Running Away picks up 81 BSF and 20 Kentucky Oaks points in Busanda

NYRA Press Office Jan 19 2025
  • Running Away picks up 81 BSF and 20 Kentucky Oaks points in Busanda
  • Undefeated Sacrosanct breezes at Belmont Park
  • Mega Mil likely for $125K Ruthless
  • Full Moon Madness aimed for Listed Toboggan


Stud TNT’s Kentucky homebred Running Away made her stakes debut a winning one with a gate-to-wire score in Saturday’s nine-furlong $125,000 Busanda, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Wesley Ward and piloted by red-hot rider Sahin Civaci, the Gun Runner chestnut doubled up on main track wins following a frontrunning five-length graduation traveling 1 1/16-mile over fast dirt on November 30 at Churchill Downs. She made her first two starts on turf, finishing on-the-board with a debut half-length second in July at Saratoga Race Course and a neck third in October at Keeneland.

Running Away bobbled slightly at the start from the outermost post 6 in the Busanda but was quickly in command to set the tempo through splits of 22.83 seconds, 48.50 and 1:13.54 over the fast main track with maiden My Sherrona keeping close watch to her outside.

Civaci asked his charge for more leaving the final turn and stayed on strong to the wire to score by 2 1/4-lengths over My Sherrona in a final time of 1:52.23. The winning effort earned an 81 Beyer Speed Figure and the maximum allotment of 20-10-6-4-2 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points on offer to the top-five finishers.

Ward indicated Sunday that Running Away exited the Busanda in good order and will return to Kentucky on Monday.

“She came out great, no problems,” Ward said. “I was surprised at the number she got. Visually, she was kind of just loping along to the wire and I thought, ‘I don’t know what she’ll get for a number.’ I was surprised they gave her that big of a number.”

Ward said Running Away passed the distance test with flying colors.

“The thing that I was a little impressed about was she was a little short going into the race and we were compromised by the weather here in Kentucky as far as training to go a mile and an eighth,” Ward said. “For her to kick on like that on albeit a speed type track, but for her to sustain it was very nice to see. Distance is not going to be an issue, not that I ever thought it would be.”

Running Away became the fifth black type runner out of the Brazilian Group 3-placed Unbridled’s Song mare Allez Marie, who also produced Stud TNT-bred stakes-winners Legalize and Workaholic, Grade 3-placed sire Tomato Bill, and dual stakes-placed Fouette. Her second dam is 2005 Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks-winner Summerly. 

Ward said Running Away is likely to target the 1 1/16-mile Grade 1 Ashland on April 4 at Keeneland rather than the nine-furlong Grade 3, $200,000 Gazelle on April 5 at the Big A. Both events offer 100-50-25-15-10 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points to the top-five finishers.

“We’re probably looking at the race in April [Gazelle] and the Ashland, probably more at our home track,” Ward said. “But looking at a prep for those two, you’re pulling back a little and you really don’t want to do that, so we’ll see where we’re at moving forward.”

Ward has enjoyed considerable recent success at the Big A with New York-bred stock, including an eight-length state-bred optional-claiming sprint score Thursday by Ice Wine Stable’s Whatchatalkinabout that registered a career-best 106 Beyer Speed Figure.

The 4-year-old Dialed In dark bay, bred by Newtown Anner Stud, was purchased for $82,000 at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale. He captured the New York Breeders’ Futurity in October 2023 at Finger Lakes to close out his juvenile campaign.

The gelding was off for a full calendar year before returning to action with a pair of runner-up efforts in local state-bred sprints ahead of his sparkling score this week with Civaci at the helm.

“He’s a very nice horse. He came out running at two and won a nice stake at Finger Lakes, but had some nagging injuries that needed some time,” Ward said. “On his comeback, he got a couple splints, so we had to give him even more time. He’s fortunate that he has an extremely patient owner in Dave Reid, who I’ve trained for for going on two decades now. He’s a very patient owner and a great friend and everything I tell him is almost like I own the horse myself and I can train him just like that to give him all the time he needs. He really put it all together and ran a huge race the other day and we’re really looking forward to this guy.”

Ward indicated that Whatchatalkinabout will return to Kentucky with Running Away before picking out a next start.

“Physically, I’ll be able to see how he’s come out of the race - all reports are that the horse pulled up wonderful,” Ward said. “I’ll look forward to getting my own eyes on him at Keeneland and then make a plan from there. He has all his conditions in front of him. The number he ran, he certainly does warrant going into stakes races. We’ll give him the time to get over that big effort and get him back to 110 percent like he was.”

Ice Wine Stable and Smart Choice Stable’s Shoot It True has enjoyed some downtime following her 4 1/4-length score versus males in the six-furlong state-bred Notebook on November 16 to close out her juvenile campaign.

The sophomore daughter of Munnings, bred by Old Tavern Farm, graduated in April at Keeneland and followed with a pacesetting fourth in the Kentucky Juvenile in May at Churchill Downs. She was again prominent in the Notebook under Frankie Dettori, drawing away to a sharp score that garnered a career-best 93 Beyer.

“It’s nice to win a stake with a filly so it’s enshrined in their pedigrees,” Ward said. “All the big graded sprints, which is what we hope she’ll turn into, are in the spring, summer and fall. She’s about a week or two away from her first work back and she’s training great.”

Shoot It True, a $340,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-bred Yearling Sale purchase, is out of the Malibu Moon mare To the Moon Alice, a half-sister to 2017 Grade 2 Mother Goose-winner Unchained Melody – out of the Grade 3-winner Love Match.

Ward unveiled the well-bred Naive Melody here on December 28 as the $220,000 daughter of Complexity, a half-sister to Grade 1-winner Domestic Product, prevailed by three-quarters of a length in a six-furlong state-bred sprint contested over a sloppy and sealed main track.

Hall of Famer John Velazquez flew in from California to take the call and provided a perfect gate-to-wire ride that earned the dark bay at 76 Beyer.

“She’s one that has a big pedigree. Her brother stands over at Coolmore at Ashford,” Ward said. “She’s always showed a lot of talent, but she’s a big, imposing filly and we gave her plenty of time.

“I was nagging at Johnny V to come to ride her and he did,” Ward added. “He took off some nice horses in Florida to do it and made his way back from California to ride her. I’m looking forward to this filly. She has a big future.”

Ward said the Sequel Thoroughbreds-bred Naive Melody, who is nominated to the open-company Ruthless on February 1 here, will make her next start in the $125,000 East View, a seven-furlong sprint for New York-bred sophomore fillies on February 8.

“We’ll put her in the East View to stretch her out a little bit and see what we have,” Ward said.

Ward said his New York-bred success has come as a result of the outstanding yearlings on offer rather than specifically targeting the Empire State.

“It’s just the individuals that I’m finding at the sales and it’s just an added plus in having them New York-bred,” Ward said. “She’s [Shoot It True] a beautiful filly we paid quite a bit of money for and I have her down as a pure sprinter. If you look at her and then look at Naive Melody, they’re two different types of horses. I believe Naive Melody will go much further and this filly [Shoot It True] can go six right now and could possibly stretch out to seven if you get the kind of track they ran on [Saturday] at Aqueduct.”

 

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Undefeated Sacrosanct breezes at Belmont Park

Lady Sheila Stable, Net Birdie and Schwing Thoroughbreds’ undefeated New York-bred Sacrosanct posted a half-mile breeze in 48.75 seconds Saturday over the Belmont Park dirt training track.

Trained by dual Eclipse Award-winner Brad Cox, the sophomore son of Honest Mischief went in company with dual winner Broadway Lights [49 flat] at about 9:40 a.m. with Sacrosanct – piloted by assistant trainer Dustin Dugas – finishing ahead of his company. It was Sacrosanct’s third and fastest work since winning the $500,000 NYSSS Great White Way on December 14 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

“He’s a decent little horse to gallop and he can be a little bit of a handful every once in a while, but he trains on really nice and his breezes tend to be pretty solid with minimal effort on his or my part,” Dugas said. “He broke off nice and comfortable and finished up really good. I loved the way he came home. I opened my hands a couple times just a little bit to ask him to finish and when I shook the reins at him, he finished just how I’d like. He keeps amazing us every time.”

Sacrosanct, bred by Burleson Farms, Mckenzie Bloodstock and Sequel Thoroughbreds, is perfect through four outings, including a debut win against fellow state-breds in August at Saratoga Race Course and restricted stakes triumphs at the Big A in the Bertram F. Bongard, Sleepy Hollow and Great White Way.

The talented colt is in search of his first open-company victory and is nominated to both the nine-furlong Listed $250,000 Withers on February 1 at the Big A and the one-mile Group 3, $1.5 million Saudi Derby on February 22 at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh.

Michael Dubb’s Top Gunner received a career-best 104 Beyer Speed Figure for a dominant 4 1/4-length victory in a six-furlong optional claiming tilt under Manny Franco on Thursday at the Big A. The 8-year-old Into Mischief gelding notched his second win for Cox in five starts since being haltered for $62,500 in August at Saratoga Race Course and improved off a fourth in the local Listed Gravesend on December 28. He won first off the claim for Cox in the Parx Sprint in September at its namesake course.

Dugas said the win came with an unexpected change in tactics as the bay set the pace for the first time since a third-place finish in the 2023 Ring The Bell at Oaklawn Park.

“He came back well. It was a huge race, and I was a little surprised to see him on the lead, but when the six [Clear the Air] didn’t break, it offered him the opportunity to be there,” Dugas said of the poor break from the often prominent Clear the Air. “He was doing it pretty comfortably and Manny had him in a good stride. He kicked on well and ran huge.”

Dugas added future plans are still being decided for Top Gunner, who improved his total purse earnings to $673,279 through a lifetime record of 34-8-5-9 that includes an additional stakes win in the 2022 St. Matthews Overnight at Churchill Downs and a graded placing when third in that year’s Phoenix at Keeneland.
 

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Mega Mil likely for $125K Ruthless

Main Line Racing Stable and Avalon Racing Stables’ Mega Mil is likely to make her stakes debut in the $125,000 Ruthless, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies, on February 1 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by John Servis, the daughter of Honor A.P. was last seen graduating at second asking over the Ruthless course and distance on December 27 under Kendrick Carmouche. There, she made the early lead and kept a comfortable 1 1/2-length margin between her and the field before being pressured by She’s Complicated at the half-mile call to race head-and-head into the turn. Mega Mil responded kindly when asked by Carmouche into the lane and turned away her rival to draw off to a comfortable 6 1/2-length score in a final time of 1:23.57.

The victory, which came on the heels of a pacesetting runner-up finish on debut sprinting six furlongs in November at Laurel Park, was awarded a 67 Beyer Speed Figure.
“She came out of it really good and I’m leaning towards the Ruthless. Kendrick liked her a lot,” Servis said. “We’ve liked her from the get-go and I was actually quite surprised she got beat the first time out. She’s a decent filly.”

Mega Mil worked sharply on Friday at Parx Racing, covering five furlongs in 1:00.52 in her first work since her maiden win.

“It was very good,” Servis said of the work. “We were very happy with it.”

Mega Mil was an $85,000 purchase at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Select Yearling Sale and is out of the Elusive Quality mare Elusive Jackpot, a half-sister to Silver Bullet Moon, dam of Grade 1-winner Shakin It Up. Mega Mil boasts royal bloodlines on the bottom side of her pedigree, with her second dam being dual Champion and Hall of Famer Silverbulletday.

 

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Full Moon Madness aimed for Listed Toboggan

Jay Em Ess Stable’s Grade 3-placed Kentucky homebred Full Moon Madness was a close second last out in the local Listed Gravesend and may look to avenge the defeat in the Listed $175,000 Toboggan, a seven-furlong test for older horses, on February 1 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Michelle Nevin, the 5-year-old Into Mischief gelding has worked back twice since the December 28 Gravesend, including a half-mile breeze in 49.19 seconds on Saturday over the Belmont Park dirt training track.

“It went good, just by himself. Right now, we are pointing to the Toboggan,” said Nevin.

In the six-furlong Gravesend, Full Moon Madness earned a career-best 92 Beyer Speed Figure for a prominent half-length defeat to Maximus Meridius. He was bumped at the start, but by the half-mile was within a head of the leading eventual winner.

Full Moon Madness was a close second in the Grade 3 Nashua as a juvenile at the Big A and was a well-regarded prospect out of multiple graded-stakes winner By the Moon, who was campaigned by Nevin and Jay Em Ess Stable to Grade 1 wins in the 2017 Ballerina at Saratoga Race Course and 2014 Frizette at Belmont Park. 

Full Moon Madness’ sophomore half-sister Moonlit Drive, also a Jay Em Ess Kentucky homebred conditioned by Nevin, won her lone start to date in a local six-furlong maiden on January 10. There, the Quality Road bay traveled five lengths back and came with a strong rally to get up late and win by a neck over Taste of Diamonds.

“I was extremely happy with her. She was very professional. She showed that she has ability,” said Nevin. “We will take our time and see what is coming next.”

Moonlit Drive, who earned a 66 Beyer for her debut score, is nominated to the $125,000 Ruthless, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies, also on February 1 here.

“We are looking at a couple different spots. We haven’t narrowed anything down yet,” Nevin said, of the Ruthless.

Nevin added that it is rewarding to train the family of By the Moon.

“It is fun. I loved her, she was just an awesome racehorse. It is nice now that she is having her babies, and they are showing talent. They are showing they can run,” Nevin said. “She [Moonlit Drive] was training very forwardly, doing everything right, so we had high hopes for her – the way she ran, it definitely looks like she has the potential to step up, so we will just have to see how she trains.”