Black Forza Goes After $1 Million in Juvenile Sprint

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 08/30/2024 - 09:09
Link: 
Black Forza Goes After $1 Million in Juvenile Sprint
Image: 
Description: 

Photo: Edward Whitaker/Racing Post
Black Forza (far side rail) surges to win the Richmond Stakes at Goodwood

The Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course is not the only $1 million race across North America Sept. 1. At Kentucky Downs in the southern part of the Blue Grass State, 2-year-olds race for up to that amount in the Juvenile Sprint Stakes, which offers a base purse of $500,000 plus an additional $500,000 for Kentucky-breds.

Black Forza , a group 2 winner overseas, has traveled to America to chase these riches. A Kentucky-bred son of Complexity   owned by Eleanora Kennedy, he takes on 10 other 2-year-olds in the 6 1/2-furlong turf race, which is only listed in status, but that offers a massive purse largely due to revenue generated from historical horse racing gaming at Kentucky Downs and its gaming parlors.

The 5-2 morning-line favorite, he got acquainted with the Kentucky Downs course earlier this week with assistant trainer Lauryn Faulkner under the watchful eye of 35-year-old trainer Michael O'Callaghan.

The colt makes his fourth start Sunday. After breaking his maiden in his second start in Ireland, he traveled to Goodwood in England and won the Richmond Stakes (G2) by a half-length with an eye-catching late rally.

Sign up for

"I have had Kentucky Downs in the back of my mind for a long time," said O'Callaghan, who trains 40 horses in Ireland. "The prize money gets to a certain point, and you can't ignore it. This race he is running in is worth four times what the traditional races back home are worth."

Black Forza will be ridden Sunday by Irish jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle, who guided him to victory in the Richmond Stakes.

He faces a group of juveniles coming to Kentucky Downs from many parts of the country. Maiden winners Reach for the Rose , Pharoah's Dynasty , Homie , Under Who's Radar , Eighty West , and Bridle a Butterfly  head the opposition.

Pharoah's Dynasty - MSW - BAQ - 062324
Photo: Coglianese Photos
Pharoah's Dynasty wins a maiden race at Aqueduct Racetrack


Entries: National Thoroughbred League Juvenile Sprint S.

Kentucky Downs, Sunday, September 01, 2024, Race 10

  • STK
  • 6 1/2f
  • Turf
  • $1,000,000
  • 2 yo
  • 5:24 PM (local)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L
1 1Reach for the Rose (KY) Tyler Gaffalione 120 Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. 9/2
2 2Pharoah's Dynasty (KY) John R. Velazquez 120 Wesley A. Ward 4/1
3 3Complex Music (KY) Cristian A. Torres 118 Steven M. Asmussen 30/1
4 4Homie (KY) Gerardo Corrales 120 Larry Rivelli 8/1
5 5Under Who's Radar (NY) Jose L. Ortiz 120 Michael J. Maker 5/1
6 6Williams Empire (KY) Luan Machado 120 William E. Morey 15/1
7 7Black Forza (KY) Dylan Browne McMonagle 122 Michael O'Callaghan 5/2
8 8Essay (TX) Jaime A. Torres 120 W. Bret Calhoun 30/1
9 9Chasing Liberty (KY) Florent Geroux 120 Rob Atras 20/1
10 10Eighty West (KY) Julien R. Leparoux 120 Dallas Stewart 12/1
11 11Bridle a Butterfly (KY) Drayden Van Dyke 120 Bethany Baumgardner 10/1

A race before the Juvenile Sprint, the 10th on the card, older horses compete in the $500,000 Sticker Mule Overnight Handicap at a mile. 

Millionaires Webslinger  and Atone  are entered, and they face a challenge from Three Chimneys Farm's Funtastic Again , runner-up in the Shoemaker Mile Stakes (G1T) at Santa Anita Park in his most recent start for trainer Wesley Ward.

International riding star Frankie Dettori, riding at Kentucky Downs for the first time this year, has the mount on the 4-year-old son of Funtastic  —one of numerous top rides he has at Kentucky Downs over the weekend.

Dettori said he believes he has a "good team" for the course of the meet.

"The team is here; now I just have to execute the wins," he added.

Twelve horses are in the body of the field, plus another four also-eligibles.