Impressive Maiden Winner Specially Leads Competative Field in Rags to Riches

Oct 24, 2019 Kevin Kerstein,Churchill Downs Communications

John Oxley’s Specially, a convincing 5 ¼-length maiden winner three weeks ago at Keeneland, leads a field of seven 2-year-old fillies that were entered in Sunday’s seventh running of the $120,000-added Rags to Riches Overnight Stakes at Churchill Downs.

Run at one mile, the Rags to Riches annually serves as a prep race for the 1 1/16-mile $300,000 Golden Rod (Grade II) on closing weekend of the Fall Meet at Churchill Downs. The Rags to Riches is carded as Race 9 Sunday with a post time of 5:06 p.m. (all times Eastern). First post for the 11-race Stars of Tomorrow I program that features all 2-year-old races is 1 p.m.

Specially (1-1-0-0—$62,615), a precocious filly trained by Mark Casse, was the 2-1 favorite in a field of 12 fillies in her debut at Keeneland and won impressively in a final time of 1:10.45 for six furlongs. Specially is a daughter of Tapiture who ran on the Stars of Tomorrow I card in 2013 when finishing third in a maiden special weight.

Miguel Mena picks up the mount on Specially from the injured Florent Geroux and will break from post 4. Geroux, who fractured his sternum two weeks ago during a training mishap at Keeneland, is targeting an early-November return, according to agent Doug Bredar.

Also entered in the Rags to Riches is Alex Campbell Jr.’s two-time winner Lucky Jingle (4-2-0-1—$78,900). The daughter of Tonalist, trained by Graham Motion, raced on turf in her first three starts but switched to the dirt in her most recent outing at Keeneland where she bested an eight-horse field by 3 ¼ lengths in a first-level allowance. Julien Leparoux has the call from post 7.

The Rags to Riches field (with jockey, trainer and weight): Lady Glamour (Julie Burke, Larry Demeritte, 120 pounds); Curlinesque (Tyler Gaffalione, Cherie DeVaux, 118); Gone Glimmering (James Graham, Tom Amoss, 120); Specially (Mena, Casse, 118); Finite (Ricardo Santana Jr., Steve Asmussen, 118); Spotted Ghost (Brian Hernandez Jr., Bret Calhoun, 118); and Lucky Jingle (Leparoux, Motion, 120).

The one-turn race is named in honor of Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor’s 2007 Kentucky Oaks (GI) winner. Two years ago, Michael Dubb and Monomoy Stables’ Monomoy Girl cruised to a 6 ½-length score in the Rags to Riches prior to her triumph in the 2018 Kentucky Oaks.