Rich Strike Skips Kentucky Cup, April 22 Race is Next

Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Rich Strike  had his 2023 debut delayed after he nicked a quarter during training and will be aimed instead for a race April 22 at either Keeneland or Oaklawn Park, according to trainer Eric Reed.

The 4-year-old son of Keen Ice   campaigned by Rick Dawson's RED TR-Racing had been expected to start in the $300,000 Kentucky Cup Classic Stakes March 25 at Turfway Park. Dawson announced on Facebook the decision to pass on the Kentucky Cup due to a "very non-serious issue."

"He has a spot about the size of your fingernail that's a little raw that will take three or four days to toughen back up," said Reed March 22. "So we are going to back off and make sure he is 100%. He was out on the track this morning and was fine."

Reed said he's looking at either the $300,000 Ben Ali Stakes (G3) at Keeneland going 1 3/16 miles or the $1 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) at going 1 1/8 miles.

"He obviously has an affinity for Keeneland's track, but I think he'll handle any track and the Oaklawn race is a bigger race," Reed said. "We'll size up the competition and decide where we're headed. I don't want to do anything that I've done differently with him since day one. I don't want 'probably' to be in the equation."

Rich Strike has a career record of 2-1-3 from 13 starts and earned $2,508,989.