dania Beach Stakes at Gulfstream Park Feb. 1 in his season debut. Still fifth with a furlong to run after stalking in midpack, he surged late to score by a neck.

Irad Ortiz Jr., the Eclipse Award-winning rider of 2018-19, will travel from Florida for the mount on the 3-1 morning-line favorite.

Fancy Liquor and Victory Boulevard have no stakes experience, though both have flashed potential. The former was a first-out maiden winner Feb. 2 on turf at Gulfstream Park, and the latter rallied to win a Feb. 23 starter optional claiming race on dirt at Aqueduct Racetrack, one start after being claimed for $32,000.

Fancy Liquor, a son of Lookin At Lucky  who races for Skychai Racing and Sand Dollar Stable, is out of the Secret Romeo mare Brandys Secret, a six-time winner on synthetic surfaces.

"He was very impressive at Gulfstream in his only start," Maker said. "He's going to make a big step forward in his second start." 

As for Paradise Farms' Victory Boulevard, Maker is excited about his future. He claimed him with the intention of stretching him out. The Dialed In  gelding is 3-for-5, all in dirt sprints at seven furlongs or shorter. 

"His last race, it looked like he had no shot and he exploded down the stretch and won by open lengths. Ran a huge race," Maker said.

Florent Geroux will ride Fancy Liquor, and Gerardo Corrales will be atop Victory Boulevard.

Other leading Jeff Ruby entrants include Toma Todo, who was twice stakes-placed; Myamanoi, a close fourth in the Dania Beach; and Halo Again, the winner of last year's Coronation Futurity on the synthetic at Woodbine.

The only Jeff Ruby horse with existing Kentucky Derby qualifying points is Finnick the Fierce with five. He earned four last year with a runner-up finish in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs before picking up one more with a fourth in the Jan. 18 Lecomte Stakes (G3) in his first start at 3. He ran seventh in his most recent start Feb. 15 in the second division of the Risen Star Stakes Presented by Lamarque Ford (G2). His two starts this year came at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.

The Jeff Ruby, contested under a variety of different ownership names over its 48 runnings, is the 11th race on a 12-race card with a post time of 6:42 p.m. ET. Two of its winners have gone on to win the Derby: Lil E. Tee (1992) and Animal Kingdom (2011).

Five ungraded stakes precede the Jeff Ruby, topped in value by the $150,000 Twinspires.com Kentucky Cup Classic and the $150,000 Maxim Crane Works Bourbonette Oaks. The Kentucky Cup Classic features the past two Jeff Ruby winners, Somelikeithotbrown and Blended Citizen, and the Bourbonette serves as a 34-point qualifier toward the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1).

Somelikeithotbrown and Blended Citizen both raced in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2) at Keeneland following their Jeff Ruby scores, the former finishing fourth in 2019 and the latter fifth in 2018. Somelikeithotbrown was injured in the Blue Grass and was sidelined for the rest of the year. Blended Citizen was excluded as a Derby also-eligible after failing to draw into the race.

Entries: Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3)

Turfway Park, Saturday, March 14, 2020, Race 11

• Grade III
• 1 1/8m
• All Weather Track
• $250,000
• 3 yo
• 6:42 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Dack Janiel's (KY)	Rafael Bejarano	123	Jack Sisterson	30/1
2	2Toma Todo (KY)	Alan Garcia	123	Steven M. Asmussen	20/1
3	3Fancy Liquor (KY)	Florent Geroux	123	Michael J. Maker	8/1
4	4Unthrottled (FL)	Corey J. Lanerie	123	Dallas Stewart	30/1
5	5Myamanoi (KY)	Kendrick Carmouche	123	Danny Gargan	4/1
6	6Halo Again (ON)	Rafael Manuel Hernandez	123	Steven M. Asmussen	8/1
7	7Victory Boulevard (KY)	Gerardo Corrales	123	Michael J. Maker	30/1
8	8Finnick the Fierce (KY)	Sonny Leon	123	Rey Hernandez	6/1
9	9Austrian (NY)	Abel Lezcano	123	Jose Fernandez	50/1
10	10The Stiff (KY)	Geovanni Franco	123	Michael W. McCarthy	12/1
11	11Invader (KY)	Albin Jimenez	123	Wesley A. Ward	3/1
12	12Field Pass (MD)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	123	Michael J. Maker	7/2