Compact Morning Line in 12-Horse Field
Oddsmaker Mike Battaglia has made Todd Pletcher’s Hazit and Mark Casse’s Ride a Comet 5-1 morning line co-favorites for the Jeff Ruby Steaks, set to run Saturday at Turfway Park.
Owner John Oxley purchased Ride a Comet out of the Ocala Breeders’ Sale of 2-year-olds in training last April for $375,000. The Candy Ride colt broke his maiden in the fourth of his five starts, a 1 1/16-mile test at Fair Grounds that was taken off the turf. He won his next and most recent outing as well, about a mile on the turf, also at Fair Grounds.
"He's doing extremely well right now,” said Casse. “We bought him off the OBS sale and that's a synthetic track and he seemed to love it, so we decided to bring him here. He broke his maiden on dirt, but his turf win last out would also suggest he will take to a synthetic track.”
A couple of defections among those expected to enter the race put Ride a Comet in the gate, and he drew post 11 in the field of 12.
“It’s a little further outside than I would've liked, but it's better than the AEs,” Casse said. “He's a pretty good horse and we'll play the hand that was dealt to us.”
Hazit broke his maiden on debut at Saratoga in August and stepped immediately into grade 1 company, finishing off the board in both the Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar. After a 3 1/2-month layoff, he made his first start this year in an optional allowance at Tampa Bay, setting the pace before settling for second, beaten just a length.
Battaglia set a compact morning line for the Jeff Ruby Steaks, with four horses at 6-1, four at 12-1 and two at 15-1 behind the co-favorites. All contenders will carry 123 pounds. The Jeff Ruby Steaks field from the rail out, with jockey assignments and morning line:
Post
|
Horse
|
Trainer
|
Jockey
|
ML
|
1
|
Sky Promise
|
Kenneth McPeek
|
Jack Gilligan
|
12-1
|
2
|
Cash Call Kitten
|
Michael Maker
|
Tyler Gaffalione
|
12-1
|
3
|
Archaggelos
|
Michael Dickinson
|
Rafael Hernandez
|
6-1
|
4
|
Pony Up
|
Todd Pletcher
|
Albin Jimenez
|
6-1
|
5
|
Magicalmeister
|
James Chapman
|
John McKee
|
12-1
|
6
|
Mugaritz
|
Jonathan Wong
|
Nik Juarez
|
6-1
|
7
|
Hazit
|
Todd Pletcher
|
Drayden Van Dyke
|
5-1
|
8
|
Blended Citizen
|
Doug O’Neill
|
Kyle Frey
|
6-1
|
9
|
Dreamer’s Point
|
Ian Wilkes
|
Chris Landeros
|
15-1
|
10
|
Zanesville
|
Thomas Amoss
|
Malcolm Franklin
|
12-1
|
11
|
Ride a Comet
|
Mark Casse
|
Gabriel Saez
|
5-1
|
12
|
Arawak
|
Wesley Ward
|
Julio Garcia
|
15-1
|
Saturday’s card offers an all-stakes Pick 5 on the sixth race and an all-stakes Pick 4 on the seventh race. The first of 12 races on Saturday’s card is set for 1:10 p.m. ET.
Edited Turfway Park release