Nobals, Cogburn Battle in Turf Sprint at Kentucky Downs

As part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In, a paid, automatic berth in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) is on the line Sept. 7 in the $2 million Ainsworth Turf Sprint Stakes (G2T) at Kentucky Downs. 

The race lured Nobals , last year's Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint upsetter, plus Saratoga Race Course record-setting Cogburn , regarded as one of the early favorites for the Nov. 2 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar. Saturday's six-furlong race also attracted overseas invader Khaadem , winner of Royal Ascot's Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (G1) the past two years, that race's first back-to-back winner since Right Boy in 1959.

Cogburn, victorious in five of six turf starts and coming off a dazzling performance in winning the 5 1/2-furlong Jaipur Stakes (G1T) on Belmont Stakes Day in :59.80, will attempt to transfer his form to the unique, undulating Kentucky Downs course. His lone defeat on grass came in this race last year when he checked in fifth, beaten three-quarters of a length. He was sidelined after the race.

Gear Jockey  and One Timer , 1-2 in last year's renewal, also return.

The Steve Asmussen-trained Cogburn, owned by Clark Brewster and Corinne and Bill Heiligbrodt, must overcome a short layoff dating to the June 8 Jaipur after being scratched from the Aug. 10 Troy Stakes (G3) when it was taken off the turf at Saratoga due to rain. The Not This Time   5-year-old has fired fresh.

Nobals, trained by Larry Rivelli for Patricia's Hope, also ran at Saratoga this summer, finishing fourth in a stakes-quality allowance optional claimer July 28 in his only start of 2024.

"Nobals got kind of a (bad) trip, got hung wide, and didn't really get to run the race he wants to run and got beat only three-quarters of a length," Rivelli said.

The 5-year-old son of Noble Mission  was also fifth in his only local appearance, in the 2021 Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile Stakes over a distance longer than he prefers.

Rivelli has also entered multiple stakes winner One Timer in Saturday's race. He said it is "very possible" he could run both and not scratch one.

Mrs. Fitriani Hay's Khaadem, trained by Charlie Hills, will seek to rebound from a pair of 10th-place finishes in group 1 company that followed his Royal Ascot triumph.

Not being Kentucky-bred, he races for a purse of $1 million, while those foaled in the Blue Grass State and eligible to the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund race for the full $2 million purse—double the value of the $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. Purses and KTDF funds are boosted by historical horse racing gaming revenue at Kentucky Downs and its off-track gaming parlors.

Ancient Rome Looks to Go Back-to-Back in Mint Millions

Hills also pursues a second consecutive Mint Millions Stakes (G3T) victory with Hay's Ancient Rome . A half-length winner of the one-mile race in 2023, the War Front   5-year-old has since run four times, thrice this year. In his last start, he finished third in the Aug. 11 Arlington Million Stakes (G1T) at 1 1/4 miles at Colonial Downs.

Mountain Bear  travels from Ireland for legendary trainer Aidan O'Brien after a second in the Aug. 8 Desmond Stakes (G3T) at Leopardstown. In one prior start in the United States, he closed to grab second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) last fall at Santa Anita Park. An Irish-bred 3-year-old son of No Nay Never , he races for a $1 million purse while Ancient Rome and other Kentucky-breds compete for $2 million.

The top American-trained hopes are Emmanuel , Strong Quality , Funtastic Again , Talk of the Nation , and Goliad .