Major Dude Shifts From Turf to Synthetic for Jeff Ruby

Spendthrift Farm's multiple graded stakes winner Major Dude  headlines a dozen 3-year-olds racing March 25 in the $700,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) at Turfway Park.

The Jeff Ruby Steaks, a Road to the Kentucky Derby Championship Series qualifier, will go as Race 12 of 13 with a post time of 6:25 p.m. ET.  The race is at 1 1/8 miles on Turfway's synthetic Tapeta surface and will offer the top 5 finishers points on a 100-40-30-20-10 scale towards a spot in the starting gate for the $3 million Kentucky Derby (G1). Last year, Rich Strike  used qualifying points from a third-place finish in the Jeff Ruby to make the Kentucky Derby starting gate and score an 80-1 upset.

Also on the Saturday program at Turfway are the five other stakes worth $250,000 or more.

Two-time graded stakes winner Major Dude will invade Turfway Park from his South Florida base for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, with his connections hopeful he can transfer his top grass form to a synthetic surface. The son of Bolt d'Oro   tailed his first stakes victory last fall in the Pilgrim Stakes (G2T) at the Belmont at Aqueduct meet. Following a disappointing ninth-place effort in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T), Major Dude made his 3-year-old debut in the $100,000 Dania Beach at Gulfstream Park, where he rallied for second and even money. In his last start, Major Dude contested the $175,000 Kitten's Joy Stakes (G3T) and was victorious by 1 1/2 lengths under Irad Ortiz Jr.

Ortiz will again have the mount on Major Dude in the Jeff Ruby Steaks. Ortiz last rode at Turfway in 2020 when he won the Jeff Ruby Steaks aboard Field Pass . Ortiz and Major Dude will break from the rail as the morning line favorite at odds of 2-1.

Also changing surfaces is another talented 3-year-old in Patricia's Hope and Phillip Sagan's two-time stakes winner Two Phil's . Trained by Larry Rivelli, Two Phil's seven-race campaign has solely been over dirt, and the Jeff Ruby will be his first test on Tapeta. The chestnut son of Hard Spun   began his march to the Kentucky Derby after his dominant 5 1/4-length victory in the Street Sense (G3) at Churchill Downs. Following that effort, Two Phil's was the runner-up to Instant Coffee  in the Lecomte Stakes (G3) and third-place finisher to Angel of Empire  and Sun Thunder  in the  Risen Star Stakes (G2), both at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. Four weeks ago, Rivelli opted to ship to the colt back from Fair Grounds to his base at Hawthorne to begin his preparation for the Jeff Ruby Steaks. Two Phil's arrived at Turfway March 13 and has been training daily over the Florence oval.

Rivelli has been pleased by what he has seen from his horse in training over a synthetic surface.

"I've been trying to think of the easiest spot for the money and I think this will be the spot," he said. "If he absolutely hates the surface, that's on me. I'm sort of putting myself out there saying that I think he will run well over it."

Two Phil's already has 23 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Rivelli is confident the son of Hard Spun belongs with the top 3-year-olds.

"He definitely belongs with the top horses in this crop," Rivelli said. "Is he capable of taking this next step? Who knows? There are going to be horses that start falling off but as long as no horses like Justify   or American Pharoah   come out of the woodwork, it could be a Derby this year that you could throw a dart."

Jockey Jareth Loveberry, who's ridden Two Phil's in his last six starts, will have the call in the Jeff Ruby Steaks from post 10 as the 7-2 second choice on Mike Battaglia's morning-line odds.

Loveberry suffered a hairline fracture in his fibula during a gate mishap on March 2 at Fair Grounds. Luckily, he was able to return to action two weeks later.

"Jareth is our guy," Rivelli said. "He's a tough kid anyway but he might have been like the actor in the movie 'Seabiscuit' when he tied the stick to his leg to make sure he was able to ride. After that happened, I was instantly scrambling for a jockey. I had a bunch that were dying to ride the horse, but it's really good Jareth is able to ride."

Among the other top competitors with Turfway experience in the Jeff Ruby are Tami Bobo and Lugamo Racing Stable's John Battaglia Memorial winner Congruent  and Three Chimneys Farm's Leonatus Stakes winner Funtastic Again . Sonny Leon, who piloted Rich Strike to victory in the Derby this past year, has the mount on Congruent, while Gerardo Corrales will ride Funtastic Again.

Television viewers can watch the Jeff Ruby Steaks on a Road to the Kentucky Derby broadcast on CNBC that begins at 6 p.m. ET. 

Entries: Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3)

Turfway Park, Saturday, March 25, 2023, Race 12

• Grade III
• 1 1/8m
• All Weather Track
• $700,000
• 3 yo
• 6:25 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Major Dude (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	123	Todd A. Pletcher	5/2
2	2Scoobie Quando (KY)	Luan Machado	123	Ben Colebrook	15/1
3	3Event Detail (KY)	Walter A. Rodriguez	123	Paulo H. Lobo	15/1
4	4Funtastic Again (KY)	Gerardo Corrales	123	Wesley A. Ward	6/1
5	5Maker's Candy (NY)	Umberto Rispoli	123	Michael J. Maker	12/1
6	6Baby Billy (KY)	Joseph Talamo	123	Jack Sisterson	30/1
7	7Bluebirds Over (KY)	Edgard J. Zayas	123	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	15/1
8	8Congruent (KY)	Sonny Leon	123	Antonio Sano	5/1
9	9Escapologist (KY)	Alex Achard	123	Kenneth G. McPeek	30/1
10	10Two Phil's (KY)	Jareth Loveberry	123	Larry Rivelli	7/2
11	11Wadsworth (KY)	Chris Landeros	123	Brad H. Cox	8/1
12	12Point Proven (KY)	John R. Velazquez	123	Todd A. Pletcher	15/1